Legislative Update for April 1, 2022

CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING IMPASSE, HOUSE PREPARES BUDGET FOR FLOOR CONSIDERATION

As it enters the final six weeks of session, the General Assembly continues to lag behind its usual legislative pace.  Eighty to ninety percent of the legislation passed during any given session is approved during the final two weeks of session.  However, at this point in time, the supplemental appropriations bill remains the only legislation sent to the governor. 

Both chambers have increased their output in the last two weeks, but the Senate continues to move in fits and starts.  The House has sent fifty-one bills and four joint resolutions to the Senate for consideration, and most of this legislation has been referred to Senate committees for review.  In turn, the Senate has sent fourteen bills and two joint resolutions to the House for consideration.  Two bills and one joint resolution have been referred to House committees, and the remainder still await referral. 

Congressional redistricting remains an unresolved issue, even with candidate filing for the August primary having closed on Tuesday.  Completely apart from the substantive issue itself, there will continue to be a ripple effect on legislative activity and actions throughout the remainder of session, including completely unrelated bills.  The Senate third read and passed its version of congressional maps (SS#2 HCS HB 2117) late last week and sent the bill to the House.  The House refused to concur with the Senate version and requested a conference committee to resolve the differences between the maps.  The Senate has declined to grant a conference, but the House has stuck to its initial position, requesting a conference committee a second time. 

The House concluded its week by setting up its version of the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget for floor debate on Tuesday (4/5/2022).  The House Budget Committee approved committee substitutes for the appropriations bills, making some notable changes to the $47.3 billion executive budget proposed by Governor Parson.  Senate majority and minority leadership characterized the House as “slow-walking” the budget, but if the House approves appropriations bills on Tuesday, it will not have deviated significantly from past years (2021 – April 1; 2020 – April 29 (affected by COVID-19 pandemic); 2019 – March 28; 2018 – March 29).  The deadline for legislative approval of the FY2023 appropriations bills will be Friday, May 6, 2022.   

Current Legislative Status of Bar-Initiated Legislative Proposals (2022 Introduced Legislation)

To review bills of interest and check their legislative progress, visit The Missouri Bar’s Legislative Engagement Center.  The bill feeds or reports are organized by subject or practice area and automatically update as legislative actions occur, so bookmark any page of interest and check back regularly.  If you have questions or comments about specific legislation, please contact Government Relations staff at 573-659-2280 or govrel@mobar.org for more information.   

COMMITTEE HEARINGS OF INTEREST

SENATE

The Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee met on March 28, 2022, and held public hearings on the following legislation:

• SB 837 (May), modifying provisions relating to the statute of limitations for certain sexual offenses – Witnesses
  Support: Jennifer Carter Dochler (Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence)
  Oppose: Mary Fox (Missouri State Public Defender)

The committee took action on the following legislation in executive session:

• SB 1039 (Arthur), modifying provisions relating to funding for the office of the public defender
  Do Pass by a vote of 4 to 0. 
   
• SB 1094 (Washington), modifying provisions relating to wrongful convictions
  Do Pass by a vote of 4 to 0. 
   
• SB 1130 (Washington), modifying provisions relating to earned compliance credits for probation
  Do Pass by a vote of 4 to 0.

The Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee met on March 29, 2022, and held public hearings on the following legislation:

• SB 1165 (Roberts), designating "Police Officer Tamarris Bohannon Memorial Bridge" – Witnesses
  Support: Mark Bruns (St. Louis Police Officers Association & MO Fraternal Order of Police)
   
• SB 1163 (Hegeman), creating the "Transportation Accountability Fund" – Witnesses
   
• SB 1143 (Brown), modifying provisions relating to emergency medical dispatchers – Witnesses
  Support: Jason White (Treasurer, State 911 Service Board); JR Webb (Missouri Chapter Association of Public Safety Communications Officials); Jamie Taylor (Missouri Chapter National Emergency Number Association); Kaycee Nall (Missouri 911 Directors Association)

The committee took action on the following legislation in executive session:

• SB 1015 (Hough), modifying provisions relating to vehicle sales tax
  Do Pass by a vote of 5 to 0. 
   
• SB 1156 (Brown), adding vehicles operated by county or municipal park rangers to the definition of "emergency vehicle”
  Do Pass by a vote of 5 to 0.
   
