Area lawmakers celebrated the passage of pro-business bills in the state legislative session that ended Friday.
Making Missouri a right-to-work state, blocking cities from raising the minimum wage, tort reform and increased state funding for public schools were among the Legislature’s achievements this session, area lawmakers said.
The GOP-led Legislature also passed the REAL ID bill, allowing Missourians to obtain identification cards that meet federal standards, and a measure that allows ride-hailing transportation networks such as Uber to expand.
State Rep. Rick Francis, R-Perryville, called it “a solid session.”
But there were disappointments, too.
Missouri remains the only state without a statewide prescription database to help fight the opioid-abuse problem.
Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, architect of the prescription-database bill in the House, was unable to shepherd through a compromise between the House and Senate before the session ended.
“I think we were so close,” she said Tuesday.
Rehder, who is seeking the House speakership for the 2019 and 2020 legislative sessions, said she would like to see Gov. Eric Greitens call a special session this year to address the issue.
“I think now is the only time to get it done,” she said.
She said as more and more counties establish a prescription-drug database, lawmakers will have less desire to approve a statewide program.
State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, said the Legislature’s passage of a budget bill that fully funds the foundation formula for public schools “was one of the biggest highlights.”
Swan said lawmakers also were successful in approving pro-business tort reform.
Swan’s measure to keep sex offenders away from children’s museums passed as an amendment on two other pieces of legislation.
The House approved a total ban on lobbyist gifts for lawmakers, but the measure did not pass the Senate, where there was opposition.
State Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, said she was pleased lawmakers passed a number of pro-business measures, including right to work.
As for the prescription-database issue, Lichtenegger suggested the state needs to appoint a special committee of doctors, pharmacists and dentists to craft a better bill.
Area House members said they were disappointed the House measure to repeal the state’s prevailing-wage law did not come up for a final vote in the Senate.
“We really need to look at this,” Swan said.
She said repealing the prevailing wage would reduce the cost of public-works projects for schools, cities and other local governments.
But state Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, said he was pleased the measure did not pass in the Senate.
Wallingford said the law should not be scrapped but fixed to better reflect local construction wages.
Francis said he was disappointed legislation to improve Missouri’s 911 emergency system, which passed the House, failed to get through the Senate.
The measure would have allowed counties to impose a $1 fee on monthly cellphone bills to help develop regional 911 dispatching centers.
Wallingford welcomed the passage of pro-business bills that had the backing of the governor.
Unlike past sessions, where then-Democratic governor Jay Nixon regularly vetoed GOP bills, Wallingford said Missouri has a Republican governor who “knows how to open up the borders of Missouri” to economic development and business expansion.
As for the REAL ID bill, Wallingford was among a handful of senators who opposed it over privacy concerns.
Missourians in 2018 will not be able to board planes without federally acceptable driver’s licenses.
The state legislation now allows Missourians to choose whether they want to obtain such identification or keep their old licenses. The free voter identification issued by the state will not be compliant with REAL ID law.
Wallingford said he knew the measure would pass, which made it easier for him to vote against it on philosophical grounds.
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