House committee votes to save expiring diaper bank tax credit

      A tax credit that legislators say has proven “vital” to the state’s diaper banks, and to the families that rely on those banks, is set to expire in August.  A possible extension has been advanced by a House committee.

Representative Mark Sharp (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      The diaper bank tax credit was passed in 2018.  It allows Missouri taxpayers to claim up to half of their donations to a diaper bank against what they owe in state taxes, up to $50,000.  101 House members supported it in 2018.

      Representative Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) said the diaper banks that operate in Missouri have come to rely on the support this tax credit generates, and he urged his fellows to advance this extension “so that our diaper banks across the state can continue to do the great job they’re doing with getting millions of diapers to underserved communities.”

      Representative Ashley Bland Manlove (D-Kansas City) is the ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, who heard the bill.

      “I, myself, have gone to buy boxes of diapers to donate … and these boxes are like 30, 40 bucks and up, and babies [need a lot of diapers],” said Bland Manlove.  “While we have been on the trend of extending the benevolent tax credits and raising their caps, I hope we can do the same with this one, too.”

      Legislators say access to diapers has many repercussions for a family.  This includes being the difference between a baby being healthy or suffering serious and even life-threatening medical issues and between a parent or parents landing and maintaining employment or having to stay home due to lack of childcare. 

      “You don’t want to be that family or that parent that can’t have diapers available, and these diaper banks and these partners of diaper banks in these communities, places like Community Assistance Council in South Kansas City, make it possible for families that don’t have access,” Sharp said.

      His bill, House Bill 2384, would extend that tax credit’s expiration date from August 28 of this year to August 2030. The committee advanced it 9-0.

Plan to flatten rates for inmate phone calls endorsed by House panel

      A House committee has advanced a proposal to set a flat rate on how much inmates are charged to make phone calls home from the state’s jails and prisons, to promote family communication even during times of incarceration.

Representatives Aaron McMullen and Michael Davis (Photos: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “Right now there’s no set standard,” according to Independence Republican Aaron McMullen.  “It’s just a patchwork of whatever the county or local [government bids] it at.”  

      According to data presented to the House Committee on Corrections and Public Institutions, some facilities are charging more than $1 a minute for a phone call, and on average, a 15-minute phone call costs $5.74.  One study found that more than one-third of families with incarcerated relatives went into debt due to the costs of keeping in touch with those loved ones. 

      McMullen and Kansas City Republican Michael Davis are sponsors of a proposal to cap the cost to inmates at $.12 per minute.  Davis said their plan for facilities in Missouri is based on how the federal government regulates calls from correctional centers that cross state lines.

      “The federal government can regulate interstate calls, but they don’t have the ability to regulate intrastate calls,” Davis explained to the Committee.  “What our bill does is, we apply the regulation that the federal government is applying … to interstate calls at the rate for correctional centers, which is $.12.” 

      The pair said their goal is to keep families in contact even during periods of incarceration.  They said children who have limited contact with incarcerated parents have an increased risk of self-harm and suicide, and incarcerated parents who have contact with children are less prone to substance abuse or reoffending, upon release. 

      “There’s just a lot of good data that suggests that this is the right way to go and reduces recidivism, and increases and protects the families,” McMullen said. 

      They said many families with incarcerated loved ones are poor, and high phone rates over the course of a year can amount to a third or more of a family’s income at a time when one of its providers is already absent.  

      A similar bill last year was approved by the committee 9-0.  Committee members discussed possibly adding a cap on the cost of inmate email communications to this proposal.

      Their proposals are House Bill 1679 (Davis) and House Bill 2169 (McMullen).

House plan to toughen ATM ‘smash and grab’ penalties getting results

A House proposal that became law last year, to toughen Missouri’s penalties for “smash and grab” attacks on ATMs, could be slowing down an organized crime ring in the Kansas City area.  Its sponsor says that the ring’s reach, and the repercussions of this new law, could extend into several states.

Representative Rick Francis (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      One of two men arrested for stealing a Richmond, Missouri ATM has been charged under that law, which took effect in August.  It made the theft of a teller machine or its contents a Class C felony, punishable by three to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

      According to a probable cause statement, Montez Sherman was one of the two men who early on New Year’s Day used a stolen truck to pull an ATM from its foundation and used a crowbar to break it open.  More than $15,000 was taken and more than $32,000 in damage was done.

      If not for the work of Representative Rick Francis (R-Perryville), Sherman might face a might lighter penalty. 

      “Both theft or destruction of property … I think they were both misdemeanors,” Francis said.  “That was the whole reason for filing the bill.  The deterrent wasn’t working.”

      Francis worked on this legislation after learning that the Missouri Highway Patrol had recorded a sudden increase in smash-and-grab ATM attacks.  Those numbers went from only two such crimes statewide in all of 2019 to at least 28 in 2021.  When Francis began researching the issue in 2022, more than 20 ATMs had already been targeted in that year and more than $200,000 had been stolen, and that was not for the full year.

      He learned that many of those incidents in Missouri were connected to a crime ring that had originated in Texas and spread from there. 

