Senator Irene Treppler
District 1
 Legislative Experience
Irene Treppler is the first Republican woman ever elected to the 34-member Missouri Senate.

Prior to her election in the upper chamber in 1984, she served six terms in the Missouri House of Representatives. She was re-elected to the Senate in 1988 and 1992, representing the 1st Senatorial District, which serves a portion of St. Louis County.

Committees
Sen. Treppler serves on a number of Senate Committees including Commerce and Environment; Conservation, Parks and Tourism; Financial and Governmental Operations; and Transportation.

The senator also is a member of the Missouri Tourism Commission, the Joint Committee on Legislative Research, the Joint Committee on Economic Development Policy and Planning, the Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement, the Governor's Advisory Council on Productivity, the Missouri Job Training Joint Legislative Oversight Committee, and the Video Advisory Committee.

1995 Legislation
Sen. Treppler won passage of a bill that marked a significant legislative victory for women in Missouri by providing additional toilets in restrooms for women. It was the fifth consecutive year that Sen. Treppler introduced the bill.

Under provisions of the measure, new stadiums and auditoriums are required to have an equal number of toilets in restrooms for women and men. The bill also applies to buildings in which more than 50 percent of the area is undergoing renovation.

In addition, facilities providing diaper-changing stations for infants must provide them in equal number in restrooms for men as well as women.

Treppler also sponsored a bill that makes minor changes in the Missouri Seismic Safety Commission and extends until June 30, 1997, the deadline for the commission's report on the implementation of an earthquake hazards reduction program.

In addition, Sen. Treppler sponsored legislation repealing a law that establishes specific fees for copies of documents from the Missouri Public Service Commission. The new statute permits the PSC to establish such fees by rule in compliance with general state laws regarding fees for copying public records.

Sen. Treppler handled in the Senate a House bill on parental preference in state hiring that carried the same provisions of a Senate measure that she sponsored. Treppler won Senate passage of the House bill.

Under the terms of the bill, five points are added to the employment examination of a former state employee applying for a merit system job who quit work to care for a child under the age of 10.

1994 Legislation
Sen. Treppler sponsored a number of vitally important pieces of legislation during the 1994 session of the Missouri General Assembly.

She won approval of an amendment that saved the Bayless School District a large amount of money. The amendment, which was to a bill on school levies, carried a one-time provision allowing the Bayless School District to keep state money it would have lost because of failure to pass a school levy of $2.75. Involved was a sum totaling $500,000 to $600,000.

Another education measure sponsored by the senator involved revision of the video sales tax law to provide for a more exact accounting of the amount of revenue collected. Revenue from the sales tax is deposited in a video educational fund used by Missouri public school districts and state-operated higher education institutions.

Sen. Treppler also sponsored and won approval of a bill requiring the placement of an identification tag on the body of a dead person or in the casket or urn containing cremated remains. The bill was necessitated by the 1993 flood disaster at the Hardin Cemetery in Ray County. The flood washed away 769 coffins holding bodies.

1993 Legislation
Sen. Treppler's bill creating a seismic safety commission won passage during the 1993 session of the Missouri General Assembly. The commission is responsible for developing a comprehensive program to prepare the state for appropriate response in case of a major earthquake.

Another of her successful measures clarified language regarding continuation of fire protection district service and the collection of taxes in areas incorporated because of Boundary Commission action in St. Louis County.

1992 Legislation
Sen. Treppler co-sponsored a measure that made changes in the St. Louis County boundary Commission law. She was also successful in amending a motor vehicle measure to include her car rental bill, which creates a presumption that a leased motor vehicle is stolen if it is not returned within 72 hours after the lease has expired. That measure also repealed a law requiring drivers to sound their horns when passing other vehicles, which had become an outdated requirement with the development of superhighways.

Another piece of Sen. Treppler's 1992 legislation requires the Missouri Highway Patrol to have other law enforcement agencies report all incidents of domestic violence whether an arrest was made or not.

1991 Legislation
Sen. Treppler sponsored legislation in this session that established the Deaf Relay Service Fund. Money from the fund is used to set up relay telecommunications services for deaf and hearing-impaired people.

Another measure in 1991 was a resolution sponsored by Sen. Treppler allowing cities, counties and school districts to sell bonds to finance the renovation of buildings to withstand earthquakes. This consitutional amendment required approval by voters but because of an anti-tax sentiment prevailing among Missouri voters the measure was defeated at the polls. If passed, the legislation would have resulted in safer public buildings.

1990 Legislation
A comprehensive earthquake preparation bill sponsored by Sen. Treppler was one of the most publicized and important pieces of legislation passed during the 1990 session.

The bill requires school districts near the New Madrid Fault to establish earthquake emergency preparation plans and to distribute earthquake safety publications to students. It also requires cities and counties to adopt ordinances requiring new buildings to meet earthquake safety codes.

1989 Legislation
Sen. Treppler was the sponsor of a resolution that would have amended the Missouri Constitution's restrictions on bingo advertising. The end of the restrictions would have given bingo games a better chance for success. The proposal, which required approval by Missouri voters, was narrowly defeated in the November 1990 elections.

1988 Legislation
Sen. Treppler sponsored a bill calling for limiting the spread of AIDS by requiring alcohol and drug abuse facilities operated by the state to test known or suspected drug abusers for the presence of the deadly virus. This requirement is now part of Missouri law.

1987 Legislation
A bill sponsored by Sen. Treppler in the 1987 legislative session helped churches and other non-profit organizations that hold bingo games. It removed the provision that prohibited such groups from advertising social events where bingo was to be played.

Another of the senator's bills expanded the school bus safety law passed in 1986. The updated measure covered smaller districts that declined to follow the standards set forth in the original law. Her 1987 bill requires bus drivers in these smaller school districts to be at least 18 years old and to have a valid chauffer's license.

1986 Legislation
Following a number of school bus accidents in Missouri, Sen. Treppler introduced a bill to increase the regulation of bus drivers. Under the new law, people who apply as school bus drivers have to obtain a special school bus driver's permit.

The senator also co-sponsored a bill to require all motorists to carry automobile liability insurance. The law allows the police to check drivers involved in accidents or traffic violations to make sure they have the required insurance. It also contains penalties for people who refuse to purchase the insurance, including fines and the possible loss of their drivers' licenses.

Service in the House of Representatives
Sen. Treppler was active in her 12 years in the House. Among the bills she sponsored was the "Good Samaritan" law, which protected doctors and nurses from being sued when they provided emergency help at the scene of accidents. Another of the senator's measures banned dog fighting and forms of animal abuse.

Personal Background
Sen. Treppler was born in St. Louis County on October 13, 1926. She attended Washington Elementary School, Mehlville High School and Meramec Community College. She and her husband, Walter, have four children, John, Steven, Diane and Wally, and six grandchildren.

Community Service
Sen. Treppler is active in the National Order of Women Legislators and served as the group's president in 1984 - 1985. She is a member of the National Federation of Republican Women and the Missouri Order of Women Legislators. She served as the order's secretary in 1982. The senator was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1984 and received the Republican of the Year Award from the John Marshall Club in 1984.

She received the 1992 Missouri Chamber of Commerce's "Spirit of Enterprise Award," given in recognition and appreciation of her "efforts to protect our nation's free enterprise system." She has also received the Missouri State Medical Association Award of Appreciation for her continuing efforts to improve medical care for the citizens of Missouri. She received the 1993 national Otto Nuttli Earthquake Hazard Mitigation Award, and most recently the Distinguished Legislator Award - Community Colleges of Missouri, 1995.