Blog Layout

WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 03/11/2024

Mar 10, 2024

The Mood at the Capitol

After a very rough start, the Missouri Senate is working more or less normally. Senator O’Laughlin, the Majority Floor Leader, has found ways to avoid unnecessary conflict or to end the day when things get too personal or combative. The tentative peace means that a group of relatively non-controversial measures were passed out of the Senate in the last 10 days or so. The House continues to work through the list of bills that have been passed out of Committee at a regular pace. Unfortunately, they have not started sending budget bills to the Floor yet. The traditional thought is that the House should have the budget to the floor before Spring Break begins. This will not happen this year as the bills have not officially had hearings yet. Over the next week, we can expect the House to work less on the floor as they allow the Budget Committee to meet to go over the bills, make amendments, and eventually vote them out of Committee.

student organization discrimination

The bill that allows student organizations in colleges and universities to illegally discriminate in their bylaws, membership, and other activities, HB 1518, has now passed the House and has been introduced in the Senate. It will still have to go through the committee process before it can be debated on the Senate floor. As of the time of writing this report the bill has not been referred to committee yet. Please keep an eye out for any alerts from Olivia or Rod regarding a committee hearing on this bill. Now would be a good time to contact your Senator and let them know to oppose this bill.

voting rights

The attempt to restrict the citizen initiative petition process, SJR 74, is now scheduled for a hearing in the House Elections and Elected Officials on Tuesday, March 12th at Noon. As it stands, the only part of the bill that remains from its original form is the concurrent congressional jurisdictions. We are asking everyone to come down and testify in person against this attack on our constitutional rights. If you are unable to travel to Jefferson City, you can submit your testimony online as the House does accept online testimony. This is our best chance to stop this bill from passing so we are encouraging everyone to help stop this attack on majority rule. Please coordinate with Connor Luebbert if you would like to come testify against this bill.

On Monday, March 11th at 2:00pm, the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee will be hearing SB 1120. This bill would reinstate the presidential preference primary elections that were stripped out in HB 1878 from 2022. It would return them to the first Tuesday in March every year there is a presidential election. Our allies with the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition are in support of this legislation. The Republican Caucuses, which were held earlier this month, were a disaster of confusion. The Democratic Party is attempting to hold a vote to determine the Missouri Democratic Presidential preference, but that system is causing confusion as well. In order for the highest number of Missouri voters to participate and have their voice heard, we need a standard and well-run system. Going back to a State-Run Primary is the best way.

criminal justice

The comprehensive crime bills, HB1659 and SB754, are still moving through the process. The bills both attempt to re-pass provisions from last year’s vetoed comprehensive crime bill, SB189 (2023). The bills are slightly different, but both contain more good than bad provisions. HB1659 has been referred to Senate Judiciary and is likely to have a hearing as soon as we return from Spring Break on March 25. SB754 has been sent to the House and will also likely have a hearing as soon as it is eligible. The team at JAG is putting together

The comprehensive corrections bill, HB1777, was brought up briefly last week but hasn’t finished the Perfection process yet. The list of amendments that are eligible to be put on the bill are available in the “Bill Documents” section of the bill page. The JAG team worked with the Public Defenders, the private defense attorneys, and the Department of Corrections to get the language on Good Time Credit cleaned up. The language will now require the Department (not the individual wardens) to calculate the amount of credits that the offender earned off their sentence and apply it to the entire sentence length. This means that every date calculated off that sentence will also be moved up. So parole hearings would happen earlier, as would the conditional release date and any other date that is calculated off the entire sentence. The number of days earned will vary with each program based on length of the program, but will range between 5 and 360 days with a maximum of 90 days in a year. This is more than what is currently in the Missouri Code of State Regulations for Good Time Credit. Getting this language right has been difficult, but it’s important to make sure any change in the statute is better than the current policy.