      “They moved up through Arkansas.  Arkansas put a stiffer penalty to smash and grab ATMs, and it kind of went away there.  It was my hope that putting this into place in Missouri would also deter them from Missouri.”

      Francis and the law enforcement personnel he’s spoken to say the fact that criminal organizations are behind these crimes, anything that could deter them will make Missourians safer.

      “It’s organized crime that is at least doing by far the majority of this, and you never know how far organized crime would go, if they would be seen or if there was a witness or something like that, so certainly the public’s safety is a concern.”

      That Sherman and the others involved in the Richmond incident used a stolen truck to pull the ATM is similar to many of the other smash-and-grabs in Missouri and other states.  Richmond Police believe these individuals are part of a ring that has been committing such crimes in the Kansas City Metro area, but Francis thinks their ties go even further. 

      “They actually have some leads going back into Houston, Texas, so it would be nice to see some arrests where the ring starts,” Francis said. 

      Francis called it deeply satisfying to see an issue on which he and his colleagues spent so much time and effort, making a difference in Missouri, calling it the second such reminder in recent weeks. 

      Two weeks ago, House members heard that for the first time in Missouri, a healthy newborn baby was left in a Safe Haven Baby Box, to be safely surrendered to emergency responders.  That “baby box” is allowed under a 2021 House proposal.

      “That made me feel good as well, and now this week, from the bankers’ point of view, they say actually the good guys won one,” Francis said.

      “Any time that we can share that we’re certainly trying, with legislation and laws and so forth, to better Missouri and keep folks safe, and certainly it is gratifying to know that this legislation, hopefully, will send vibes, not only throughout Missouri but perhaps even into Texas, that we’re not going to put up with it.”

Francis’ bill last year was House Bill 725, the language of which became law as part of Senate Bill 186.

Allergy safety in child care facilities the subject of House plan with bipartisan backing

        Legislation that stems from the tragic death of a boy in Harlem in 2017 is back before the Missouri House. 

Elijah-Alavi Silvera
(Photo courtesy of Thomas Silvera)

      Though the operators of 3-year-old Elijah-Alavi Silvera’s daycare had been told he had a severe dairy allergy, he was given a grilled cheese sandwich.  He went into severe anaphylactic shock and died.  His death prompted his father to spearhead an effort that became known as “Elijah’s Law,” which was passed in the State of New York in 2019.

Since then it has also become law in Illinois and Virginia and as an ordinance in Kansas City. Missouri is one of five states in which it is proposed this year.

      It is found in House Bill 2552, which would allow doctors to prescribe epinephrine auto-injectors, more commonly known as “epi-pens,” to childcare facilities.  It would also require licensed childcare providers to adopt a policy on allergy prevention and response, with a special emphasis on deadly food-borne allergies. 

      The bill’s sponsor, Representative Jim Schulte (R-New Bloomfield), presented it last week to the House Committee on Healthcare Reform.

Representative Jim Schulte (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “It pertains to a young boy who had a [dairy]* allergy.  His mother was aware of it and she had told the daycare provider about it and even provided an epi-pen for them, however, they had no training and by the time they realized what was going on and called an ambulance, he had already passed away.  His family is leading this.  I think they’re in seven states now, with this bill,” Schulte told his fellow legislators.

     There are some concerns among lawmakers, including a question of cost.  Epi-pens are expensive, and the bill does not address how the cost for them might be covered.  Schulte said grant programs are available and could apply. 

      Legislators also questioned a provision that would have the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education develop a model policy for allergy prevention and response and a guide for childcare providers.  Some legislators suggest that would be better handled by a different agency.

      Representative Anthony Ealy (D-Grandview) said it doesn’t matter to him from where the policy comes, as long as it is exhaustive.

Representative Anthony Ealy (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “I think that DESE because childcare facilities fall under DESE, they should have a part to play in it, but it does make sense for the Department of Health to also have a voice in it.  I just want the best professionals to be able to create a model,” Ealy said. 

      Committee Chairman Kent Haden (R-Mexico) said those are fair concerns, but at the heart of the bill is a serious issue that deserves attention.

      “It’s a catch-22 sometimes we need to be aware of.  I had a neighbor, a young lady that went on a float trip and ate muffins that had sesame seeds on them and died on the float trip … an allergy is a very severe, death threatening event,” Haden said.

      Also sponsoring the same language is Representative Emily Weber (D-Kansas City), who said regardless of whether this bill becomes law, she hopes it raises awareness among the state’s childcare facilities. 

Representative Emily Weber (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “I would hope that daycare centers would hear a bill like this and start working on their procedures, on what happens if they accept a child who has horrible, maybe peanut allergies, which is like the most common one.  I would hope that they would kind of move together and figure out their solution and their procedures on what to do,” Weber said. 

      “When something like [what happened to Elijah] happens, it can happen in an instant, and it’s all about timing at that point.  Making sure you have the procedure:  okay, the child’s going into anaphylactic shock, what do we do next?  Where’s the epi-pen?  Who do we call?  Things like that.”

