Much of our time in the Missouri Senate this week was spent in debate on various tort reform proposals on the Senate floor. Those proposals included Senate Bill 239, sponsored by Senator Dan Brown, R-Rolla, which would restore a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.  This would restore a provision of the major tort reform bill passed by and signed into law by Governor Matt Blunt in 2005.

In 2005 the General Assembly sought to reform the state’s civil liability system by placing caps on jury awards for “pain and suffering” in medical malpractice cases.  In 2012 the Missouri Supreme Court struck down a portion of the 2005 law, including the removal of non-economic damages caps. SB 239 was brought forward as a response to the court’s decision. The bill provides clarity in the law, has the potential to lower malpractice costs, and thereby help to maintain current doctors and attract new ones to Missouri.  After several hours of debate, the bill was brought up for third reading and final passage thereby heading to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

In addition to the many hours spent in floor debate this week, Senators worked hard in Senate committees to make up for lost time in previous weeks. On Monday I had the opportunity to present Senate Bill 400 to the Senate Financial & Governmental Organizations Committee. SB 400 provides that a state may not require maintenance of certification as a condition of physician licensure to practice medicine in the state. Currently, doctors are required to complete 25 continuing educational hours each year, along with various other requirements, to maintain an active medical license. The concern is that requiring the goal, in sponsoring this legislation, is to ensure that Missourians have access to healthcare by encouraging those doctors to stay in Missouri rather than traveling to other states where the requirements to practice are less burdensome.

On Thursday I presented Senate Bill 431 to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs and Health Committee.  The bill would require any changes to an interpretation or application of law regarding the requirements for reimbursements for MO HealthNet services to be treated as a new rule. Recently the Nixon administration has been acting in an arbitrary manner, changing rules regarding taxation and MO HealthNet, and retroactively applying these.  My bill requires the Administration to follow the law for creating rules, not making them up as it goes along.

Senator Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, filed similar legislation this year for new interpretations by the Missouri Department of Revenue that were also forcing Missourians to pay fines for past behavior based on a new interpretation of the law. Retroactive application is unfair and unacceptable.  SB 431 ensures that providers get the proper notice when rules impacting their industry are reinterpreted and applied.

This week was also marked by numerous visitors to the office.  I enjoyed spending time with all those who stopped by including constituents and friends who attend the pro-life rally day and students from Holt High School who had an opportunity to perform in the rotunda in honor of arts education week.  I also had the privilege of meeting with Katelyn Waidmann from O’Fallon.  Katelyn is currently a junior at the University of Missouri-Columbia.  She visited the Capitol to take part in the annual undergraduate research day where she displayed the findings of her recent study to examine students’ writing performance. It is great to see the hard work that Katelyn and other students are putting toward undergraduate research in areas that can be of great assistance as we work to create thoughtful policy here in Missouri.

Before concluding I want to take a moment to recognize the two police officers wounded in Ferguson earlier in the week. The situation reminds us of the fact that our first responders put their lives on the line each and every day for our safety.  Let’s keep the families of those officers in our prayers. 

Next week will be the last week before our Senate spring break.  I look forward to providing you with a full recap of our work during the first half of the session at that time. 

Best wishes for a wonderful weekend with your families.

Very Sincerely,

Sen. Bob Onder
2nd District