Transitional ‘benefit cliff’ legislation would help more Missourians take raises, drop state assistance

      A plan that would allow Missourians who are on certain state financial assistance programs to gradually get off of them without falling off a so-called “benefits cliff” is one of the things awaiting action from Governor Mike Parson (R). 

Representative ALex

      That “cliff” is what policy makers call situations when a person accepts a salary increase that puts them over the income limits for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and what that person then loses in benefits is more than the amount their pay would increase.  The result is that often, Missourians on benefits programs are forced to reject promotions and raises, for their own good and that of their families.

      The House passed last month a proposed transitional program that would let people get off of state programs incrementally as their income increases. 

      “Our social safety net system, our welfare system in the State of Missouri, isn’t working.  It’s designed in such a way that it really does trap people in poverty and discourages people from trying to get out,” said Springfield Republican Alex Riley, the House sponsor of that legislation.  “My goal with the benefits cliff bill was to create a pathway where our welfare system really does what its intended to do, and that’s to serve as a hand up to people to help pull them out of these tough situations that they’re in, and not to serve as an anchor that keeps them in poverty forever and then results in this generational cycle of poverty that unfortunately far too many in our state are in.”

      The legislation would apply to SNAP and TANF, and expand and make permanent existing transitional benefits for the child care subsidy program.  Benefits to a participant would be reduced relative to their increases in pay until they are making twice the federal poverty rate. 

      Representative Keri Ingle (D-Lee’s Summit), whose background is in social work, said most Missourians, even if they haven’t been on these programs, could understand having to make the decisions some have had to make, to turn down pay increases.

      “I don’t think it’s hard for most people to imagine, in this economy, but, you absolutely wouldn’t want to be in a situation where you had to cut your income,” said Ingle.  “One of the great things about this bill is that it allows people to slowly ween off the system.  It allows them to be in situations where it doesn’t adversely affect their income to accept a higher paying job, or to have a higher income, to accept a raise, and still have some of those benefits until they can kind of slowly ween off of them and be self-sufficient.  We’re really empowering working folks within our state with families to come off the system but to do it in a way that they’re still having all their needs met.”

Representative Keri Ingle (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Riley said there’s nothing in Missouri’s various policies and statutes that does what this would do.

      “There are some minor benefits cliffs provisions in place for, I think, food stamps, but it hasn’t really worked, so this is a bigger bite at the apple that will, hopefully, do a better job of actually resolving that issue,” said Riley.  “Once this has been implemented and is in effect for a few years I expect we’re going to start to see large numbers of people coming off the rolls over time and then once we get a really good opportunity to see how this has played out over time, we’ll have an opportunity to make adjustments if we need to, but hopefully we won’t have to.”

      He said the legislation might have to be revisited over time for factors like inflation. 

      In the end, the legislation received broad bipartisan support.  It is a proposal that had been around for several years, sponsored by members of both parties.  Even so, Riley said such issues can present a narrow path to success.

      “It’s hard to do any sort of welfare reform in a bipartisan way but this was a way that we could do that.  You had Democrats that were okay with this type of reform, you had Republicans of all shapes and sizes, from your conservative wing, your Libertarian wing, your more moderate wing, that recognized that this is a structure that makes sense and will benefit the state as a whole for a long time to come.”

      He said giving people a way to get off of state benefits is good for them, good for state agencies, and good for the state’s budget.

      “It’s good for the individuals because they’re starting to work their way out of poverty, they’re becoming more self-sufficient, which is good for the state when you have more people working and getting off of benefits.  It’s going to ultimately result, over time, in the state having to spend fewer dollars on folks on benefits and it will result in fewer people, ultimately, on benefits, over time.”

      Ingle said most people who are getting state help don’t want to do so for any longer than is necessary, and they will appreciate this program.

      “I think it’s a common misconception that people want to stay on the system, or people don’t want to be self-sufficient … but people have to be able to pay their bills and to feed their children, and so at the end of the day it’s just a common sense solution to that problem.”

      Riley said, “My excitement and focus with being able to get this done this year was really to create a pathway for people who are on state benefits but don’t want to be on those, who want to be self-sufficient, who want to work and start to get out of these tough economic situations, a way to do so, and I think we accomplished that with this bill.”

