Missouri WIC recipients to get farmers’ markets vouchers under new law

      A new law could soon have more Missourians on nutrition assistance going to farmers’ markets.

Representative Martha Stevens (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Language in House Bill 432 will bring the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) within the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program back to Missouri.  This will allow those receiving WIC assistance to use vouchers at farmers markets. 

      Missouri previously participated in the program up until more than a decade ago. 

      The FMNP language was from a standalone bill (House Bill 652) filed by Representative Martha Stevens (D-Columbia), whose background is in social work. 

      “It’s a way to address food insecurity, which is a significant issue in our state for low-income families.  It’s a way to support new moms and young children that are at nutritional risk.  It’s a way to draw down federal dollars to be distributed in our local economy, and it’s a way to support local farmers, but also for some families, potentially this might be their first introduction to a community farmers’ market, so the hope is that they’ll continue to use those markets going further even when they don’t potentially qualify for WIC benefits.”

      She said initially it will be couched in the existing Seniors’ Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program in the counties that offer it.

      “The hope is that after this is established that this is a program that can grow across the state.  We could even, potentially, receive more of the grant money from the USDA to grow that program,” said Stevens.

      The program will be maintained by the state Department of Agriculture, which must submit to the USDA by November an implementation plan.   Stevens said it will likely be next year before WIC recipients in Missouri can get vouchers, as the program funding is grant based.

VIDEO: New license plate supporting Negro Leagues Baseball Museum soon available

      A museum telling an important story in the nation’s sports and cultural histories is featured on a new license plate that will soon be available to Missourians.

      The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City began in a one-room office in 1990 and today is in a 10,000 square-foot home among the Museums at 18th & Vine in Kansas City.  It is the only museum dedicated to the Negro Leagues, which originated in Kansas City in 1920 and offered people of color a chance to play professional baseball at a time when they were barred from playing in the major and minor leagues due to racism.

      License plates bearing the Museum’s logo will soon be available. It will cost $15 more than a regular license plate registration, and applicants can opt to donate $10 to the museum.  This is the result of legislation carried by Representative Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City). 

      Sharp said the legacy of the Negro Leagues goes far beyond sports, having just as much to do with United States’ history and culture, and it meant a lot to him personally.

      “Without seeing black athletes and black players I’m not sure that I would’ve had the confidence in myself to do some of these things.  To see other folks and to know the story of what these gentlemen – and a lot of women – that get lost in the Negro Leagues’ history, what they had to go through really sets the standard for moving forward,” said Sharp.  “Without those players and what they’ve done I’m not sure a lot of young athletes would have the confidence to go out there and do what they do.”

      “The license plate will, one, create a bigger awareness of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.  A lot of folks in Kansas City are aware of it but I’m not sure everyone across the state is aware of it, of this gem of a museum that we have here in our state,” said Sharp.  “Also, it will provide another funding mechanism for the museum.  For museums like this we also have to have enough ways and means to get funding to them to make sure they can stay up to date with current trends and make sure that the museum is in good condition.”

      Sharp carried Senate Bill 189 which included language that he also sponsored in House Bill 100, to create the plate.  The proposal received broad, bipartisan support in both chambers. 

      “We are just absolutely thrilled with this level of recognition and the opportunity to generation additional support,” said Museum President Bob Kendrick.  “I gotta tip my cap to all of the legislators who made this possible and what a tremendous nod that is to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.”

      SB 189 took effect August 28. When the new plates are available Missourians will be able to get them through local license offices.

Benton Mural model bids ‘fond farewell’ to his likeness

      The last living model for one of the Missouri State Capitol’s best-known artistic features paid a visit to his likeness today, giving in what could prove to be a “fond farewell.” 

Harold Brown, Junior, in front of his likeness (the baby whose diaper is being changed) in the Benton Mural, “The Social History of Missouri,” in the Missouri State Capitol (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communcations)

      In 1935, the legislature commissioned Thomas Hart Benton to paint the walls of the House of Representatives’ Lounge on the Capitol’s third floor.  Benton called it “The Social History of Missouri;” a history that he felt would be incomplete without a baby, for without children there would have been no expansion into the west.

      Enter Harold Brown, Junior, then the 1 year-old son of Missouri Adjutant General Harold Brown, Senior.  While Benton was visiting the General’s home he saw young Harold crawling on a blanket and asked to include him in the mural.  The Browns agreed and Benton sketched the youngster. 

      It is Harold’s likeness that became a baby having his diaper changed while a political rally plays out behind.

