Working the Legislative Process
We just concluded our fourth full week of the legislative session, and the Senate is hard at work reviewing more than 400 bills and resolutions submitted so far. The process of enacting laws is intentionally careful and deliberate. In fact, the framers of our state constitution designed the legislative process so that only well-reasoned and thoughtfully debated measures survive.
Legislators may submit bills on almost any topic. Each proposal is assigned to a committee where the bill sponsor advocates for its passage. Interested citizens and groups appear before the committee to express their views. If the committee votes to advance the bill, the measure goes to a full legislative body for discussion – Senate bills go to the Senate for debate, while bills that originate in the House of Representatives are presented in that chamber. Once a bill passes in one chamber, it is sent to the legislative body on the other side of the Capitol. Identical legislative language must be approved in both chambers for a bill to be finally passed and sent to the governor for his veto or signature.
It’s a difficult process and most proposals do not succeed.
The 100th General Assembly has already passed its first law. The House and Senate both voted to rename a section of road in St. Charles County as the Cloria Brown Memorial Highway. The designation honors a member of the House of Representatives who died in 2018, during her third term in office. Rep. Brown was a well-liked legislator and fondly remembered by many at the Capitol.
Two bills that I have proposed received their first committee hearings this past week.
The Local Government and Elections Committee heard testimony on Senate Joint Resolution 14, which would impose term limits on all statewide office holders in Missouri. The governor and state treasurer are already prohibited from serving more than two full terms. My measure would apply the same term limits to the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general and state auditor, as well. I’ve heard from many of you that you want term limits to keep elected officials accountable and to prevent people from making a career out of politics. I agree, and this measure will let voters decide that issue.
I also had the opportunity to present Senate Bill 154 to the Small Business and Industry Committee. This measure deals with arbitration agreements between employers and employees. This bill clarifies requirements for arbitration agreements and ensures fairness for both parties. It is a commonsense piece of legislation that will reduce burdens on our courts and taxpayers, cut down on the cost of expensive litigation, and benefit both employers and employees by encouraging quick resolution of employment disputes. This is a measure that is strongly supported by the business community, and I’m proud to sponsor it.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which I chair, took up two identical measures (Senate Bill 12 and Senate Bill 123) that will help fund salaries for county law enforcement officers. Currently, Missouri has a fund that supplements salaries paid to deputy sheriffs. When a sheriff’s deputy serves a summons, writ or subpoena, a small fee is deposited in the Deputy Sheriff Salary Supplementation Fund. That money is used to increase salaries of deputy sheriffs. It’s a good program that benefits our hard-working, brave law enforcement officials without adding cost to taxpayers.
Finally, the Gubernatorial Appointments Committee completed our task of reviewing the governor’s interim appointments within the 30-day constitutional deadline. We will now turn our attention to additional appointments made throughout the session.
It is my great honor to represent the citizens of Buchanan and Platte counties in the Missouri Senate. Please contact my office at 573-751-2183, or visit www.senate.mo.gov/luetkemeyer.