View from the 24th Story
A Message from Representative Chris Kelly
Volume 7, February 2010
Despite first day of session rhetoric, I’d certainly like to see more real bipartisan cooperation. Some members of the House––fueled by national polling and party talking points––are more concerned with fanning the fears of constituents than in legislating responsibly. They extol the horrors of Debt (with a capital "D") rather than taking advantage of historically low interest rates to put Missourians back to work and invest in our higher education institutions. I will continue to do everything I can to bring the Bond Issue to a vote, but you need to do your part. Talk to friends and neighbors. Point out the advantages of passing a FifthState Bond Issue now, when we need it most. As you'll read in the article below, note that the bond issue will not raise taxes; it will use the same revenue stream as the ThirdState Bond Issue is paid off. If passed, it could currently take advantage of an effective 3.46% interest rate.
-- Chris
Read the bills I have sponsored this session below. You can follow their ongoing progress at any point by clicking on the highlighted blue bill number.
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Keep in Mind That... Co-sponsorship of a bill does not necessarily mean that I am in total support of the bill as written, but it does give me the opportunity to make the bill better.
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Missouri House of Representatives
2010
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Legislation Sponsored by Rep. Chris Kelly
SPONSOR
HB1557
Authorizes the City of Ashland to impose, upon voter approval, a transient guest tax for the promotion of tourism HB1557 -- (LR# 4224L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1893
Changes the laws regarding the distribution of gaming funds for early childhood education and veterans' programs HB1893 -- (LR# 3899L.02I)
VETERANS
Public Hearing Completed (H)
HB2070
Provides for using tax revenues from taxes levied for joint central fire and emergency dispatching services HB2070 -- (LR# 4962L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB2080
Provides information regarding immunization for the human papilloma virus HB2080 -- (LR# 4931L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HCR35
Submits to Congress a proposed federal balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution HCS HCR 34 & 35 -- (LR# 4497L.02P)
Reported to the Senate and First Read (S)
HJR77
Proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing the General Assembly to issue bonds to fund higher education improvements, construction, landscaping, and land purchases HJR77 -- (LR# 3786L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
COSPONSOR
HB1255
Increases the limit in small claims court from $3,000 to $5,000 HB1255 -- (LR# 3477L.01I)
Referred: Small Business (H)
HB1294
Changes the laws regarding bingo and repeals the two-tenths of one cent tax on each bingo card HB1294 -- (LR# 3763L.02I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1341
Establishes provisions regarding the diagnosis and treatment of pervasive developmental disorders HCS HB 1311 & 1341 -- (LR# 3679L.03C)
Rules - Reported Do Pass (H)
HB1352
Increases the period of time a concealed carry endorsement is valid from three years to five years from the date of issuance or renewal HB1352 -- (LR# 3603L.01I)
Referred: Agri-Business (H)
HB1500
Changes the laws regarding ethics and lobbying HB1500 -- (LR# 4206L.01I)
SPECIAL STANDING COMMITTEE ON GOV ACCOUNTABILITY & ETHICS REFORM
Public Hearing Completed (H)
HB1508
Changes the laws regarding unsecured loans of $500 or less, commonly known as payday loans HB1508 -- (LR# 3920L.02I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1509
Prohibits unsecured loans of $500 or less, commonly known as payday loans, from being facilitated, encouraged, solicited, advertised, or provided on nursing home or residential care facility property HB1509 -- (LR# 3742L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1518
Changes the membership of the Missouri Housing Development Commission HB1518 -- (LR# 4249L.01I)
Referred: Spec Stand Com on Gov. Account. & Ethics Reform
HB1531
Removes the requirement that municipalities must hold an election in nonpartisan elections when there are the same number of candidates as open offices HB1531 -- (LR# 3639L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1589
Increases the threshold amount required for a county to obtain bids on purchases HB1589 -- (LR# 4254L.01I)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Public Hearing Completed (H)
HB1590
Authorizes compensation to the county counselor in Boone County for duties relating to mental health and mental health facilities HB1590 -- (LR# 4253L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1591
Authorizes the counties of Andrew and Buchanan to enact nuisance abatement ordinances and adds certain conditions for which county governing bodies may enact nuisance abatement ordinances HB1591 -- (LR# 4251L.01I)
CRIME PREVENTION
Public Hearing Completed (H)
HB1592
Authorizes Boone County to establish minimum occupancy standards for residential rental property and a procedure for licensing and inspecting them HB1592 -- (LR# 4252L.01I)
Referred: Local Government (H)
HB1593
Specifies how each parcel of property in a neighborhood improvement district will be assessed if a single parcel is divided within five years of the costs of the improvement's assessment HB1593 -- (LR# 4250L.01I)
Referred: Local Government (H)
HB1594
Authorizes counties to use ballot language which indicates that a tax is an extension of an existing tax and not a new tax HB1594 -- (LR# 4255L.01I)
Referred: Local Government (H)
HB1628
Establishes the Metropolitan District Dropout Prevention Program to provide grants to the St. Louis Public School District HB1628 -- (LR# 3970L.01I)