      “It’s been an honor,” said Brown of being included in the mural.  He said he likes to share the piece, and his story, with people.  “I’m fortunate to be there.”

Thomas Hart Benton’s sketch of one year-old Harold Brown, Junior, who he later included in his mural on the walls of the House Lounge in the Missouri State Capitol. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Brown, now 86, said with a wry smile that he’s “getting pretty feeble,” so he’s not sure how many more times he will be able to visit the mural.

      His father is also in the mural.  Benton was actually at the family’s home to sketch Harold, Senior’s likeness when he got the idea to include Harold, Junior.  The elder Brown is the foreman of a jury in a courtroom scene near the southeast corner of the Lounge.

      Brown also has the sketches Benton made of him and of his father.  The sketch of his one-year-old self includes blotches of paint; the artist’s reminders to himself of what colors to use for the infant’s skin and eyes.

      Benton signed the sketch, “To the Browns with apologies.”  Brown explains, Benton was concerned Brown’s parents wouldn’t appreciate his rendition of their baby boy.

Harold’s father, Harold Brown Senior, also made it into Benton’s mural. He is the jury foreman in this scene – he can be seen with his left hand over his wright wrist. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “My mother said, ‘Why with apologies?  That’s such a beautiful thing.’  [Benton] said, ‘Because that’s my style.  It’s bold and the baby is much prettier than that,’ and that’s why he signed it like that.”

      Brown said he never met Benton after he was old enough to have remembered him, “and I can kick myself.  I should have found out where he was in Kansas City or wherever he was and introduced myself to him and shake his hand.  I think he would have appreciated that too,” said Brown.  “You know, you think that you’re too busy to do a lot of things that you should do until it’s too late.”

      Brown, Junior’s bare-bottomed likeness and the rest of the “Social History of Missouri” can be seen during guided tours of the Missouri State Capitol, which are offered by staff of the State Museum.

Missouri college athletes to be able to profit from name, likeness under House bill

      Student athletes in Missouri colleges and universities can now profit off of their name, image, and likeness and hire an agent, under House legislation that has been signed into law.  The change would be effective beginning July 1 of next year and comes after the NCAA adopted a new policy on the matter.

Representative Nick Schroer (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communciations)

      Representative Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon) was one sponsor of a proposal on the subject.  He said even before other states began passing such legislation, he saw it as an issue of freedom.

      He said students who weren’t athletes could make money, especially on social media, or sign endorsements.  This included anything from teaching piano lessons for pay to having a popular YouTube channel on a subject that could have nothing to do with what they were studying.

      “However if you’re a student athlete, the walls of liberty are blocked off, and for me it wasn’t fair.  Our free market should be something that everyone can take advantage of in our state and across the nation.  That was the biggest compelling point for me,” said Schroer.

      Representative Wes Rogers (D-Kansas City) agreed with that and other points, and noted that as long as Missouri didn’t have this kind of law its institutions were at a disadvantage in recruiting, to counterparts in other states.

      “We’re seeing that,” said Rogers.  “I represent parts of Kansas City and they didn’t do it in Kansas and they’re worried about us, and so absolutely it’s going to help.  Every state [with an SEC school that Mizzou plays against] have passed this, so if we didn’t pass it we would fall even further behind.”

      Rogers said this wasn’t just an issue for football and basketball programs in major schools.

      “This actually got started by women’s athletes in the PAC-12 out west who were Olympic-level athletes who were sleeping in their cars.  So you’ve got these women who are winning national titles on a track that can’t afford their basic needs because their scholarship doesn’t go far enough … it wasn’t big time football that got this rolling,” said Rogers.

Representative Wes Rogers (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Schroer said it also just makes sense to let students begin making money with which they can begin to control their educational debt even before they graduate.  He thinks it is that argument that led to many lawmakers supporting the language.

      “Let’s allow this freedom across the board – the same freedom that’s made this country phenomenal, the same freedom that has allowed people to pull themselves out of poverty.  I think we’ll be able to tackle this student debt issue by allowing this freedom here in the State of Missouri.”

      Colleges that use students’ names, images, and likenesses in commercial deals would have to have a financial development program for each of those students once a year.  Students who have entered into endorsements could not display a company’s name or logo during team activities if that display would conflict with the school’s contracts and licenses.

      The NCAA’s new policy adopted earlier this year allows students to profit off their name, image, or likeness within the bounds of their state’s laws.

