Rep. Dean Dohrman, a Republican, represents Johnson, Pettis, and Saline counties (District 51). He was elected to his first two-year term in November 2012. In addition to his legislative duties, Rep. Dohrman is an online professor. Rep. Dohrman is a member of Warrensburg and Sedalia Area Chamber of Commerce, and Sedalia Lions Club. He attends Wesley United Methodist Church. A graduate of LaMonte High, Rep. Dohrman earned his PhD from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2004. Born in Warrensburg, Rep. Dohrman currently lives in LaMonte.

Capitol Report: Bill roundup

Posted Friday, April 26, 2013, at 9:42 AM

Capitol Report

This week started with a visit to Sweet Springs on Monday morning as the city received a grant from USDA for sewer reconstruction (see picture below). Later in the day, I returned to Jefferson City to and went to work on several bills. These included:

HB 986
The Missouri House passed some Medicaid reforms this week. HB 986 contains several provisions, but in summary, it protects health care for foster children, those on long-term disability, and takes a significant step toward quality health care reform. The bill provides for a joint interim committee of representatives and senators to consider future health care reforms. Medicaid transformation should move forward in a measured fashion with this bill.

HB 859
This legislation passed by the House restricts the Department of Revenue from releasing the list of concealed weapon permit holders by removing DOR from the process. The responsibility for maintaining these records would transfer to sheriffs who would print a CCW permit card.

HB 455 and 297
This bill passed by a wide, bipartisan margin. It requires recipients of food stamps to have a photo ID card. This will go a long way in reducing fraud in the system, a system designed to help in times of need.

SB 26
This bill underwent many transformations as it moved through the General Assembly, changing nearly by minute in the House.

The overall purpose of the bill is to provide a steadier stream of revenue as it safeguards funding for education and the general revenue fund. The version passed in the House also included safeguards against dramatic drops in revenue during transitional periods.

This would be a phased-in period of incremental reductions in the income tax rate while replacing these reductions in the sales tax rate. This allows the tax burden of the state to be shared across a broader base while providing for more disposable income for Missourians.