Week of August 30th, 2015
Things are becoming very busy,
even though we are in what is called the interim period. Much work is ongoing in preparation for Veto
Session. Veto Session will be held on
September 16th beginning at noon.
I have been receiving inquiries as to what exactly will be discussed for
override, I am not sure yet as this issue is still being decided. Both sides of the General Assembly, Senate
and House, are discussing at length the legislation that was vetoed by Governor
Nixon. Much discussion and debate is
happening on the pros and cons of each of these as well as the pros and cons of
an override or the attempt to override.
I will give a report after Veto Session as to what actions were taken
and the outcome of these actions. I do
not feel comfortable speculating about what will be brought up at Veto Session
as this is still being decided by the members of the General Assembly.
I will conduct the first meeting
regarding the challenges facing Long Term Care on September 8th at
the Capitol. I have been very busy the
past few weeks meeting with the many stakeholders of this issue including
senior citizens that are residents of Long Term Care facilities. If you have a concern in this area, please
email me with the full details of your concern, I will include your concern in
the discussion. This will not be an
issue that will be fixed overnight but I do feel that we have a great start
towards improving the care delivery system of Long Term Care.
I have also been working to
finalize preparation for legislation that I will file this next session.
Drafting of new bills will begin on October 1st. I have several pieces finished and ready to
go to draft as well as some still needing to completion of the preparation
work/research. I will be refiling the
Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act as well as 2 pieces of
legislation that I filed last session related to duplicative regulations for
long term care facilities. I will be
refiling the bill to form a committee to review the Schools for the Severely
Disabled’s regulations and requirements, my goal is to remove any duplicative
or unreasonable regulations to allow the schools to better meet the needs of
these special children.
As many of you are aware, I am
serving on the committee in the House that is investigating the questions
regarding Planned Parenthood and the possible sale of aborted baby organs and
tissue. I have been following closely
the Senate’s investigation as well as reviewing many documents and the videos
related to this matter. The further I
delve into this issue I am finding more questions and more complicated and
unclear processes and procedures. I hope
we will find the answers to these questions but more importantly I hope we will
be able to develop a plan of action that will make clear any areas that are
currently not clear to prevent any future occurrence or possibility of this
horrible sale from taking place in Missouri.
If the sale of baby organs and/or tissue is proven, action will be taken
as this would be in clear violation of Missouri State Law. I have received letters related to the
funding of Planned Parenthood, I will be honest, I am not sure total defunding can
occur as it is tied to many other Federal Funding sources with many rules and
regulations. We are researching into
this and working very hard to untangle the complications of the funding. We are all committee to ensuring Missouri Law
be followed and funding be done according to the law. I will work to see tax dollars go to
organizations that clearly follow the law as well as the related rules and
regulations.