      The language passed as part of House Bill 297, sponsored by Representative Wayne Wallingford (R-Cape Girardeau).

House language will allow chance at parole for Bostic, others sentenced as juveniles to long terms

      A House amendment that will give some juvenile offenders in Missouri a chance at parole will become effective later this month.  The provision was driven by the case of a man sentenced to 241 years in prison when he was 16.

Bobby Bostic

      The amendment was signed into law as part of Senate Bill 26.  It would make anyone sentenced while a juvenile eligible for parole after serving 15 years of any sentence.  It doesn’t apply to convictions for first-degree or capital murder.

      Representative Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) sponsored the amendment, which he stresses does not automatically grant freedom to any offender.

      “Ultimately it falls into the hands of the Parole Board.  It’s up to their discretion.  Every juvenile that’s in the system currently has a different criteria they have to meet obviously.  I think it’s our duty to trust the Parole Board to do their job, and if anybody can be rehabilitated I do believe that we should put that faith into our youth.  I trust them far more than someone else to be rehabilitated in the correctional facilities,” said Sharp.

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

      Sharp and numerous other lawmakers in both parties think Bobby Bostic has been rehabilitated.  In 1995, Bostic and an accomplice robbed a group of people delivering Christmas presents to the needy.  He shot one victim, who sustained a minor wound.  The pair then carjacked and robbed a woman.  He was sentenced for 18 crimes and would not be eligible for parole until the age of 112.

      None of the victims of Bostic’s crimes oppose him being given a chance at parole.  The judge who sentenced him said that sentence was disproportionately harsh, and she favors giving him a chance at freedom.  

      O’Fallon Republican representative Nick Schroer has been among the leaders of the effort to help Bostic.  He and others say that is because Bostic has clearly reformed.

Representative Nick Schroer (Photo credit: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “He’s done so much while he’s been behind bars,” said Schroer.  “Getting rehabilitated to the point of taking it upon himself paying for different college classes, getting several different degrees, writing many books, and trying to work with communities in need within our state so juveniles that might have been on the same path he was won’t make that same decision … I believe that is what we can all agree our criminal justice system is there for.”

      Sharp said it felt meaningful to pass this legislation, especially knowing that there are more than 100 more people in Missouri’s correctional facilities in similar situations.

      “This provision just allows them to be eligible for parole, and I think that for a lot of these folks including Mr. Bobby Bostic, just being eligible will go a long way,” said Sharp.

      The language becomes effective on August 28.

House Bill to fight copper, precious metal theft, takes effect this month

      A House bill recently signed into law will close what the sponsor calls a “loophole” in Missouri’s laws regarding the theft of copper and precious metals.

      Missouri law tracks every time a business purchases scrap metal, junk, or other materials that include copper, but an exemption leaves such transactions unrecorded if the material is valued at less than $50.  House Bill 69 repeals that exception so that all such sales will be recorded.

Representative Hardy Billington watches as House Speaker Rob Vescovo signs his legislation, House Bill 69. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Sponsor Hardy Billington (R-Poplar Bluff) said this will deter copper theft, which is a problem statewide.  He’s heard of thieves stripping copper from vacant houses in his district and doing tens of thousands of dollars of damage.

      “By doing this then they can track who’s been stealing copper and who’s been selling it, and if you can’t sell it, why break in and steal it?” said Billington.

      HB 69 also aims to address a dramatic increase in recent years in the theft of catalytic converters.  The bill makes such thefts a Class-E felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.

      “[Thieves] get a battery-powered saw and cut a catalytic converter out and probably in 2 or 3 minutes, and they’ll be gone,” Billington said.  “That’s happened again to my town just the other day.  They went to a auto dealer place and the guy had already cut out five or six catalytic converters.”

      Under the bill a detached catalytic converter also cannot be altered or destroyed for five days after it is bought.

      Another provision increases from five days to ten the time a pawn shop owner must wait before melting down precious metals, in case they’ve bought stolen items.

      “That gives more time to policemen to trace it,” Billington said.

       HB 69 also increases the length of time records on the sales of certain metals must be maintained from two years to three.

      The House voted 138-5 for final passage of the bill.  Its provisions take effect August 28.

Missourians told to repay federal unemployment can seek waiver

      The Missouri Department of Labor this month announced a waiver process for those Missourians who received federal unemployment assistance and were then told they had not been eligible for it.  Over the past few days it sent notices to Missourians who may be eligible for such a waiver.