      The language passed as part of Senate Bill 106 and Senate Bills 45 & 90, broad bills dealing with various public health issues.  Governor Parson could sign either or both of those bills into law, veto them, or allow them to become law without his action. If this proposal becomes law it would become effective on August 28.

Legislature’s action could ease escapes from domestic violence, governor’s action awaited

      One of the bills on the desk of Governor Mike Parson (R) would make it easier for people to escape domestic abuse, if it becomes law.

Representative Chris Dinkins (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      A provision in Senate Bill 28 would waive the fee for a copy of a birth certificate when it is requested by a victim of domestic violence. 

      It has been proposed for several years by Representative Chris Dinkins (R-Lesterville), who explained to her colleagues that when a person escapes domestic violence, they often have to leave things behind.  That often includes vital documents.

      “It is very difficult to leave a situation and when you’ve got kids that you’re trying to support and you’re thinking, ‘How am I going to do this now, how am I going to get a job, how am I going to keep moving on and going forward,’ and if they don’t have those documents then they start thinking, ‘I’m not going to be able to get a job, I’m going to have to go back,’” said Dinkins. 

      “Once they’ve made the decision to leave we [as a state] need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to help them be successful in moving forward.”

      Matthew Huffman is the Chief Public Affairs Officer with the Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence.  He said making a decision to leave can be dangerous, frightening, and difficult, and this legislation would help to keep victims from having to go back.

      “Whenever a survivor makes the step to leave that can be months, years of safety planning, and we also know that right after someone decides to leave that abusive relationship, that can be one of the most dangerous times for that individual, and so being able to make it out of a dangerous situation and accessing safety, you might not remember to get those vital records that you need.  You might not have the ability or the access to get those vital records.”

      “Birth certificates are crucial in the individual being able to start their life over again, be able to get out on their own, get away from the person who is abusing them, and often [abusers] hold [victims] captive by keeping their birth certificate and other important documents from them so that they can’t start over again,” said Dinkins.  “If you want to get a job, if you want to open up a bank account, you’ve got to have forms of identification, and in order to get a new driver’s license you’re going to have to have a birth certificate.  In order to get a new social security card, you’re going to have to have a birth certificate; enrolling kids in school, you’re going to have to have a birth certificate, so all these things are very important.”

      She adds that victims escaping abuse often have little if any money and that’s why the fee that is normally charged for certificates is an issue.     

      “Fifteen dollars may not seem like much to you or me but someone who escapes in the middle of the night … they leave with the clothes on their back and that’s that … so it’s a very important step in saving these peoples’ lives.”

      After seeing this proposal fall short in several past legislative sessions, Huffman is hopeful that Governor Parson will sign it into law.

      “If, as a state, we can show we really care about domestic violence survivors and we have the ability to provide you a free birth certificate to help you get yourself on a path to self-efficiency and sustainability, I think that that is an incredible thing that the State of Missouri can offer to survivors.”

      Dinkins agrees, and adds that just as this proposal was brought to her by a shelter in her district, she encourages advocates to bring her more ideas.  She said in her time as a teacher she knew several individuals who were involved in domestic abuse situations, and that makes these issues personal.

      “I would be happy to do what I can to move forward any piece of legislation that can help these victims.”

The bill would allow a survivor to get one birth certificate free, one time. It requires a signed statement from an advocate, attorney, or provider of healthcare or mental healthcare.

Governor Parson could sign that bill into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without his action. If it becomes law, this provision would become effective on August 28.

Bills could help Missourians with disabilities advance their careers, get married

      Missourians living with disabilities could no longer have to reject raises and promotions, or even choose not to get married, in order to keep receiving needed state assistance, under legislation now awaiting the governor’s action.

Representative Melanie Stinnett (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Among legislation that was approved by the House and Senate last month was a provision to change the state’s Ticket to Work health insurance program within MO HealthNet.  It would increase the limit on how much a person can earn before they lose benefits under that program.  It would also not count up to $50,000 of a spouse’s income toward that limit.  

      Such state benefits provide to some Missourians with disabilities things like personal care attendants, medication, services, and equipment that allow them to have a job in the first place.  Those Missourians must sometimes reject raises or promotions because the changes in income would not offset the benefits they would lose. 

      Another provision would require state agencies to use an “employment first” policy, directing them to recruit and keep employees with disabilities and create competitive ways to integrate them into workforces.

