From the desk of Senator David Pearce
On the evening of Friday, May 18, the gavel fell in the Missouri Senate, adjourning the body, and my colleagues and I left the Senate Chamber until veto session in mid-September, unless called upon by the governor to meet at another time.
We began this session with a number of goals that would benefit Missourians, such as passing a balanced budget without increasing taxes and making Missouri a more business-friendly state. While not every bill made it through the process to become law, we were successful in these two main goals. One day ahead of schedule, the General Assembly approved the budget and delivered it to the governor’s desk. We also passed legislation streamlining workers’ compensation laws to restore protections from lawsuits to co-workers for honest workplace accidents.
When the General Assembly passed the state’s budget for FY 2013, we were able to restore cuts made to higher education. As an additional bonus, we added $3 million to seven Missouri universities, including more than $580,000 to UCM.
A number of bills that I handled this session passed and will head to the governor’s desk to await his signature. Among them were measures creating a library of at least 25 courses transferable among public two- and four-year colleges in Missouri (HB 1042). This bill will help the Show-Me State’s students work toward a college degree with less difficulty by making the transfer process easier, as well as creates a reverse transfer procedure.
Another piece of major legislation passed this session was HB 1731, which provides for full funding and staffing to Missouri’s seven veterans’ homes through funds from the state’s Gaming Trust Fund. I am proud to be able to say this bill passed unanimously in the Senate. Another measure sent to the governor’s desk that is beneficial to the 31st Senatorial District is HB 1909, which extends the expiration date on the exemption on state and local taxes on jet fuel used by common carriers engaged in the intercontinental transportation of passengers and cargo. This will help our small, local airports.
Many of the bills passed during this legislative session will go into effect on Aug. 28, 2012, unless an emergency clause was passed with the bill, making it effective as soon as it is signed by the governor. You can see a list of bills that have been agreed to by the legislature by visiting www.senate.mo.gov and going to the “Legislation” tab and clicking on the Truly Agreed Bills link.
The time between legislative sessions, called the interim, is definitely not time-off of senatorial duties. I will be able to spend more time in the district. I will be continuing to bring these weekly Capitol Reports to you in order to keep in touch with the citizens of the 31st Senatorial District. Many of my colleagues and I will be busy preparing legislation for the upcoming session. Feel free to contact our Capitol office in Jefferson City, as it will remain open if you have any questions or concerns you would like to discuss.
As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.
Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.
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