With only seven weeks remaining in the 2017 legislative session there is much to be done. However, there has also been much accomplished in the first 11 weeks.
House Concurrent Resolution 4 was adopted early this session. This resolution rejects a recommended pay increase for lawmakers and statewide officials made by the Missouri Citizens’ Commission for Elected Officials. The state budget is in the red and now is not the time for legislators to be giving themselves a pay raise. I joined 25 of my fellow Senators in denying this pay raise and I have voted against legislative pay raises every time I have had the opportunity to do so.
This session, as in years past, tort reform (lawsuit reform) is a hot button issue. Judicial activism and Missouri’s outdated civil judicial system has forced businesses and job creators out of the state, and tort reform is critical to economic development. These reforms will create a better business climate, so businesses can hire employees rather than waste money on frivolous lawsuits.
Tort reform legislation that has been debated on the Senate Floor includes:
- Senate Bill 31 – Modifies provisions relating to the collateral source rule and provides that parties may introduce evidence of the actual cost of the medical care rendered. This bill restores fairness to personal injury litigation and helps reduce the cost of insurance for doctors and businesses.
- Senate Bill 237 – Modifies definitions of “employee” and “physician employee” in actions against health care providers for personal injury or death. Senate Bill 237 limits liability to the responsible party for malpractice, not the party with the deepest pockets.
- Senate Bill 113 – Modifies the law relating to discharge of employees under workers’ compensation statutes. Through this proposal we aim to reform Missouri’s workers’ compensation system by carefully balancing the need for protections for injured workers and the need to keep the state’s business community and job creation efforts intact. This is my bill and I introduced it to counteract judicial overreach in the workers’ compensation system.
- House Bill 153 – Modifies provisions relating to expert witnesses. This legislation aims to align Missouri’s outdated expert witness testimony standard to the federal standard. Through the reform we hope to ensure judges act as gate keepers so juries are given the most reliable, factual evidence on which to base their decisions.
Thank you for reading this weekly column. Please contact my office at (573) 751-3678 if you have any questions.