Capitol Report: Jan. 8, 2021

The journey to Jefferson City that started back in July of 2019 finally culminated this last week on Jan. 6, 2021, as myself and my fellow incoming “Freshman” class of state representatives were sworn into office.

The swearing-in ceremony was something that I will never forget. It is a great honor to be elected to “The People’s House” and was truly enjoyable to have my family down to be a part of the ceremony. From all reaches of the state and varying backgrounds; agriculture, lawyers, bankers, firefighters, law enforcement, school teachers and small business owners to name a few. We all have a common goal and that is to represent our districts to the best of our abilities and to make Missouri, as a whole, the best state it can be.

Now the real work begins. I have been told to think about the beginning of General Assembly as a steam locomotive getting ready to leave the station. It takes some time to stoke the fire and build steam to get it moving down the tracks. Our newly elected Speaker, Rob Vescovo, is in charge of setting all the varying committees that bills get referred to. At this point, I have yet to learn of any of the numerous committees that I will end up on. Those are up to the speaker’s discretion with some input from the members. Once that is done, we will be ready start heading down tracks and discussing legislation that has been filed by members.

Until then it’s a matter of getting settled in to a new office that isn’t a tractor like I’ve been used to for the last eight years of my life. That office is 115D in the capitol, and I encourage you to drop in and say hi if you find yourself in Jefferson City. Feel free to contact us here with any concerns or questions that you may have, because I am here to serve you.

Contact: Kurtis.Gregory@house.mo.gov or 573-751-2204