upcoming hearings

03/11/2024 1:30 PM Senate-Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

SB951 Establishes the penalty of death for certain sexual offenses
Sen. Mike Moon (R)
SB1372 Creates new provisions relating to illegal immigrants
Sen. Bill Eigel (R)
SB1468 Modifies provisions relating to the condemnation of property
Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R)

03/11/2024 2:00 PM Senate-Local Government and Elections Committee

SB1045 Modifies provisions relating to street light maintenance districts
Sen. Angela Mosley (D)
SB1120 Reinstates the Presidential Preference Primary Election
Sen. Jill Carter (R)
SB1389 Modifies the compensation of circuit clerks
Sen. Sandy Crawford (R)
SJR84 Exempts certain disabled veterans from property taxes
Sen. Angela Mosley (D)

03/12/2024 8:00 AM Senate-Select Committee on Empowering Missouri Parents and Children Committee

SB882 Modifies the required school year start date for school districts in which a charter school operates
Sen. Greg Razer (D)
SB1056 Increases the maximum gross income for eligibility for the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant
Sen. Rusty Black (R)
SB1153 Requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to conduct safety assessments of all public schools in the state
Sen. Angela Mosley (D)
SB1203 Establishes provisions relating to transparency of school staff straining, instructional, and curricular materials
Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R)
SB1208 Provides that the State Board of Education shall cause its annual report to be published on the website of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Sen. Andrew Koenig (R)

03/12/2024 12:00 PM House-Elections and Elected Officials Committee

SJR74 Modifies provisions relating to constitutional amendments
Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R)

calls to action

Attend the MADP Lobby Day on March 12th
Lobby day- bit.ly/MADPLobbyDay2024
Please send stories of unacceptable conditions inside of correctional facilities.
Let Olivia Pener or Sandy Jiles know if there is a week between now and May 17th you are willing to be on call to come to the Capitol on short notice.
If you have any questions about any of the legislation mentioned here or the legislative program generally, please contact President Chapel or Olivia Pener.

Tracking List

https://govwatch.net/report/M6q8o0GrzR

*This list is continually updated and improved. If you have questions, please contact Sharon Geuea Jones at sharon@jonesadvocacy.com.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

RECENT ARTICLES

Successful First Weekend for Cape Girardeau NAACP Canvassing Team

By Pat McBride, President - Cape Girardeau 4048 • 09 May, 2024

This year the Cape Girardeau Branch is focused on voter registration. We have formed The Cape Girardeau Branch NAACP Canvassing Team, which consist of students from Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO). The students have registered more than two-hundred students on campus this school year, and are now working with me to register voters off-campus. They have named themselves the "SEMO Democrats." We have received donations from a variety of sources to support the students' efforts. Prior to canvassing the South Cape Community, the team received training from the Cape Girardeau County Clerk office and me. We wanted them to clearly understand that the NAACP Canvassing team is nonpartisan, what the requirements of the law for registrars currently is, and how to properly make sure only eligible voters are registering through us. We are serving people and not a particular party or agenda - other than the importance of voter participation. Within two hours, we knocked on fifty-three doors. We held several impromptu conversations on the street. We registered one convicted felon who recently regained their eligibility but wasn't aware. We met one person who did not want to complete voter registration. I will re-visit this door. The team also had the opportunity to canvass a community event who provided our hard working students food. I have been canvassing and working as a Cape Girardeau Election Officer since I retired from the State of Missouri in 2015 and have canvassed for voter registration since that time. I have learned that there is much need for voter registration and education activities in the South Cape community. We have families who are not registered to vote; ones who are registered but do not vote; some who need a voter registration record update ; and finally, many who have been on probation in the past and do not realize they are eligible to vote. I am proud of our students and our branch for making this project a priority. We plan to canvass weekly on Saturday (weather permitting) through October 2024. I will provide updates on our registration progress as we work to make sure every eligible voter in our area has a chance to register. We really appreciate the support of the MO State Conference of the NAACP!