With the legislative session taking a week-long hiatus for spring break, we sat down with five of the new freshmen legislators to discuss their perspectives after working in the Capitol for the first half of session.
The third piece in this Q&A series features five questions with Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon.
The Missouri Times: We’ve seen a lot of strong conservative legislation pushed forward by the House this session, with a number of contentious items from labor reform to torts. What are your thoughts on what has been accomplished so far, and what are some of the major items you’d like to see addressed when the legislature returns from Spring Break?
Rep. Nick Schroer: My thoughts on what has been accomplished thus far… what we’ve done is kind of a reflection of what happened back in November of last year. We had people running on labor reform, tort reform, and those people got elected. It’s not a surprise to me that those were some of the top items that we went through immediately in this session. As an attorney, I can be split on certain aspects of tort reform, but I think what we have passed has been debated and fought back and forth by both sides, and I think what has turned out is a good representation of the move that we need to go toward. The tort reform that has occurred is something that I can support because I think it is common sense tort reform. It’s not something that’s being shoved down the throats of Missourians. It’s something that has been debated and leadership has listened to both sides on it.
What I’d like to see addressed when we come back from spring break… I’d like to see some other aspects of tort reform. I know we’ve discussed mitigating factors opposed to contributing factors. I’d like to see some aspects of our laws amended with contributing factor being included as opposed to the latter.
I’d also like to see some more, criminal justice reform, some more juvenile justice reform, such as HB 274, which had a great deal of support a couple weeks back during a hearing. I’d like to see that brought to the House floor, but other than that, we’re moving quick and I like the pace we’re going at.
TMT: You’ve been a strong advocate for gun rights, and are one of the legislators who has filed bills concerning those some of those rights, HB 96, to be specific. Where is that legislation currently at, and do you think we’ll see it coming up? How safe are Missouri’s second amendment rights right now?
Schroer: HB 96 was referred to the General Laws Committee, which I sit on, and was referred to a subcommittee on Second Amendment issues. [Editor’s note: That bill was supposed to be brought up during a committee hearing, but they ran out of time. Schroer says he believes that it will be one of the first things brought up when they return to session.] I know that it’s got good support, and also has people on the other side of it. I just want to have a conversation on that aspect of it and open people’s eyes to what the law currently is as far as permits, liability and gun-free zones.
I think that Missouri Second Amendment rights are strong right now. However, we still have issues as far as campus carry, we have gun-free zones, and we have a bunch of areas that still need to be addressed because people are still being stripped of their Second Amendment rights. I know a gentleman who was 17 and was charged as an adult in 1996, had a suspended impending sentence, took the conviction, pled guilty and got probation for five years, and the conviction fell off after five years. Several years later, he went to go buy a gun and was told that it was still on his record, even thought the conviction was supposed to fall off. I know that the legislature had addressed some of the issues in the past, but I guess the FBI doesn’t correlate with state law, so there’s still some issues that have to be addressed. But I would say that, overall, Second Amendment rights in the state of Missouri are pretty sound right now.
TMT: Rep. Joshua Peters filed a bill that would designate the .44-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver as the official state hand gun of Missouri. Would you support that, or is there a different handgun you would have in mind?
Schroer: For starters, I think legislation like this is a little superfluous. I think we spend too much time when the taxpayers are paying us to do a job down here to make the state more free and better for our constituents. We’re spending time on the state dog and the state bird, and superfluous things like that. However, if this legislation were to come up, I would file an amendment to make it a .44 mag [magnum], rather than just a .44 caliber. If we’re going to go that route and have a state gun, then why not the .44 mag? If it was a .44 mag, the Dirty Harry style gun, which I believe it is, maybe I would support it, but I can’t commit right now.
TMT: You’ve spent plenty of time learning about criminal justice and serving as an attorney, and that has helped you in your work on HB 274. You’ve argued that raising the age for juveniles would not only be good for the state’s youth but the budget as well. But why is this bill so important to you? What drove you to take up this cause?
Schroer: Growing up in Ferguson, Mo., I had a lot of friends and some family that made mistakes that led to some of them being prosecuted. I saw the pros and cons of our court systems and learned more about them when I was an undergrad majoring in criminology and criminal justice. When I went law school, I learned even more and spent time with the public defender as an intern during my second year. I also spent time as a criminal defense attorney after I got out of law school. I defended many juveniles who were tried in juvenile court and spent much time defending juveniles who were actually tried as adults, because of this issue in our law, which allows for the state to charge 17-year-olds as adults, even though under other aspects of the law they’re juveniles. I saw that something needed to be done, and looked at what my previous state rep did on the Raise the Age movement, and took it on myself. I studied a lot of the states who have implemented it, and it’s working for them. It’s keeping crime down, strengthening their labor base, and made a lot of money for the state by keeping taxpayer money in the pockets of taxpayers.
As a father, having a child who is on two-and-a-half years old and nieces and nephews who are going to be brought up in a world where it is possible that if they make a mistake at 17, they could be tried as an adult. I think it’s my duty as a father and a state representative to try to not only have a discussion about this but to change it.
TMT: You’re now roughly three months into your first term as a legislator. What, in your opinion, is the hardest thing you’ve had to deal with as a legislator so far, and what has been your best memory so far?
Schroer: I would say one of my best memories is probably passing HR 403, which urges the U.S. Senate to confirm Judge [Neil] Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. That was something that I really wanted to take the lead on, and as an attorney, I definitely want judges who will rule on the what the law is, rather than what they want the law to be pursuant to their political positions. And even as an advocate for criminal justice reform, I want the same thing. I want defendants, when they are charged with a crime, to know exactly what the law is rather than going into court and being surprised when the judges legislate from the benches. That was probably my favorite memory thus far in my short legislative career.
The hardest thing that I’ve had to deal with is just certain issues are brought up, the timeliness of them being brought up. I understand that other legislators in the past have said they have never seen the legislature move this quick. But for me, I want to stay on top of things the entire time I’m down here. I don’t think my time is effective by coming back up to my office, so I try to sit in other committee hearings and learn about other laws. I want to do a service to my constituents by spending my time learning about these bills listening to the people discuss the issue with the committee. So that’s probably been the hardest thing for me, adapting to how I spend my free time, and thus far, I’ve been trying to spend it on constituent services.
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.
