Our hard work is truly starting to take shape. This week, we’re sending Senate Bill 1050 to the Missouri House of Representatives Transportation Committee — one of the final steps before perfection and ratification. Of all the bills we’ve worked on this session, SB 1050 may just be the biggest. There are 15 different bills included in SB 1050, ranging from the renaming of memorial highways to new safety measures for our drivers. This week, I want to write about the legislative process and what changes you can expect to see once SB 1050 is passed.
A bill is born when a lawmaker drafts and introduces a piece of legislation. Senators introduce their bills on the Senate floor and are read for a first and second time before being sent to committee. Once in committee, bills are questioned, amended, testified for and against and voted on. Proposals that survive the committee process are sent to the Senate floor for “perfection” and a third reading. Perfection is the process of debate and amendment prior to a final third read vote that sends the bill to the House for consideration. The bill is debated during third reading, roll call voted on and then sent to the Missouri House of Representatives where the bill repeats the same process as mentioned above. Any amendments that are made by the Missouri House are sent back to the Senate and, if both chambers agree with the terms, the bill is truly agreed to and finally passed.
Given the complexity of the legislative process, it’s easy to see why only 7 percent of all the bills introduced in the last five years were passed into Missouri law. Many of the smaller bills that are introduced often don’t garner enough attention and support to survive the process, which is why larger bills like SB 1050 become attractive vehicles for various bills. With the help of my fellow senators, we’ve drafted legislation that I think stands a great chance to pass and do well for the state of Missouri. SB 1050 has already been heard and amended in the House Transportation committee and I expect the House of Representatives to make many amendments during their floor debate as well.
Senate Bill 1050 makes numerous changes to our state’s transportation laws. I encourage you to read the full summary and track the bill at https://www.senate.mo.gov/18info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=76738165. Some of the components of the bill include memorial road namings, strengthening the state’s distracted driving law, transportation of construction cranes, authority for the state to provide waivers for fuel standards during emergency situations (this would allow gas stations to sell winter mix fuel in the spring during fuel shortages due to hurricanes, for example) and other provisions. Ultimately, I believe we will have a conference committee with the House on this bill that allows us to sit down and decide what aspects of the bill from both chambers we should consider for final passage.
Thank you for reading this weekly column. Please contact my office at (573) 751-3678 if you have any questions.