      This legislation received broad, bipartisan support in both chambers.  In the House they were carried by Springfield Republican Melanie Stinnett.  She said legislators have been growing more aware of how state assistance programs designed to help Missourians are sometimes holding them back.

      “When we look at how this language in the current statute was impacting their ability to continue taking those raises or getting a new job in a new area, or in our communities we hear issues with workforce all the time and we’re wanting to do upskill training and we’re wanting to do all of these things to help people improve their skills and improve their earning potential but for individuals with disabilities we put a cap on that, and that is not what we want to be doing.  We want to allow individuals in our communities to work to their highest capacity and help them to thrive within their community.”

      “It’s something that’s been worked on for nearly 20 years and there are a lot of people that have worked on it year over year over year, and I’m really happy to be a part of the team to bring it across the finish line,” said Stinnett.

      Representative Bridget Walsh Moore (D-St. Louis) lives and works with a disability, and has long advocated for these changes.  She said these will yield, “immediate, tangible results that are going to benefit so many people.”

Representative Bridget Walsh Moore (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “We will have a different workforce by the end of this year.  This goes into effect in August.  By the end of the year … our workforce will look entirely different because these people can go after that promotion, apply for that new job, they can move up the ladder, now it’s worth it to go back to school and get that degree or my master’s because I’ll actually be able to get the job I want,” said Walsh Moore. 

      “This will have immediate results on the economy, immediate impact.  When you go from making 40-grand to 80 overnight you’re going to spend that money.  You’re either going to pay off debt, you’re going to get a  better place to live, you’re going to go out to eat more, you’re going to buy new clothes, whatever.  You’re going to spend that money.  When you’ve been told that you have to penny pinch for so long, that money’s going to end up immediately back in the economy, so it’s a double benefit to the state.  The state is only winning in this situation.”

      Stinnett is particularly excited about the provision to ease the limit on a spouse’s income, “So we’re not disincentivizing marriage for individuals with disabilities, which I think is really important.”

      About that provision Walsh Moore mentioned a childhood friend of hers who developed lupus. 

      “She is still living with her long-time boyfriend.  She couldn’t get married because she would lose her benefits because her boyfriend makes too much money but he can’t solely support her.  She could get married later this year.  That’s huge,” said Walsh Moore.  “You hear all the time of people divorcing so they can deal with medical issues – just divorcing on paper so that they can handle whatever disease has come into their life.  It’s awful.”

      Supporters of the employment first language said it was long overdue and would allow Missourians with disabilities to work to their fullest extent, which benefits the whole state.

      Stinnett said it is, “showing that Missouri really values individuals with disabilities in our workforce and wants them to have options for competitive, integrated employment within their communities.”

      Walsh Moore, who had advocated for this legislation since being elected in 2020 and said it has been proposed long before that, said, “It’s very exciting to finally see it done … it didn’t get a hearing every year but every year it did, no one has ever testified against it and no one has ever voted against it.”

      Governor Mike Parson (R) has until July 14 to act on Senate Bill 106 and Senate Bill 45, both of which contain these provisions. He could sign them into law or veto them, or let them become law without his action.  If they become law, the provisions would become effective on August 28.

Twelve year push gets increased penalties for ‘celebratory gunfire’ to governor’s desk for first time

      Nearly 12 years after the tragic death of an 11 year-old Independence girl, the Missouri legislature has voted for a bill bearing her name.  “Blair’s Law” would increase the penalty for recklessly firing guns into the air and, backers hope, raise awareness about how dangerous that practice is.

Blair Shanahan Lane (Photo courtesy: Michelle Shanahan DeMoss)

      The House had voted in two previous years to pass Blair’s law and this year the Senate concurred, sending it for the first time to the governor’s desk.  The proposal was added to Senate Bill 189, which was passed out of the House 109-11 and now awaits the action of Governor Mike Parson (R).

      It was news Michele Shanahan DeMoss, the mother of Blair Shanahan Lane, had been working toward and awaiting for more than a decade.

      “It started as overwhelming,” DeMoss told House Communications.  “Just really quietly thinking like, ‘wow, we’re not going to have to do this again.’”

      What DeMoss was realizing she might not have to do again is come to Jefferson City and testify before legislators as she has done multiple times each year since her daughter’s death, each time recounting and reliving the events of July 4, 2011.  That was when, while outside celebrating the holiday, Blair was truck in the neck by a bullet fired by someone more than half a mile away who had fired their gun into the air.  She died the next day.

