During the last week of the session, The Missouri Times will bring you updates of floor activity for each chamber. Below is all the activity in the Senate from Wednesday, May 13. For live updates on the House, click here.
The Senate adjourned at 10:13 p.m.
HB 2120, Modifies provisions relating to the safety of utility infrastructure, passed
The Senate took up this bill, which was before the Senate earlier this week, after it passed out of Fiscal Oversight. The upper chamber quickly third read and passed the bill 25-4.
HB 1682, health care omnibus bill, Fiscal Oversight
The legislation, now a health care omnibus bill, is from Rep. David Wood. It designates May as Health Awareness Month and allows physician assistants to be staff on ambulances. The bill also grants reciprocity for “do not resuscitate” orders and sets requirements for medical marijuana telehealth services.
In addition, the bill also restricts the use of vaping products in public elementary or secondary school buildings or buses.
Sen. Jeanie Riddle attached an amendment identical to SB 949: allowing the Missouri Board of Nursing Home Administrators some flexibility in the issuance of temporary licenses for certain nursing home administrators. Riddle said this provision would be “very helpful because of COVID-19.”
The Senate divulged into a heated debate between Sens. Karla May and Denny Hoskins over her amendment that designates August as an awareness month for minority organ donation. It was ultimately successful.
Other heated debate centered around Medicaid expansion, abortion, and coverage of COVID-19 testing.
After 19 amendments were brought to the floor, with more than a dozen adopted, the Senate adopted the Senate substitute. It was referred to Fiscal Oversight just after 10 p.m.
Sen. Gina Walsh presided over much of this debate, which lasted for about 10 hours.
SB 656, Modifies provisions relating to veterans
The bill, from Sen. Mike Cierpiot, originally designated the Kansas City Korean War memorial as the state’s Korean War memorial. It grew to dedicate certain days to specific remembrance or suicide awareness days, designate multiple Gold Star families’ monuments in Missouri, and add certain protections for children of military families.
The bill also changes fees for Purple Heart license plate fees and establishes the “Central Missouri Honor Flight” special license plate.
The House Committee Substitute was adopted by the Senate unanimously. The bill was truly agreed to and finally passed 30-0.
HB 1768, Modifies provisions relating to communications services, passed
Sen. Dan Hegeman moved the conference committee report be adopted. The bill deals with the broadband grant extension and the Department of Economic Development’s maintenance of records of federal grants awarded regarding expanding rural broadband in Missouri.
An earlier version left out a date that has now been corrected.
The conference committee report was adopted by the Senate. The bill was truly agreed to and finally passed 31-0.
Senate gavels in
The legislative day gets underway shortly after 11 a.m.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.
