More than one month has passed by since the end of the legislative session. To date, the governor has acted on nine of the 62 bills passed by the Missouri General Assembly:

HB 15, a supplemental budget bill for the 2023 fiscal year, adds more than $2 billion in critical funding to ensure the continued operations of state government through June 30, 2023, for a variety of vital programs, including K-12 education, public safety, higher education, transportation, health and mental health, among many others.

SB 51 will allow patients to have direct access to physical therapy by removing the requirement of getting a prescription or referral from an approved health care provider.

SB 39 will promote fairness in competition and opportunity for female student athletes by prohibiting a private school, public school district, public charter school, or public or private institution of postsecondary education from allowing any student to compete in an athletics competition designated for the opposite sex, as determined by the student’s official birth certificate.

SB 49 seeks to protect Missouri’s children from unnecessary and harmful sex change drugs and surgeries by banning health care providers from performing gender transition surgery on young people under the age of 18 and from prescribing or administering cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs to a minor for a gender transition.

HB 131 allows the salaries of state employees to be paid in biweekly installments, as designated by the Commissioner of the Office of Administration.

SB 111 also allows for biweekly payments for state employees and eliminates the Personnel Advisory Board and moves all of those duties and responsibilities to the Director of the Personnel Division and the Commissioner of Administration.

SB 25 exempts from a taxpayer’s Missouri adjusted gross income one hundred percent of any federal grant moneys received by the taxpayer for the purpose of providing or expanding access to broadband internet to areas of the state deemed to be lacking such access, to the extent such grant money is included in the taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income.

SB 167 specifies that medical examiner’s certificates for commercial driver’s licenses or instruction permits may be provided to the state by mail, fax, or E-mail, in addition to the means currently available.

SB 13 makes several changes relating to the regulation of certain financial institutions, making sure that the Division of Finance is in charge of the execution of the laws relating to banks, trust companies, and the banking business of the state.

More than 50 bills still await action from the Governor at this time.  The governor has until July 15, 2023, to sign bills.

Drought Conditions Ongoing, Missouri Offers Emergency Hay and Water Access

The ongoing drought conditions continue to worsen in the Show-Me State, which has led Governor Mike Parson to act on recommendations from the Missouri Drought Assessment Committee, announcing the availability and process for Missouri family farms to obtain emergency hay and water:

Boat ramps at 25 Missouri state parks will be open for farmers to collect water with almost 700 acres available for haying at 17 state parks.

Boat ramps at 36 Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) areas are also now open for water collection.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is offering special over-width hauling permits at no charge to help farmers and ranchers move hay.

“As drought conditions continue to deteriorate across Missouri, we want to do all we can to help our family farms mitigate the devastating effects of severe drought,” Governor Parson said. “With the current water deficit, we know it will take a lot of rain for our state and its agricultural community to recover from the drought. While our prayers for rain continue, state government will do its part to assist wherever and whenever it can.”

In an effort to address these drought conditions and how they are affecting farmers, farmers are now able to access water from state parks and Missouri Department of Conservation boat launches and access points in order to make sure their livestock gets the water needed. Farmers seeking to use this allowance must use their own pumping and hauling equipment, and should contact the Department of Conservation managers in their area prior to collecting water.

To address the need for hay, Missouri state parks will allow licenses to cut hay at no cost. To take part in this, please contact the park superintendents. Missouri State Parks will allow haying on or after June 25, and hay must be removed before Sept. 25.

In addition to the contracts already in place on some conservation areas across Missouri, other opportunities to cut hay on conservation areas might be available to assist farmers in need of hay to harvest. Anyone wanting to inquire about cutting hay on conservation areas should contact their local MDC regional office. Details for each of these regional offices can be found on MDC’s website at mdc.mo.gov/contact-engage/regional-mdc-offices.

“These drought relief opportunities for Missouri landowners are proactive measures to help our state prepare for and respond to the effects of drought,” Dru Buntin, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources said. “We will continue to monitor environmental impacts to public water supplies and plan for various drought scenarios to ensure we are prepared as conditions change.”

Catch the Lombardi Trophy in Jefferson City

The official pro football team of the Show-Me State is kicking off a summer tour of the Midwest to show off the Lombardi Trophy, and one of the first stops will be Missouri’s State Capitol. This is the first time that the Kansas City Chiefs have celebrated their Super Bowl victory regionally, and the first time the Lombardi Trophy will be showcased in the Capitol. For anyone looking to catch a glance and get their photo taken with the trophy, the tour hits the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City on June 27th and 28th. The trophy will be on display in the Rotunda on the first floor from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors will need to enter the Capitol through the main security entrance (south side) where they will then follow verbal and posted directions to the trophy viewing area.

Independence Day

The 143rd District Office will be closed July 3 & 4. If you need assistance, contact our office at 573-751-2264 or email us at bennie.cook@house.mo.gov.

Happy Independence Day, and may God bless us and the United States of America.