      “[Testifying on Blair’s Law legislation] has become a pattern of living, and nothing, by any means, that I’m not going to be happy not having to do anymore,” said DeMoss, who quickly adds that a lot of good has come and continues to come out of that effort.  “I was reminded by somebody [in the Capitol] when I went to tell them goodbye and they said, ‘No, no, no, you can come back and visit us.  You don’t have to come back just because of that.  With that being said, just because it’s done doesn’t mean the good things that have happened because of what we’ve been doing for the past 12 years can’t remain.”

      Some of that good has come in the form of increased awareness. 

      “There’s no doubt our conversation and consistent work has definitely made a difference,” said DeMoss.

      Police believe firearms are still being discharged into the air, however, especially around holidays like New Year’s Eve.  The SoundSpotter system, sound capturing technology that the Kansas City Police Department uses to identify potential gunshots, identified more than 2,300 rounds fired between 6 p.m. December 31, 2022, and 6 a.m. the following morning.  That was more than double the total from the previous year.

      Representative Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) said a desire to increase awareness that firing guns into the air is not safe was one of his biggest motivations for carrying Blair’s Law.

      “The governor signing it, different legislators in their respective districts and cities creating an awareness about it will help, the media will play a real big role in this,” said Sharp. 

      Sharp is optimistic that the governor will sign Blair’s Law into law, partly based on conversations he’s had with Parson’s staff. 

Michele Shanahan DeMoss (Photo: Michael Lear, Missouri House Communications)

      This was Sharp’s fourth year sponsoring the legislation, joining several other current and former legislators who have carried that proposal since 2011.  This year’s version would specify that a person is guilty of unlawful discharge of a firearm if they, with criminal negligence, discharge a firearm in or into the limits of a municipality.  A first offense would be a class “A” misdemeanor which carries up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000; a second time would be a class “E” felony carrying up to four years in prison; and third and any subsequent offense would be a class “D” felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

      No state law directly addresses “celebratory gunfire.”  In Kansas City it is a violation of city ordinance.  The man who fired the bullet that killed Blair pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and served 18 months in prison.  Had Blair’s Law been in effect, the above penalties could have been applied in addition to that sentence.

      Penalties are one thing, but as Sharp and DeMoss said, as much as anything, Blair’s Law has been about awareness.

      “Obviously we’ve done press conferences in the past and that’s on the local news too, but I think if it’s talked about on a more regular basis and not just once or twice a year we’ll start to see some more awareness with it,” said Sharp. 

      Blair’s Law has consistently had broad, bipartisan support, yet it still took 11 legislative sessions before it passed.  In spite of that, DeMoss didn’t get frustrated and didn’t give up.  She said in many of the past years when the bill didn’t pass, she wondered whether it was because of some oversight on her part, “[before] realizing it was a course of time and, as in a lot of things, it wasn’t for me to have control over.  As the years turned, the education and the understanding and the relationships are what were supposed to happen, and it continues happening.”

      Sharp said it is because DeMoss persevered that this legislation finally made it to the governor. 

      “She’s a joy.  She is a real joy,” said Sharp, who notes that he knows what it’s like to be around a parent who has lost a daughter, as his own sister died in a domestic violence incident when he was eight.

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

       “The grace that Blair’s mom carries herself with is just first class, top notch, and she could easily be coming to Jefferson City angry that it hasn’t been passed yet.  She could easily have been that kind of person but she wasn’t.  I think that speaks to her character.”

      While waiting to see what Governor Parson will do, DeMoss is taking this latest, farthest progress as a victory. 

“The list is very long of thanking people for their support and thanking everybody for continually raising awareness.  I think people finally realize it is a tragedy that continues to happen,” she said.

The passage of a law bearing Blair’s name isn’t the only way she is being remembered.  Blair has also been honored for being an organ donor, with six of her organs having gone to five people, and DeMoss still runs a charity in her daughter’s name:  Blair’s Foster Socks gives socks and other items to children in need.

      “We continue to grow and restructure but definitely socks are still coming in and good things are still happening.  We just hosted a small group of boy scouts and look forward to distributing some socks.  Earlier in the year we had a group that we got together with and made sock puppets … and deliver them to some nursing homes.  The socks are just something simple that help us to empower, to uplift, and to give back.”

