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Capitol Briefs: FRA extension passes House as amendment

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri House passed an amendment that would extend the state’s federal reimbursement allowance (FRA) through the next year.

SB 64 would enact a needle exchange program and enact various awareness days, weeks, and months for different afflictions as well as changes to ambulance districts. Other provisions were familiar to the legislature, including the RX Cares for Missouri program and requirements for jails and prisons to provide feminine hygiene products to inmates. 

The bill’s sole amendment would extend the state’s FRA through the next year, among other provisions. The provision was quickly ushered to a vote via a previous question motion (PQ). Budget Chair Rep. Cody Smith proposed the amendment. 

  • The FRA portion stalled out in the upper chamber last month after a fracas between members; it was taken up briefly the following week and was once more laid over. 
  • The Senate discussed the move on the floor while awaiting other bills with Sens. Bob Onder and Paul Wieland decrying the issue. Wieland had attached amendments to the Senate version that would prohibit the use of tax dollars to pay for abortions while the House altered it without including strict anti-abortion language. Onder proposed an amendment banning the use of Medicaid funds for abortion services as well. The duo encouraged sponsor Sen. Holly Rehder to go to conference on the bill. 
  • A provision on feminine care in prisons included an emergency clause. Rep. Phil Christofanelli moved tongue-in-cheek to adopt the clause, saying previous attempts at the language did not include one. Democrats rose in support of the clause, and it was adopted. 
  • Other provisions would allow health information networks to disclose information in accordance with federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws and authorize pharmacists to administer HIV postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) drugs.