      Similar proposals were filed by Weber and Ealy last year but neither was the subject of a hearing.  Both say they are just glad to see the language getting traction, with Schulte’s version.

      “I’m super excited about that.  I’m so happy that Representative Schulte had a hearing … Representative Haden is a huge supporter of this bill.  I talked to him last session about it … he read my bill and said this is a really good bill,” Weber said.

      The Healthcare Reform Committee has not voted on Schulte’s bill. Weber’s version is House Bill 2036, and Ealy’s version is House Bill 2364.

Radio stations note: “Alavi” in Elijah-Alavi Silvera is pronounced like “Allah-vee”

Note to reporters: though sometimes reported otherwise, Elijah-Alavi Silvera had an allergy to dairy, not peanuts. This was confirmed by his father, Thomas.

Family of girl with rare condition urges House to ‘Believe in Gianna,’ help raise awareness of Sanfilippo Syndrome

      The family of a little girl afflicted with what is sometimes called “childhood Alzheimer’s” is asking the legislature to make her birthday a day to raise awareness, to thereby improve the lives of other children faced with this rare condition.

Gianna Wacker and Rep. Holly Jones

      Gianna Marie Wacker wasn’t expected to live past her early teens.  When she sat with her family in a House committee hearing last week she was exceeding those expectations. 

      “Our Gianna is a unicorn.  Her doctors describe her as that because she’s 15 years old, and she’s still doing pretty good, so we’re proud to have her here today,” Representative Holly Jones (R-Eureka) told her fellow legislators.

      Gianna smiled through the entire hearing, as her siblings, parents, and grandparents laughed and smiled with her, proud of their “unicorn.”  Just feet away, Jones and others fought back tears explaining Gianna’s condition, Mucopolysaccharidosis type III, more commonly called “Sanfilippo Syndrome.”  It is thought to affect as few as nine out of every million babies born, worldwide. 

      “It’s a terminal, neurodegenerative disease.  It causes children to lose all the skills that they’ve developed over their young lives,” Jones said. 

      Gianna’s younger brother, Luke, told lawmakers, “Because of this disease, G has never learned to read.  She used to be able to play soccer and enjoy dance class.  She is losing the ability to write letters to her friends and communicate appropriately.”

      What they’re asking of the legislature is to make November 13 each year, “Believe in Gianna Day.”

      “A naming bill doesn’t seem very powerful, but awareness is the key factor in this disease to help promote a cure,” explained her father, Jackson Wacker.  “Rare disease, as most of you know, is a difficult situation for any family, for any individual, and the most powerful thing we can do is to raise money to help find a cure, and awareness is a key component in that.  [‘Believe in Gianna’] will not only be a huge win for our family, but  a huge win for any child suffering from a rare disease that will take their life.”

      Gianna’s mother, Theresa Wacker, said awareness is also important for potentially helping other children who have the condition but it hasn’t been diagnosed.  She explained to the House Committee on Tourism that before doctors finally stumbled upon Gianna’s diagnosis on June 15, 2021, the family had been wondering for six years what was wrong. 

The Wacker family (left to right) Gianna, Luke, Jackson, Theresa, Rep. Holly Jones, and Emma Kate, and in front is Anna.

      “Nobody has heard about this, [most] doctors don’t know about this.  They’ve never even heard of this syndrome, so with G’s story and telling her story to so many others, not just in Missouri, around the United States, to help a child get a diagnosis sooner in life is huge,” Theresa said. 

      Backers of House Bill 2580 explained that an earlier diagnosis could mean that a child would be more likely to get into medical trials.  Such trials could benefit not only participants but others suffering from the condition, as doctors search for a cure.

      Theresa said the bill also seeks to build on, and continue, what’s been happening in her community.  Since Gianna’s diagnosis, there have been several fundraising events, including two golf tournaments held at a local golf club; signs have sprung up around Eureka with the word “believe,” in Gianna’s handwriting; and more than $100,000 has been raised for the Cure Sanfilippo Foundation. 

      “This is a movement,” Theresa told the committee.  “G is moving mountains right now.  She is changing the world with her smile every minute of the day, and that is what we hope to do and continue to do, so [Believe in Gianna Day], it would be amazing for not just her but for all these children in the world suffering from this.”

      Jones said what the family has done has been truly inspiring, and they hope a Believe in Gianna Day will expand it.

      “There are a couple of different types of people in this world:  those that allow tragedy and travesty to completely break them down and shatter their lives, or the other kind, that rallies together, holds on to those that they love, and moves on in the most positives ways in a devastating situation, and that’s what this family has done,” said Jones.

      As Luke Wacker put it, “Please consider Believe in G Day in Missouri to celebrate not only my sister but all these other children suffering from Sanfilippo Syndrome.  We believe in G, and I want all of you to believe in G too.”

      Note to media outlets:  the original version of the bill would have created “Believe in G Day,” but the committee voted to change that (with the family’s blessing) to “Believe in Gianna Day.”  Some audio cuts reflect the earlier version of the proposal.