Five Weeks of Session Remaining The final day of the 2024 legislative session is May 17, and we’ve got a lot of work to do on a tight deadline. The House passed a $50 billion Fiscal Year 2025 operating budget on April 4 and sent it to the Senate Appropriations Committee for deliberation. May 10 is the constitutional deadline for passing a balanced state operating budget. The Senate needs to address the renewal of the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA) for Medicaid. The FRA is a major funding source for the state that is essential to Missouri’s health care system. If the FRA extension isn’t passed, there would be a huge gap in the state budget. House Bill 2634, a bill that would prevent providers like Planned Parenthood from receiving reimbursements from the state’s Medicaid program, passed out of the Senate on April 10. I opposed this bill, as I believe it could prevent Missouri Medicaid patients from accessing the health care they need. Planned Parenthood in Missouri provides health services, including access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment and annual wellness exams. Senate Bill 1326 and Senate Bill 1070 Placed on the Senate Calendar for Perfection I’m happy to report that two of my bills, Senate Bill 1326 and Senate Bill 1070, have been placed on the Senate perfection calendar. I am looking forward to both of these bills making it to the Senate floor for discussion and passage. Senate Bill 1326 would clarify state laws around exams for survivors of sexual assault. This bill would ensure these patients are treated with respect and dignity at appropriate hospitals with adequate staff and equipment to care for their needs. Some hospitals don’t have 24-hour emergency rooms, so survivors of sexual assault might not be able to get the care that they need when they need it. Senate Bill 1070 would create the “Stop Cyberstalking and Harassment Task Force.” After hearing from survivors, I believe it is important for experts to convene and figure out how to decrease incidents of cyberstalking and harassment. I am committed to getting this important legislation passed this session. Showcasing Missouri’s Fine Arts Programs and Aspiring Artists at the 2024 Senate Art Exhibit Congratulations to fifth-grader Jacobi West of St. Louis! I personally selected his fun artwork, “Time for a Movie,” from among numerous, impressive submissions of student art from Missouri’s 24th Senatorial District. Jacobi West and his art teacher, Dawn Lynn, were recognized during a special ceremony on April 3 in the Capitol Rotunda, along with other recipients from each of Missouri’s senatorial districts. Artwork will be on display from now through March 2025 as part of the Senate Art Exhibit inside the Capitol. Established in 2014 as a joint effort between the Missouri Art Education Association and the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education, the annual Senate Art Exhibit showcases fine arts programs and aspiring young artists from all thirty-four of Missouri’s senatorial districts. 
Jacobi West's artwork, "Time for a Movie," was selected to represent Missouri's 24th Senatorial District in the 2024 Senate Art Exhibit at the Missouri State Capitol. For more information about my legislative actions, visit my official Senate website at senate.mo.gov/McCreery. If you’re able to visit our beautiful Capitol, stop by the District 24 office in room 425 and say hello. As always, if there is anything I or my staff, Hannah Dolan and Emily O’ Laughlin, can assist you with, please call us at 573-751-9762 or email me at tracy.mccreery@senate.mo.gov. | 