Sen. Jay Wasson’s Legislative Column for the Week of April 10, 2017

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Missouri Senate Heads into Final Month of Session

The Missouri Senate began this week focusing its attention on an omnibus education bill. During Senate floor debate, I offered an amendment to address budget concerns regarding early childhood education.

Missouri’s foundation formula determines the amount of funding each school district receives and contains provisions for early childhood education programs that are automatically triggered whenever it’s fully funded. With a strained Fiscal Year 2018 already looming overhead, there’s a concern that fully funding the formula this year would create a $62 million hole in next year’s budget. Since not every school is likely to launch their early childhood education programs in the same year, I don’t necessarily think funding them would immediately carry such a high price tag. However, I understand the concerns out there, and that’s why I offered language to spread out the cost by phasing in early childhood education funding over five years, at 20 percent a year.

Adopted by the Senate, my amendment should help people feel more comfortable with the idea of fully funding the formula and not have to worry about the possibility of being hit with a huge fiscal note in the first year.

The Senate also began debating another measure I’m sponsoring this session: Senate Bill 348. Several provisions in current law allow the secretary of state to collect an additional $5 fee on fees for filings relating to business organizations, commercial transactions, trademarks, names and private emblems to be credited to the state’s technology trust fund. These provisions are set to sunset on Dec. 31, 2017.

Originally passed in 1994, these fees allow the secretary of state’s office to upgrade their technology without having to use general revenue dollars. Since businesses expect a high level of available, reliable online services to help facilitate their transactions with the secretary of state’s office and actively utilize these services, not funding technology upgrades isn’t an option. This means that if the sunset isn’t extended, the Legislature will have no choice but to appropriate general revenue funds. If signed into law, SB 348 will extend the sunset provisions to Dec. 31, 2025. This will ensure the people who utilize these online services continue to be the ones who pay to keep the technology and services updated.

We also approved a significant piece of economic development and jobs legislation in the form of House Bill 130. Better known as the Uber or Lyft bill, this measure will expand regulations for transportation network companies, or TNCs. While many people are already familiar with these names, Uber and Lyft are ridesharing, or ride-hailing, companies that utilize app-based technology to conduct business. Although ridesharing has already come to Missouri’s metropolitan areas, statewide expansion has stalled in previous years due to a variety of concerns. Thankfully, lawmakers have worked hard this year to iron out their differences and reach a compromise. House Bill 130 easily passed the Senate by a vote of 31-1.

Opening the door for ridesharing companies to operate in every corner of the state will create jobs and invite greater economic opportunities. More importantly, it will give our citizens another affordable transportation option and help combat drunk driving. Uber currently operates in five Missouri markets, including Springfield, whereas Lyft only operates in Springfield at this point in time. House Bill 130 now heads back to the House for a final vote.

Finally, the Senate gave initial approval to two measures pertaining to Missouri’s criminal code. The first will make it easier for law enforcement to apprehend individuals who have violated a protection order and provide greater protection for victims. Under Senate Bill 99, a court may place a person on electronic monitoring with victim notification if the person is charged with, or has been found guilty of, violating an order of protection. Upon agreement of the protected individual, the person named in the protection order will receive a bracelet monitor. If he or she enters a protected area, it gets recorded and law enforcement can make an arrest, rather than having to catch the individual in the act of violating the order.

The second measure expands a current state law requiring every individual who is 17 years old or older and is arrested for burglary, sex-related felonies and certain felonies committed against a person to provide a biological sample for DNA profiling analysis. Senate Bill 204 will require every individual who is 17 years or older and who is arrested for any felony offense to provide a biological sample.

If you have any questions or comments regarding your state government, please feel free to contact me at (573) 751-1503. You are also welcome to e-mail me at jay.wasson@senate.mo.gov.