      DeMoss has found it difficult when asked to sum up how she feels with this bill passage, but she recalls a message someone else sent to her, “‘I really wanna say congratulations but the gravity of the reason this law is needed keeps me from celebrating, but we can now be thankful that Missouri now is a safer place to be for future celebrations.’”

      Governor Parson has until July 14 to either sign SB 189 into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature.  If it becomes law, Blair’s Law would become effective August 28.

Extension of postpartum coverage for low-income mothers expected to save lives, awaits governor’s action

      One of the measures the Missouri legislature approved before its session ended last week could save and improve the lives of mothers and their infants, and get the state out of the basement in state rankings for infant and maternal mortality.

Representative Melanie Stinnett (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Amendments added to two bills, Senate Bill 106 and Senate Bill 45, would extend MO HealthNet or Show-Me Healthy Babies coverage for low-income pregnant women to a full year after the end of their pregnancy.  Currently that coverage stops after 60 days. 

      At the beginning of the legislative session a bipartisan group of six House members had filed that proposal, with several more having co-sponsored it. 

      “It takes a team of people that really care about legislation to move it and I’m just proud to be a part of that team,” said Representative Melanie Stinnett (R-Springfield), one of those sponsors. 

      “I think it makes a big difference for women who are looking at what life looks like after birth and how they can take care of themselves well and make sure that their family is healthy also.  It really is going to impact children, also.  I spoke when I testified in the House hearing about how important that first year of life is for a child, and if that mom’s getting healthcare she can ask those important questions about those things that are impacting her child, as well, so I think there are a wide variety of impacts that we’re going to see for families.”

      It was the fourth time Representative LaKeySha Bosley (D-St. Louis) had brought the idea forward, and she said she was ecstatic to see one of “her babies” reach the governor’s desk, and for it to have been part of a truly bipartisan effort.

Representative LaKeySha Bosley (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “Everybody was just excited about actually doing something around postpartum that could really make a difference,” said Bosley.

      Legislators heard time and time again that a reason to pass this legislation is that Missouri is one of the lowest ranked states in terms of maternal and infant mortality.  Representative Patty Lewis’ (D-Kansas City) background includes more than 20 years in nursing.  She said this extension will make a huge difference for low-income Missouri mothers, and thereby help Missouri improve that ranking.

      “Currently an average of 60 Missouri women die within one year of being pregnant … seventy-five percent of these deaths are preventable, so extending the coverage from 60 days to one year will absolutely address our maternal mortality rate in this state.”

      Many Republicans point out that the measure is also fiscally conservative.  By improving outcomes for mothers, and thereby for their infants, many of them will require less state assistance and will make fewer emergency room visits.

      Sedalia Republican Brad Pollitt said, “I didn’t vote for expanded Medicaid but this isn’t an expansion, this is just an extension for a select few who kind of fall through the cracks.  I was glad that we were able to give them the opportunity to have this coverage to cut down on the number of deaths, not only in the mothers but also the babies.”

Representative Patty Lewis (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

He adds, “I’m pleased that we had a bipartisan, pro-life bill that we could come to an agreement on and pass and get it to the governor’s desk.”

      Democrats say the bill was especially important in the wake of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that triggered a law banning most abortions in Missouri. 

      “We need to give [women] access to the services and the care that they need in order to stay healthy in order to raise those babies,” said Bosley.

      She noted that some groups in Missouri are impacted more greatly by infant and maternal mortality than others. 

      “As an African American woman I am three times more likely to die during childbirth in the State of Missouri and throughout this country, so to be able to give women who look like me and poor women across this state an opportunity to be able to have lifesaving [healthcare], like we’re actually changing lives, that was the purpose of us being sent here.”

      Bosley said this additional coverage for mothers and infants impacts an entire family.  People often don’t think about what a partner goes through when a mother or infant are sick.

Brad Pollitt
(Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “From a partner’s perspective, who doesn’t know how to identify the signs of when someone is going through a postpartum, maybe postpartum depression, this also gives them the ability to learn and to advocate on behalf of their partner – behalf of the mom and baby, so not only are we saving mommy and baby’s lives, we also are saving relationships and families and building a cohort around how we can do that for mommy, baby, and papa.”

      Each of these lawmakers spoke to House Communications through huge smiles as they talked about getting this legislation to the governor. 

