For Immediate Release:
May 29, 2014

Senators Named to Various Interim Panels
Committees and task forces will meet between legislative sessions

JEFFERSON CITY — Various lawmakers in the upper chamber were recently appointed to serve on joint interim committees and task forces, including legislative panels designed to the administration of taxes, juvenile justice, and state employee wages.  Many legislative interim work panels are created through concurrent resolutions, which can be used to express recommendations and actions of state officials and departments.  However, some are implemented through provisions found in House or Senate bills or by rules carried out by leadership.

The Senate Interim Committee on Tax Administration Practices, established by Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, will investigate the process and policy used by the Missouri Department of Revenue to interpret, enact and enforce tax statutes.  The committee is also responsible for uncovering potential conflicts or inconsistencies in the administration of Missouri’s tax law.  The committee was created pursuant to Senate Rule 31, which allows the pro tem to designate interim committees to consider bills and other matters assigned.  Senator Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit (chair); Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau; Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield; Sen. Ed Emery, R-Rogersville; Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale; Sen. Scott Sifton, D-Affton; and Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence, all serve on the committee.

The “Multiple Sclerosis Task Force,” created by Senate Concurrent Resolution 36, is charged with developing strategies to identify and address the unmet needs of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) in order to enhance the quality of life and provide those affected by MS greater access to various treatments and other therapeutic options that may be available.  The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa, requires two members of the Senate and two members of the House, along members of the medical community and those affected by MS, among others, to be appointed to the task force.   

Senate Concurrent Resolution 29, sponsored by Sen. Wallingford, was adopted by the General Assembly this year and establishes a “Juvenile Justice Task Force.”  Committee members are responsible for coming up with recommendations to raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to the age of 18, remove juveniles from adult jails pre-trial, and revise the age of certification to adult court.  Three members of the Senate and three members of the House, yet to be named, will serve on the panel.

The Joint Committee on Solid Waste Management District Operations was created in 2013 through the passage of House Bill 28.  With the adoption of Senate Concurrent Resolution 17, also sponsored by Sen. Wallingford, members will continue their work examining solid waste management district operations, including their efficiency, and reasonableness of costs and expenses to Missouri taxpayers.  The joint committee will maintain its membership, which includes Sen. Wallingford (chair); Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia; Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale; Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City; and Sen. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City. 

Also established in 2013 through Senate Concurrent Resolution 15, the Missouri Lead Industry Employment, Economic Development and Environmental Remediation Task Force will carry on with its efforts this interim.  Reinstated with the adoption of Senate Concurrent Resolution 19, sponsored by Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington, members of this task force will continue to consider the effects of a prompt environmental settlement giving rise to efficient and cost-effective remediation; ways to promote the development of a clean lead industry; clean lead industry legislative proposals, including rules and regulations necessary for implementation; and the economic potential of implementing clean lead industry policies.  Senator Romine (chair); Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff; and Sen. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, join three members of the House of Representatives and industry professionals serve on this committee.

House Concurrent Resolution 45, handled in the upper chamber by Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, reauthorizes the Joint Interim Committee on State Employee Wages, initially created by House Concurrent Resolution 33 in 2012.  The legislative panel is responsible for further studying and developing strategies for increase the wages of Missouri’s state employees, allowing Missouri to be competitive with its peer states in regard to state employee wages.  Bill sponsor Sen. Kehoe continues to serve as chair of this committee, alongside members Sen. Wasson and Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis, in addition to three lawmakers from the House of Representatives.

To see a complete list of committees, including special, interim and joint legislative panels, visit www.senate.mo.gov and click on the various links under the “Committees” tab.