• SB 1134 (Eslinger), modifying provisions relating to self-defense
  Do Pass by a vote of 4 to 1.

The Senate Seniors, Families, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee met March 30, 2022, and held public hearings on the following legislation:

• SB 1013 (Roberts), modifying the Show-Me Heroes Program to provide for grants for veteran apprenticeship training programs – Witnesses
  Support: Carol Mitchell (Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
   
• SB 1133 (White), modifying provisions relating to pharmacist dispensation of certain medications – Witnesses 
   
• SB 1158 (Brown), modifying provisions relating to tobacco products – Witnesses
  Support: Ron Leone (MO Petroleum and Convenience Association); John Burns (Missouri Smoke Free); David Overfelt (MO Retailers Association and MO Grocers Association)
  Oppose: Emily Kaiser (American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network); Laura Turner (American Lung Association of Missouri); Trent Watson (American Heart Association); Richard Sheets (Missouri Municipal League); Heidi Geisbuhler Sutherland (Missouri State Medical Association); Stanley Cowen (Self); Katie Rowling (Council for Drug Free Youth President); Beau Blaise (Council for Drug Free Youth) 
   
• SB 1168 (Gannon), modifying provisions relating to the State Mental Health Commission – Witnesses
  Support: Brian Kinkade (Missouri Hospital Association); Michelle Schafer (SSM Health Care);Mary Chant (MO Coalition for Children); Will Marrs (Mercy Hospital, Mercy Kids); Jessica Petrie (BJC Healthcare Systems and CoxHealth); Randy Scherr (Missouri Psychiatric Physicians Association)
  For Informational Purposes: Susan Flanigan (Department of Mental Health)

The committee took action on the following legislation in executive session:

• SCS SB 753 (Burlison), establishing the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act"
  Do Pass by a vote of 5 to 2 
   
• SB 935 (Arthur), modifying provisions relating to MO HealthNet eligibility
  Do Pass by a vote of 6 to 1 
   
• SCS SB 1178 (White), modifying provisions relating to abortion, including the importation and distribution of drugs used to perform or induce abortions
  Do Pass by a vote of 5 to 2 
   
• SB 1037 (Thompson-Rehder), modifying provisions relating to naltrexone hydrochloride
  Do Pass by a vote of 7 to 0 
   
• SCS SB 1106 (Thompson-Rehder), modifying provisions relating to funding for housing programs
  Do Pass by a vote of 5 to 2 
   
• SCS SB 1045 (Schupp), relating to the duties of the Department of Health and Senior Services, with penalty provisions
  Do Pass by a vote of 5 to 1 
   
• SCS SB 843 (Moon), relating to gender transition procedures
  Do Pass by a vote of 5 to 2
   

HOUSE

The House Crime Prevention Committee met on March 28, 2022, and took action on the following legislation in executive session:

• HCS HB 1704 (Roberts), modifying the offense of making a false report
  Do Pass by a vote of 6 to 1.

Archived Video of Committee Hearing

The House General Laws Committee met on March 28, 2022, and held a public hearing on the following legislation:

• HB 1580 (Mayhew), requiring the Missouri State Highway Patrol to host a web page where the public can determine whether a serial number of a firearm has been reported stolen – Electronic Witness Forms
  Support: Susan Myers (Self)

The committee took action on the following legislation in executive session:

• HCS HB 2621 (Grier), establishing the labeling and qualifying of liquor as "Ozark Highland”
  Do Pass by a vote of 11 to 0 
   
• HCR 61 (Bayse), calling for an Article V convention for the purpose of amending the United States Constitution to establish term limits for members of Congress
  Do Pass by a vote of 7 to 5.
   
• HB 1610 (Sassmann), creating provisions relating to emergency suspensions or restrictions for massage therapists
  Do Pass by a vote of 10 to 2.

Archived Video of Committee Hearing

The House Public Safety Committee met on March 29, 2022, and held public hearings on the following:

SB 678 and SJR 38 were heard together.

