As we finish the last full week of January, House committees are busy with hearings and executive sessions, preparing bills for debate on the floor.
As of Jan. 24, legislators have …
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As we finish the last full week of January, House committees are busy with hearings and executive sessions, preparing bills for debate on the floor.
As of Jan. 24, legislators have drafted 2,327 bills.
Of those 2,327 bills drafted, 1,559 have been filed and are slowly progressing through the legislative progress. It is a coordinated effort to assign the bills to one of the 72 different committees. There are lots of gatekeepers, like committee chairmen and house leadership, along the way.
Bills are just now clearing some of the hurdles and are being debated on the floor.
This week, the House gave bipartisan approval to HB 1720, which will promote and support Missouri agriculture. The bill would extend tax credits that have supported projects in 103 counties and have generated direct and indirect benefits of more than $260 million since 2000.
This bill doesn’t just benefit Missouri farmers — it will benefit every Missourian who drives or eats.
We also gave initial approval to legislation that would improve opioid addiction treatment and prevention services. HB 2162 allows the General Assembly to send anticipated opioid settlement money to state agencies, allowing the state to improve opioid addiction treatment options.
Many constituents have reached out with questions regarding redistricting.
Right now, there are three different redistricting processes running at the same time, all in different stages of completion.
The House Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission unanimously approved a final state redistricting plan. The Senate Independent Bipartisan Citizen’s Commission failed to submit a tentative plan to the Secretary of State’s office by the Dec. 23 deadline.
As a result, the Missouri Senate maps will be drawn by a panel of appellate judges. Finally, the congressional redistricting map is still being debated in the state Senate.
I hope that some of my bills will start to move through the committee process in the coming weeks. I’ve filed bills to improve public safety, secure our elections, and support our rural public schools. I’m confident that my legislative agenda would benefit the Owensville and Belle communities, and I’m looking forward to a productive legislative session.