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
Public Hearing Completed (H)
HB1629
Establishes the Governor's Dropout Advisory Commission HB1629 -- (LR# 3971L.01I)
Referred: Elementary and Secondary Education (H)
HB1666
Establishes Cary's Law which requires all intoxication-related traffic arrests and any action taken by the prosecutor on these arrests to be entered into the State Highway Patrol's DWI Tracking System (DWITS) HB1666 -- (LR# 4160L.01I)
Referred: Crime Prevention (H)
HB1667
Establishes requirements for environmentally sustainable construction for certain state-funded buildings HB1667 -- (LR# 3283L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1668
Changes the designation of a portion of U. S. Highway 160 in Greene County from the "Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Memorial Highway" to the "Simon Wiesenthal Memorial Highway" HB1668 -- (LR# 3850L.02I)
TRANSPORTATION
Public Hearing Completed (H)
HB1670
Changes the laws regarding the classification of marijuana as a controlled substance and allows the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes under certain conditions HB1670 -- (LR# 3254L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1675
Establishes the Manufacturing Jobs Act which provides incentives for qualified suppliers or manufacturing facilities that create or retain Missouri jobs HCS HB 1675 -- (LR# 4083L.03C)
Referred: Rules - Pursuant to Rule 25(32)(f) (H)
HB1683
Establishes the Commission on the Death Penalty and places a moratorium on all executions until January 1, 2013 HB1683 -- (LR# 4288L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1727
Changes the laws regarding ethics, lobbying, and campaign contributions HB1727 -- (LR# 4291L.02I)
SPECIAL STANDING COMMITTEE ON GOV ACCOUNTABILITY & ETHICS REFORM
Public Hearing Completed (H)
HB1742
Changes the laws regarding driving while intoxicated HB1742 -- (LR# 4578L.02I)
Referred: Crime Prevention (H)
HB1743
Changes the laws regarding driving while intoxicated HB1743 -- (LR# 4606L.01I)
Referred: Crime Prevention (H)
HB1757
Requires the Board of Probation and Parole to make periodic reviews of certain convicted offenders serving sentences of 50 years or life without the possibility of parole HB1757 -- (LR# 4376L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1773
Allows the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint a student to the University of Missouri Board of Curators HB1773 -- (LR# 4245L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1794
Creates the School Safety and School Violence Prevention Fund HB1794 -- (LR# 4640L.01I)
Withdrawn (H)
HB1795
Changes the laws regarding members of the Civil Air Patrol who participate in emergency services or counter narcotics missions HB1795 -- (LR# 4593L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1798
Makes enrollment in the state employee deferred compensation program automatic for certain new employees HB1798 -- (LR# 4567L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1811
Prohibits the Department of Revenue from releasing certain information contained in the motor vehicle or driver registration records HB1811 -- (LR# 4132L.03I)
JUDICIARY
Public Hearing Completed (H)
HB1812
Changes the amounts of financial assistance awards from the Access Missouri Financial Assistance Program HB1812 -- (LR# 4547L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1828
Modifies laws relating to driving while intoxicated HB1828 -- (LR# 4174L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1834
Expands the No-call List to include cell phone numbers, prohibits sending unsolicited faxes and text messages, and prohibits using automatic dialing announcing devices in certain situations HB1834 -- (LR# 4504L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1835
Allows senior citizens 62 years of age or older to defer paying property taxes on their residences under certain conditions HB1835 -- (LR# 3820L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1837
Revises the definition of "public governmental body" as it relates to the Open Meetings and Records Law, commonly known as the Sunshine Law, to include certain public officials and state employees HB1837 -- (LR# 3819L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1839
Allows any registered voter who is eligible to vote in a particular election to do so by absentee ballot without being required to state a reason HB1839 -- (LR# 3824L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1846
Changes the laws regarding ethics, lobbying, and campaign contributions HB1846 -- (LR# 4760L.01I)
SPECIAL STANDING COMMITTEE ON GOV ACCOUNTABILITY & ETHICS REFORM
Public Hearing Completed (H)
HB1848
Creates the Urban Farming Task Force to study and make recommendations regarding the impact of urban cooperatives, verticale farming, and sustainable living communities in Missouri HB1848 -- (LR# 4556L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1854
Creates the School Safety and School Violence Prevention Fund HB1854 -- (LR# 4738L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1877
Requires the driver and each front-seat passenger in cars and trucks to wear a safety belt with certain exceptions HB1877 -- (LR# 4638L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1912
Repeals multiple versions of state statutes HB1912 -- (LR# 4572L.01I)
Referred: Special Standing Committee on General Laws (H)
HB1914
Establishes the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies (CARE) Act which allows hospitals and health care facilities to provide emergency contraception to sexual assault victims HB1914 -- (LR# 3486L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1919
Authorizes an income tax credit for donations to a Missouri university's capital improvements fund for the university's nursing or allied health professions programs HB1919 -- (LR# 3841L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1957