      Said Lewis, “One of the main reasons I ran for office is because I believed I could save more lives on a macro level through policy, and this particular bill is something that will truly save lives.”

Pollitt added, “It’s a good thing.  It’s something we should do.  I think it’s a common sense approach.”

This provision would become law immediately upon SB 106 or SB 45 becoming law. Those bills are now awaiting action by Governor Mike Parson (R), who could choose to either sign them into law, allow them to become law without his action, or veto them.


Expansion of adoption tax credit sent to governor

      Missouri legislators hope one of the bills they’ve sent to the governor will lead to more children being adopted into loving homes. 

Representative Hannah Kelly (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      One of the provisions in Senate Bill 24 would expand Missouri’s adoption tax credit, which offers a nonrefundable tax credit for one-time adoption-related expenses such as attorney fees, up to $10,000 per child.  That credit is capped at $6-million a year.  SB 24 would remove that cap, makes the tax credit refundable, and would have the per-child limit adjust with inflation.

      Those proposed changes are now awaiting action by Governor Mike Parson (R), and their House sponsor, Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove), couldn’t be happier. 

      “I just think we did something really good today.  I honestly had given up on it and then it passed.  I couldn’t hardly believe it.  Now it’s on the governor’s desk.  I’m very thankful,” said Kelly.  “We’re just saying, ‘Hey, we’re here to make sure that we invest in these kids and these families, help them get across the line, get them out of the system, get them building their futures together as a family.’”

      More than 2,200 Missouri children are awaiting adoption.  Representative Keri Ingle (D-Lee’s Summit) once worked as an adoption specialist with the state Children’s Division, and said most of the families who would adopt those children see the system as complicated and laced with prohibitive expenses.

      “They know it costs a lot of money, they know it’s hard, they know that they have to jump through a lot of bureaucratic hurdles, but they don’t know that there’s support on the other end of it.  They don’t know that they’ll be eligible, perhaps, for a subsidy and tax credits and things like that, that will help them complete their family and get kids out of foster care and make it affordable and not cost prohibitive.”

      Ingle said this bill could make a huge difference.

“We have kids that linger in care indefinitely and unnecessarily, because there are so many families out there that want to adopt kids, that want to create forever homes for these kids, but they just feel like it’s beyond their fiscal ability to do so.  Anything we can do to help them through that process and create that forever family and get these kids out of [state] care … there are way too many people that would love to expand their families and adopt.”

      The bill is especially personal for Kelly, who talks often to her colleagues and in public settings about her own experience adopting her then-teenage daughter. 

      “My daughter is building her own life and celebrating her impending wedding coming soon and going to college and doing all the things that you hope to see your children do, not because of me but because she simply had the opportunity to know she had a forever home base to come back to.  To be a part of that is a privilege and to get to be a part of helping Missouri families provide that for children who otherwise would not have that, is a privilege.”

Representative Keri Ingle (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Ingle said even as other issues have caused tension between her party and Republicans there has been a lot of cooperation on issues like this one, and she’s been glad to be a part of it.

      “We’ve been really, really lucky to have a specific group of people in my tenure that have really placed children and child welfare at the forefront of what we work on and placed partisan ship at the very, very back when it comes to those things.  Politics has nothing to do with child welfare and it shouldn’t have anything to do with that.  We should all come together and do what’s right for the kids of this state, and so I’m always really proud to see the work that my colleagues do, on both sides of the aisle, when it pertains to that.”

      Kelly added, “If any Missouri family wants to give a child who does not have a forever home a home we need to back up and support them, and that is what this credit is about.”

      The House’s final vote on SB 24 was 139-5.  It now awaits the governor’s decision to either sign it into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without his action.

House votes unanimously for child sexual abuse victims to have more time to sue

      A measure to give victims of child sexual abuse more time to sue those responsible for their abuse was given a unanimous vote of support in the House last week.  The bill reached the floor too late to become law this year, but its sponsor hopes that vote will give it momentum for future sessions. 

Representative Brian Seitz (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      In 2018 state law was changed to lift the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution of child sexual abuse, but in civil law a victim of childhood sexual abuse can only sue their abusers until they turn 31 or within three years of discovering that an injury or illness was the result of childhood sexual abuse, whichever occurs later.  House Bill 367 would have extended that age limit to 41, and expand the scope of who can be sued to include anyone who enabled abuse or allowed it to continue, or who created a circumstance in which it could occur.

