
Capitol Report: June 21, 2018
This week a new lt. governor has joined the executive ranks for our state. Governor Mike Parson chose Mike Kehoe of the Jefferson City area to fill the vacancy. Kehoe is finishing his term limit in the Senate, and has foregone his floor leader position to swear in as the new lt. governor. Democrat Darrell Cope has filed a lawsuit claiming that the governor does not have appointive power for the state’s second executive position. I will keep you informed of the court outcome.
Also, as promised I will continue to summarize Truly Agreed to and Finally Passed (TAFP) bills from this legislative session. All of these bills have been signed and delivered to the governor’s office. Bill review to determine signing or veto action will be one of the first duties of the new governor.
2018 Truly Agreed to and Finally Passed Bills
HB 1504 - Requires certain counties to adopt ordinances regulating land use around National Guard training centers.
This bill allows the governing bodies or county planning commissions in Newton and McDonald counties to adopt ordinances regulating incompatible land uses and structures within any or all of the unincorporated area extending up to 3,000 feet outward from the boundaries of any National Guard training center if the county has participated in the completion of a joint land use study associated with the training center.
HB 1516 - Specifies that licensed chiropractic physicians may treat and be reimbursed for conditions currently reimbursed under MO HealthNet
This bill authorizes MO HealthNet reimbursement for up to 20 visits per year for services provided to MO HealthNet participants by licensed chiropractic physicians practicing within their scope of practice.
HB 1517 - Requires the attorney general and the commissioner of administration to submit to the general assembly a monthly report of all settlements and judgments paid from the state legal expense fund
This bill requires the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Administration, by no later than September 30, 2018, and by the last day of each calendar month thereafter, to submit a report to the General Assembly detailing settlements and judgments paid in the previous month from the State Legal Expense Fund, including any payments from or deposits to the fund, as specified in the bill. In cases of legal expenses incurred by specified state departments, universities, and colleges, the required report is to be submitted by the legal counsel provided by the respective entity and by the designated keeper of that entity's accounts.
HB 1531 - Modifies provisions relating to civil proceedings
This bill provides that a private attorney retained by the state is not entitled to a fee, exclusive of costs and expenses, of more than a set percentage determined by the dollar amount recovered. The total fee payable to retained private attorneys in any matter subject to a contingency fee shall not exceed $10 million, exclusive of costs and expenses provided for in the contracts and actually incurred by the attorneys. The bill specifies that a contingency fee is payable only from money actually received under a judgment or settlement agreement and shall not be based on any amount attributable to a fine or civil penalty.
This bill modifies the circumstances in which a party may be joined in a civil action. The bill clarifies that a plaintiff's insured may be joined as a defendant and required to interplead when the plaintiff may be exposed to multiple claims. The term "plaintiff" includes an insurance company when the multiple claims exceed the total limits of applicable coverage. The bill
further sets forth a procedure by which an insurer or risk management entity may timely deposit all applicable limits of coverage into court in an interpleader action, and will not be further liable for any amount in excess of its contractual limits of coverage so long as the insurer defends its insured from any further claim or lawsuit.
HB 1558 - Creates the offense of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images
This bill creates the offense of nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, which is a class D felony. A person commits such offense when he or she: intentionally disseminates an image of another person fitting criteria specified in the bill; obtains the image under circumstances in which a reasonable person would know or understand that the image was to remain private; and knows or should have known that the person in the image has not consented to the dissemination. The bill specifies certain exceptions to the offense. The bill also creates the offense of threatening the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, which is a class E felony. A person commits the offense of threatening the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images if he or she gains or attempts to gain anything of value, or coerces or attempts to coerce another person to act or refrain from acting, by threatening to disseminate an image of another person, under the circumstances specified in the bill. This bill contains an emergency clause.
HB 1606 - Modifies provisions relating to elementary and secondary education
Beginning in the 2019-20 school year, this bill requires schools to be in session for 1044 hours of pupil attendance, and eliminates the requirement that schools be in session for any minimum number of days. The bill requires schools to post certain financial information online, including a searchable expenditure and revenue document or database detailing actual income, expenditures, and disbursements for the current calendar or fiscal year on its district or school website by September 1, 2019. A school is not required to post any confidential information, including any personal information regarding payroll. This bill provides that if less than 25 percent of the public school student transportation funding formula is funded by the state, a school board may vote to reduce its allocation of foundation formula money going to professional development from a minimum of
1 percent to a minimum of 0.5 percent.
In addition, this bill provides students the opportunity to choose between the ACT WorkKeys assessment or the ACT assessment in any school year in which the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) or a school district directs an administration of the ACT assessment. This bill also requires the Governor to appoint a teacher representative to the State Board of Education (SBE). The teacher representative will not have the right to vote on any matter or be counted in establishing a quorum. The teacher representative is not allowed in a closed meeting.
Travel Missouri This Summer: https://www.springfieldmo.org/
It is an honor to serve the 51st District in the Missouri House of Representatives. Each week I will issue a capitol report to keep you informed of activities in Jefferson City. Any concerns or issues you might have are of great interest to me. I look forward to your input and thoughts, so please feel free to contact me at any time if you have questions, concerns, or ideas to improve our state government and the quality of life for all Missourians. My telephone number is 573-751-2204 or you may contact me by email at dean.dohrman@house.mo.gov. Thank you for working with me to make Missouri a great place to live.
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