Legislative Column for the Week of March 10, 2014
  The Halfway Point of Session
 

The Senate has been working hard to pass legislation to make Missouri a better place to live, work and raise a family. As we look back on the last two and a half months, here are a few of the highlights of the legislative session so far:

SB 492 and SB 493 are education-based bills and seek to help improve underperforming schools with performance incentives for schools and higher education institutes and provide every student in Missouri the chance for a quality education.

SB 507 and SJR 30 are bills related to clarifying and reinforcing the gubernatorial appointment process.

SB 510 is a bill related to the disqualification of unemployment benefits and is designed to help end the abuse of the benefit system and reduce the economic strain on Missouri businesses.

SB 668 seeks to require healthcare insurers to give patients receiving chemotherapy treatments the same benefits for out-of-pocket costs for oral medication as intravenous treatments.

SB 613 and SJR 36 are bills which will strengthen Missouri citizens’ Second Amendment rights.

Other measures that the General Assembly will take up after Spring Recess will be SB 491, a comprehensive revision of the criminal code in our state; SB 589, which seeks to set caps on frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits; SB 509, which would reduce income taxes for Missourians; and SB 736, which will prohibit EBT/TANF electronic benefit cards from being used out-of-state and sets the length of time a family may receive benefits.

Always feel free to contact me throughout the year with any comments, questions, or issues by calling my office at (573) 751-5713 or by visiting my website at www.senate.mo.gov/brown.

Thank you for reading this and for your participation in state government.