“Through no fault of their own, children who have been abused in the past are being victimized again by not being allowed to hold their perpetrators to account in civil actions,” said the bill’s sponsor, Representative Brian Seitz (R-Branson). 

      He said when the bill was heard by the House Judiciary Committee, people who experienced abuse as children in Missouri came from all over the state and as far away as Florida and Texas, to testify. 

“Many came from my own district to testify to the atrocities committed against them as children but it’s too late for them to face those involved in a civil action because the statute of limitations had run out before they came to terms with their abuse,” said Seitz.  “House Bill 376 cannot stop these past events but will allow for these children, now adults, to call the people – and I use that term loosely – to be held to account, and creates a path for civil actions to benefit the survivors and provide some form of restitution and accountability.”

Seitz refers to abuse that happened at Kanakuk Summer Camp at Branson, which in 2010 resulted in a former counselor there receiving two life sentences in Missouri prison.

      “I bring forward House Bill 367 to the House Floor for Evan; for Elizabeth, whose brother, Trey, committed suicide in 2019 because of the abuse; for Keith; for Jody; for Jessica; and for Ashton.”

      The House voted 150-0 for the bill’s perfection, or initial passage, which normally would be one step in the process toward it being sent to the Senate.  In this case, said Seitz, it is a symbolic vote and one he hopes will lead to this change in Missouri law eventually being made.

      One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Representative Raychel Proudie (D-Ferguson), called the bill, “incredible.  It is one of the proudest things I’ve been able to look at this year … this is probably the best bill we’re going to hear on this floor this year.  I ask the body’s unanimous support.”

      With this year’s session ending on Friday, Seitz plans to pre-file the language of HB 367 again for the 2024 legislative session.

Ban of invasive medical exams without consent sent to governor

      The legislature has voted to ensure that Missouri patients can no longer have invasive medical examinations performed while they’re unconscious and without prior knowledge or consent.

Representative Hannah Kelly (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Legislators were told that medical students and residents have been allowed and even directed to perform anal, prostate, or pelvic examinations on unconscious patients as part of their instruction, sometimes without those patients’ consent. 

      House Bill 402 contains several provisions regarding healthcare.  One of those would specify that such exams on unconscious patients may only be conducted when that patient or their authorized representative has given consent; the examination is necessary for medical purposes; or when such an exam is necessary to gather evidence of a sexual assault.  The legislature voted last week to send HB 402 to Governor Mike Parson (R) for his action.

      Representative Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove) sponsored that provision.  She told House Communications, “The patient has the right to know what’s going on.”

      She said her first concern regarding that issue was for survivors of sexual assault, some of whom she knows personally.

      “If you talk to sexual assault survivors, often times they’re very hesitant, especially if they’re younger, to go seek healthcare and to have confidence to get the proper healthcare that they need.  This was brought to me out of the concern that we make it abundantly clear in statute that if you’re going to put somebody under anesthesia in regards to any kind of female exam that they have full disclosure of what’s happening before you go under,” said Kelly.  “I think anybody likes that, right?  But especially if you’re a sexual assault survivor that’s something that is of utmost importance to make sure that you’re getting what you need from your healthcare provider because you’re hesitant, because you’re not secure and you’re not feeling confident of the process.”

      The patient examination issue was an important one for legislators in both parties, and as a standalone bill, was voted out of the House 157-0.

      Representative Patty Lewis (D-Kansas City) was glad to see it achieve final passage this year.

Representative Patty Lewis (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Representatives)

      “I’m a nurse by background.  I worked in academic, teaching hospitals.  I worked with residents and med students all the time and when I first learned about this issue I was shocked.  I couldn’t believe that intimate examinations were happening to people without their consent.”

      Lewis noted that this passage shouldn’t hamper students’ abilities to learn.  She said they have other chances to receive instruction in such examinations.

      “If you go to one of the academic facilities you can opt in to have the med students or residents be part of your care team, or opt out if you don’t want to.”

      Any health care provider who violates the new section of law, or any supervisor of a student or trainee who violates it, would be subject to discipline by their licensing board.

      Kelly, meanwhile, encourages Missourians to ask questions of their healthcare providers and to makes sure they are made fully aware of what will happen if and when they are put under anesthesia.

      The House voted 120-31 to send HB 402 to Governor Parson, who can now sign it into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without his action.