Changes the requirements for information recorded in MULES regarding ex parte orders of protection HB1957 -- (LR# 4118L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1961
Relates to the duty of pharmacies to fill prescriptions HB1961 -- (LR# 4623L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1962
Requires equal pay for the same work regardless of gender and establishes a commission to study wage disparities HB1962 -- (LR# 4615L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB1965
Repeals obslete and ineffective statutes as recommended by the state departments HB1965 -- (LR# 4654L.01I)
Referred: Special Standing Committee on General Laws (H)
HB1999
Specifies that if Missouri loses a Congressional district following the 2010 redistricting, the ninth member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators will be a student curator with voting right HB1999 -- (LR# 3892L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB2026
Modifies provisions relating to enhanced enterprise zones HB2026 -- (LR# 4908L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB2084
Establishes the Toxic Fire Retardant Prevention Act HB2084 -- (LR# 4724L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB2088
Lowers the age to obtain a concealed carry endorsement from twenty-three to twenty-one years HB2088 -- (LR# 3925L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HB2089
Increases the time period a concealed carry endorsement is valid from three years to five years HB2089 -- (LR# 3926L.01I)
Read Second Time (H)
HCR41
Urges Congress to designate the Liberty Memorial at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City as the National World War I Memorial HCR41 -- (LR# 4596L.01I)
Offered (H)
HJR56
Proposes a constitutional amendment replacing the individual and corporate income tax and sales and use tax with a fair sales tax on retail sales of new tangible property and taxable services HJR56 -- (LR# 3038L.02I)
Referred: Ways and Means (H)
Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated February 10, 2010 at 7:05 pm
If you have been following my activities in the Legislature and reading my newsletter, I’m sure you have already seen some version of this article. The bond issue will help higher education throughout the state and put thousands of Missourians to work on long-needed projects. In Columbia, the bond issue will mean a new Ellis Fischel Hospital and a new Engineering building, both of which will result in high-paying construction jobs on the projects and high-paying professional jobs upon completion. Passing the bond issue is the single most important thing that I can do this year, but its fate may very well rest in the decision this week by the Republican Caucus in the House. Their vote––on whether or not to let the issue go to a full vote in the House––could make the difference between proceeding to passage in the legislature and moving forward to a vote of the people or being stopped dead in its tracks.
In early January, the Missouri Budget Project released the "Missouri General Revenue Report for Fiscal Year 2010". In it, Tom Kruckemeyer, Director of Fiscal Policy and Chief Economist with the non-partisan Budget Project, points out that Missouri general revenue collections, after refunds, declined 21.7 percent in December. That resulted in a 10.6 percent overall decline for the first six months of fiscal year 2010. Comparatively, net general revenue collections declined 6.9% for all of FY2009.
Please scan the full report below. Keep in mind that Missouri has only been able to avoid even more catastrophic cuts in services as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the influx of billions of federal stimulus money into the state. This federal assistance cannot continue indefinitely. It has postponed what some predict as even worse financial circumstances for the state in 2011.
Read The Full Missouri Budget Project Report Here
Current economic realities dictate that taxes cannot be raised. However, there will be a point of realization when our balanced budget requires the elimination of the state services that we have come to expect. Continuing to push costs to our colleges and universities, our elementary and secondary schools, our cities and towns, or the private sector is no solution. Please read the following poll questions and let me know how you think Missouri ought to deal with its fiscal difficulties.
Each of us will have an opinion, but I urge you to thoughtfully consider the full implications of what you would cut
and then respond to my poll question or let me know directly.
Rep. Kelly Honored by Missouri Association of Veterans OrganizationsRead the Press Release
MAVO represents a coalition of twenty-two statewide, chartered veterans’ organizations in Missouri and, through those organizations, represents 149,000 members and nearly 590,000 veterans.
Learn more about MAVO's legislative priorities
My current committee assignments this session include:
- Budget
- Elections
- Ethics
- Judiciary
- Joint Committee on Capital Improvements & Leases Oversight
- Joint Committee on MO Health Net
- Joint Committee on Oversight of Federal Stimulus & Stabilization Funds
- Special Standing Committee on Emerging Issues in Animal Agriculture
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Want to know the responsibility of each committee? Read more here
In lieu of Office Hours this month, please plan to join me at the Legislative Roundtable sponsored by the Missouri State and Southern Boone PTA, Wednesday, February 17 from 7 to 8 p.m. at Southern Boone Elementary School, 809 S. Henry Clay Blvd. in Ashland.
As always, keep your questions and your opinions coming.
I read every email!
It's your government. Get involved!
Sincerely, Chris Kelly
chris@chriskelly24.com
Email your thoughts to chris@chriskelly24.com