House Approves Bills to Protect Missourians from Burdensome Vaccine Mandates (HB 1686 and HB 2358 & 1485)
We gave first-round approval to two bills designed to protect Missourians from mandates that would take away their right to decide whether to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
HB 1686 makes it clear that public entities such as government agencies and public schools cannot require a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment. It also prohibits fines or other penalties based on an individual’s vaccination status. Additionally, it reaffirms an employee’s right to raise a religious objection to receive a vaccination.
This bill doesn’t prevent anybody from receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. It doesn’t prevent businesses from having a COVID-19 vaccination requirement. It simply forbids government mandates with certain exceptions and gives clarity to our businesses on how they offer those religious and medical exemptions for their employees.
I think it meets the needs of both sides. it says that employers have a right to ask what they want from their employees to do what they think is safe, but it also respects the rights of the employees – their religious rights and their freedoms.
The House also approved HB 2358 & 1485 to clearly affirm the right of an employee to receive an exemption from a COVID-19 vaccine requirement if the employee requests one based on certain sincerely held beliefs.
It also ensures an employee who is injured, disabled, or killed due to an employer-required COVID-19 vaccination would be compensated. The bill would treat the injuries resulting from the vaccine as an occupational disease.
Both bills now require another vote in the House before moving to the Senate for consideration.
House Gives Initial Approval to Medicaid Reform Constitutional Amendment (HJR 117)
The Missouri House wants voters to decide if key reforms should be enacted for the state’s growing Medicaid program. We gave first-round approval to a proposed constitutional amendment that would make four key changes to the program if voters agree.
First, it would put in place some measures to reform our state’s Medicaid program, which we widely agree is badly in need. Medicaid is a “multi-billion dollar program that has grown exponentially in recent years and is encroaching on our other budget priorities and is currently 40%, approximately, of the state budget. This would enable us to manage it better and pose the question to the Missouri people if they’d like to approve it.
Second, our interpretation of the Supreme Court decision around Medicaid expansion from last year is that we have the expansion population coupled with the mandatory population, which is, as a whole, subject to appropriation. If we could uncouple those two parts of the program and appropriate for them independently. I think that could be very important in future years if potentially Medicaid becomes prohibitively expensive and encroaches upon other priorities within our state budget.
Third, we would propose a work and community engagement requirement be put in place for Medicaid recipients ages 19 to 64. They would be required to work at least 80 hours each month, or participate in education, job skills training, community service, or other alternatives as directed by our Department of Social Services.
Our final component of HJR 117 would ensure Missouri’s Medicaid benefits are provided only to residents of the state.
Missouri is subsidizing the other states’ Medicaid programs. If you have a Medicaid recipient from Illinois or say Kansas, that comes to Missouri, that service provider is being paid by that respective state’s Medicaid program, and additionally, Missouri is adding to that payment and subsidizing those other states’ Medicaid programs.
I found out this week, Missouri is the only state in the nation that provides the Medicaid extra payment. Our Medicaid program should only be available to those who are actually Missouri residents.
The proposed constitutional amendment requires another vote in the House before moving to the Senate. If HJR117 passes the General Assembly and is signed by the Governor then Missourians will vote on these proposed changes.
House Approves Missouri Religious Freedom Protection Act (HB 1713)
Missourians would have their right to gather for religious services further protected under a bill given first-round approval by the Missouri House of Representatives. We approved the Missouri Religious Freedom Protection Act, which is in part a response to the closures of places of worship that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We need to ensure that government entities in this state cannot close our places of worship. Let’s make sure some of the things we saw take place over the past couple of years across the country never take place again in our state.
Under the bill, no public official could issue an order that has the effect of limiting or prohibiting a religious group or place of worship from holding religious services or meetings.
Our places of worship operate in a very unique space in this state. We in government should not close them down and that’s what this bill does.
The bill now requires another vote in the House before moving to the Senate.
If you have any questions regarding any state matters or legislation, please don’t hesitate to contact email me at Rick.Francis@house.mo.gov or call 573-751-5912.
If you would like to sign up for my capital report following this link: https://house.mo.gov/CapitolReport.aspx?district=145.