Signing Bills, Enacting Laws

From the desk of Senator David Pearce

With the legislative session behind us, the bills passed by the General Assembly have been delivered to the governor’s desk to await his signature. Many pieces of legislation will receive consideration between now and the constitutional deadline of 45 days after the official close of the General Assembly. This year that day falls on July 14. If the governor chooses not to take action on a truly agreed bill delivered to him, then that bill will simply take effect on the listed date without the governor’s signature.

Since the conclusion of the 2012 legislative session on May 18, five bills have been signed, and most have contained an emergency clause. An emergency clause is put into place when lawmakers believe that the content is important enough to enact the law immediately upon signing instead of waiting until Aug. 28 of the year the bill was passed.

There have been two bills signed that are important to the 31st District. House Bill 1731 provides for the full funding of Missouri’s seven veterans’ homes and five veterans’ cemeteries by reallocating funds from the Missouri Gaming Commission to the Missouri Veterans Commission and the Veterans’ Commission Capital Improvement Trust Fund. Another bill already signed into law that will take effect Aug. 28 is House Bill 1042. I had the honor of ushering this legislation through the Senate, is a higher education bill that creates a library of 25 core classes that will transfer to all public two- and four-year institutions. The bill also develops a reverse transfer policy, stating that someone who has credits from a two-year school before they attend a four-year school can take the combined credits back to the two-year institution and graduate with an associate’s degree. It also requires the study of best remediation practices from around the country and implementation of those procedures in Missouri. I was honored to be able to participate via conference call in the bill signing ceremony for this bill. I was attending the Midwestern Higher Education Compact meeting in South Dakota at the time and was thrilled the governor allowed Rep. Mike Thomson, R-Maryville, and me to take part in the event.

Most recently signed, House Bill 1549 adds cell phones to Missouri’s No-Call list to protect citizens’ privacy. Senate Bill 450, signed in April during session, modifies the length of terms for school board members in certain school districts that became urban school districts due to the 2010 census. Senate Bill 498 prohibits cities from restricting specific organizations from operating re-sale shops in certain areas.Senate Bill 835 updates the classifications of some fireworks to mirror federal regulations.

The next few weeks will be busy with bill signings prior to the July 14 deadline. As more measures receive the governor’s approval, I will keep you updated.

To review all the legislation that passed the General Assembly, please visit www.senate.mo.gov and click on the “Truly Agreed Bills” link under the “Legislation” tab.

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.