Volume 1, Issue 9 – The Week of March 25, 2019
Hitting the Ground Running
The Missouri General Assembly returned from the legislative spring break on Monday, March 25. While there was a break, the Legislature is already right back at it, working to pass legislation. There are only seven weeks left in the legislative session, which officially ends on May 17, and there are several important issues for us to address. With the end of session fast approaching, senators are hard at work on the floor and in committee trying to get their priorities across the finish line.
As we enter the second half of the legislative session, more time will be spent on the Senate floor. Here, any senator can discuss and debate the merits of a piece of legislation and propose amendments for the body to consider. On March 25, the Missouri Senate spent several hours discussing Senate Bill 19. This legislation enhances penalties for certain crimes committed against emergency service providers, and makes it harder for individuals found guilty of these crimes to receive probation or parole. I believe SB 19 is an egregious piece of legislation, because it is unforgiving and needlessly harsh. No statistics were given to support the need for increasing our already strong penalties for interfering with emergency service providers. I believe this bill also threatens to derail criminal justice reform efforts. Rather than putting more people in jail and keeping them there for something like resisting arrest, we should be working to pass more data-driven and effective sentencing policies. This legislation was ultimately laid over with an amendment pending.
The Missouri Senate also discussed Senate Bill 65 this week. This bill aims to reduce tort or injury litigation or the amount of damages an individual can receive through that litigation in our state’s civil justice system. Senate Bill 65 attempts to clarify the standard for finding punitive damages, which some argue have been watered down over the years. Senate Bill 65 stipulates that a plaintiff must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant intentionally harmed them in order to receive punitive damages. The legislation also clarifies that employers would not be held liable for punitive damages because of an employee’s actions or conduct, unless the employer authorized or knew and was complicit with the employee’s actions. After being debated for quite some time, this bill was also laid over and is pending further debate.
In committee news, one of my legislative priorities has been combined with another bill and recently passed out of committee. Senate Bill 74 has been combined with Senate Bill 8 and was unanimously approved by the Senate’s Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. This bill aims to reduce the use of mandatory minimum sentencing for certain offenders and gives the court more discretion in sentencing. This legislation would also apply retroactively to individuals who pled guilty or were convicted for felonies prior to Aug. 28, 2019. Senate Bills 8 & 74 now head to the Senate floor.
Lastly, in the Senate’s Seniors, Families and Children Committee, we heard a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) bill that has come over from the Missouri House of Representatives. House Bill 188 would establish a statewide PDMP and allow physicians and pharmacists to access a patient’s prescription history in the hopes of curbing the overuse and/or misuse of opioids. The committee has heard this kind of legislation before, and as always, there was testimony both for and against it. As we consider the merits of a statewide PDMP, I believe we must ultimately decide how best to balance privacy concerns raised by the program with the opportunity to save lives and help stop the opioid epidemic.
Thank you for your interest in the legislative process. I look forward to hearing from you on the issues that are important to you this legislative session. If there is anything my office can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (573) 751-3599.