• SB 678 (Luetkemeyer), modifying provisions relating to funding for the Kansas City Police Department – Electronic Witness Forms 
   
• SJR 38 (Luetkemeyer), modifying constitutional provisions relating to funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners – Electronic Witness Forms
  Support: Charles Arnold (Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners); Steve Young (Kansas City Police Department)
  Oppose: Shannon Cooper (City of Kansas City); Mallory Rusch (Empower Missouri) 
   
• HB 1640 (Seitz), modifying provisions relating to workers' compensation – Electronic Witness Forms 
   
• HB 1676 (Perkins), modifying the definition of first responder to include telecommunicator first responders – Electronic Witness Forms
  Support: JR Webb (Missouri Association of Public Safety Communications Officials); Jamie Taylor (National Emergency Number Association); Paul Jokerst (Manager, East County Dispatch Center); Scott Penman (Missouri 911 Service Board and Missouri 911 Directors Association) 
   
• HB 2432 (Roden), returning the control of the City of St. Louis Police Department back to the Board of Police Commissioners – Electronic Witness Forms
  Support: Jay Schroeder (St. Louis Police Officers Association); Jane Dueker (on behalf of an abuse victim); Tom Robbins (St. Louis County Police Association)
  Oppose: Dan Ison (Director of Public Safety, City of St. Louis); Mallory Rusch (Empower Missouri)
  For Informational Purposes: John Bardgett (St. Louis Police Retirement System)

The committee took action on the following legislation in executive session:

• HCS HB 2699 (Schnelting), requiring law enforcement agencies to submit missing person cases to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
  Do Pass by a vote of 10 to 0
   
• HB 1880 (Rusty Black), prohibiting the inhalation of certain substances
  Do Pass by a vote of 9 to 1 
   
• HCS HB 2054 (Roden), modifying provisions relating to qualifications for fire protection employees
  Do Pass by a vote of 10 to 0

Archived Video of Committee Hearing

The House Special Committee on Litigation Reform met on March 29, 2022, and held a public hearing on the following legislation:

• HB 2771 (Christofanelli), establishing the Consumer Legal Funding Model Act and the Civil Litigation Funding Act – Electronic Witness Forms
  Support: Rich Aubuchon (American Property Casualty Insurance Association & Missouri Civil Justice Reform Coalition); Eric Schuller (Alliance for Responsible Consumer Legal Funding); Richard Brownlee (State Farm Insurance Companies); Becky Lohmann (American Legal Finance Association)

Archived Video of Committee Hearing

The House Special Committee on Criminal Justice met on March 29, 2022, and held a public hearing on the following legislation:

• HB 2780 (Tolson Reisch), specifying that certain offenders found guilty of trafficking drugs shall be eligible for parole after serving ten years – Electronic Witness Forms
  For Informational Purposes: Adam Albach (Department of Corrections)

Archived Video of Committee Hearing

The House Judiciary Committee met on March 30, 2022, and held public hearings on the following legislation:

• HB 2517 (Riley), modifying provisions relating to workers' compensation administrative law judges and repeals the position of chief legal counsel – Electronic Witness Forms
  Support: Ben Terrell (Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations); Ray McCarty (Associated Industries of Missouri); Carol Mitchell (Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry)
  Oppose: Randy Alberhasky (Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys); Randy Scherr (Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers) 
   
• HB 1551 (Veit), modifying provisions relating to the compensation of jurors – Electronic Witness Forms
  Support: Randy Alberhasky (Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys); Patricia Churchill (Judicial Conference of Missouri) 
   
• HB 2660 (Veit), repealing and establishing provisions relating to alternative dispute resolution (Missouri Bar-Initiated Legislative Proposal) – Electronic Witness Forms
  Support: Sarah Read (The Missouri Bar)

The committee took action on the following legislation in executive session:

• HCS HB 2772 (Hannah Kelly), modifying provisions relating to prior sexual conduct of witnesses
  Do Pass by a vote of 10 to 0 
   
• HCS HB 1974 (Murphy), establishing a rebuttable presumption that child custody arrangements that award equal parenting time are in the best interest of the child
  Do Pass by a vote of 8 to 1 and 1 present 
   
• HB 1960 (Murphy), creating provisions relating to masking requirements
  Do pass 7 to 3 
   
• HCS HB 2423 (West), modifying and adding provisions relating to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit
  Do Pass by a vote of 10 to 0 
   
• HB 2781 (Evans), creating criminal penalties for certain offenses committed against a body of the General Assembly
  Do Pass by a vote of 7 to 2

Archived Video of Committee Hearing