This was another busy week in Jefferson City as bills cleared legislative hurdles, floor discussions ensued and the chief justice delivered the annual State of the Judiciary address.
In the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee I chair, we heard a proposal to strengthen the security of our elections. If approved by voters, Senate Joint Resolution 30 will enforce our state’s one person, one vote system, require paper ballots and prior testing of mechanical equipment and prohibit ranked choice voting in Missouri. The committee also voted to pass two proposals which now await floor discussion. Senate Bill 44 enables local election authorities to maintain current voter rolls and omit outdated, inactive registrations, and Senate Bill 96 requires a two-thirds majority vote for municipalities to adopt a community improvement district ordinance or propose a transportation development district project.
In floor activity this week, the Senate perfected Senate Bills 4, 42 & 98, a combined measure to establish the Parents Bill of Rights Act of 2023 and a Missouri Education Transparency and Accountability Portal for parents to weigh in and monitor what their child is learning in school. This bill also bans schools and educators from teaching topics that could potentially make a student bear collective guilt or feel responsible for past actions. My proposal to extend MO HealthNet benefits to postpartum women has been reported from committee and will hopefully be debated by the body soon.
On Feb. 8, we gathered in the House chamber for a joint session to listen to the annual State of the Judiciary address. In his delivery, the chief justice praised Missourians’ trust in the court system, boasted about our work with transitional reentry programs and explained how Missouri’s courts resolve nearly 750,000 disputes each year, mostly in local circuit courts. He ended the speech by asking God to bless Missouri and “Patrick Mahomes’ right ankle!”
Although my family is loyal Rams fans, I enjoy watching the Chiefs and admire their sheer talent. I wholeheartedly extend my best to the players, coaches and all of Chiefs Kingdom as they prepare for the Super Bowl and fight to bring home another Lombardi Trophy.