      Any Missourian who believes they could get a waiver is encouraged to visit the Department’s unemployment system website at https://uinteract.labor.mo.gov/benefits/home.do and apply.

Representative J. Eggelston (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      House lawmakers in both parties pushed to have the state refuse to seek repayment of federal unemployment benefits.  Many had heard from constituents that the Department was demanding back money Missourians received while struggling in the midst of the COVID crisis, and typically months after it was already spent.

      Maysville Representative J. Eggleston (R) carried House Bill 1083, which he says would have accomplished the same thing as the Department’s waiver program. 

      “The feds weren’t asking for the money back so it seems silly to hassle Missourians to give back the overpayment money only to turn around and send it back to Washington D.C.,” said Eggleston.

      HB 1083 passed out of the House 157-3 in early March but did not reach the Governor’s desk.

      Lawmakers heard that some Missourians were being told the pay back in excess of $10,000 in federal and state unemployment overpayments.  The Department’s action would relieve the federal overpayment liability, which makes up the vast majority of that.

      “The Department tells me that they cannot do just a blanket forgiveness for all recipients.  Each recipient would have to apply individually, but if they go through the process and apply they can get the federal portion waived and keep that money, which probably amounted to about three-quarters of the money that they got,” said Eggleston. 

      Those who lost their job through no fault of their own and did not receive benefits owing to fraud would be eligible for a waiver.

      “The vast majority of the 47,000 Missourians effected should be eligible.  That’s my understanding,” said Eggleston.

He encourages anyone who, after applying for a waiver, continues to have problems with overpayment liability to contact their state representative or state senator.

Pronunciations:

Eggleston = (EGG-ull-stun)

House vote sends statewide PDMP proposal to Governor

      After roughly a decade of legislative consideration, the Missouri legislature has voted to create a statewide prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP).

Representative Travis Smith (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      The program would consolidate information on the prescription of controlled substances so that pharmacists and physicians can identify those who might be dealing with addiction.  The House approved the bill, Senate Bill 63, 91-64, sending it to Governor Mike Parson (R).  Parson has signaled support for a PDMP.

      If SB 63 becomes law it would make Missouri the last state in the nation to enact a statewide PDMP.     More than 80-percent of the state is covered by a PDMP that began in St. Louis County a number of years ago.  This would replace that plan and have different requirements for the sharing of data.

      PDMPs are intended to identify and flag the practice of “doctor shopping,” when individuals go to multiple doctors and multiple pharmacists seeking to accumulate a large supply of a drug in order to abuse or sell it.  Supporters say the program will save lives and help get those with addictions into treatment.

      “Every law enforcement person I talked to, every doctor says it will prevent deaths in the future, and if you can prevent just one person from dying I think that means something.  I think this will prevent hundreds, if not thousands,” said Representative Travis Smith (R-Dora), who carried the bill in the House.   

      Opponents say PDMPs will create a database of Missourians’ private medical information which the government shouldn’t have.  Lake St. Louis representative Justin Hill, a former undercover drug enforcement officer, said PDMPs haven’t worked in other states and the one based in St. Louis County isn’t working.

Representative Justin Hill speaks against the PDMP proposal as Senator Holly Rehder, its sponsor, watches debate. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “This has dire consequences.  The death rate in St. Louis County has actually increased because people are pushed away from pharmacies to buy their narcotics, which they are addicted to, on the street.  If you truly care about the lives of people that are addicted to these drugs then you want them to be discovered at the pharmacy.  You want them to doctor shop,” said Hill.  “You turn down that person at a doctor’s office or pharmacy, they’re still going to get their drug.”

      Smith said he’s heard those concerns, and if the bill becomes law he intends to monitor the impact of a PDMP in Missouri.  If it doesn’t work he will work to fix or eliminate it.

      “My argument to those people is this:  most heroin users did not start off as heroin users.  They had some kind of prescription for the opioid.  They get the opioid and because there wasn’t a monitoring program they got too much of it.  They got addicted,” said Smith.  “My idea is, if we can work with doctors and pharmacists and monitor it, we can catch it before it ever happens.”

      The bill passed the House with mostly Democratic support, with around 30 Republicans voting in favor.  Representative Tracy McCreery (D-St. Louis) has been in favor of a PDMP throughout her 8-year legislative career.

      She credited Senator Holly Rehder (R-Sikeston), who has sponsored and pushed for passage of a program through most of her 8 years in the House, and was the sponsor of SB 63.

      “I think that what her legislation is doing is truly putting a statewide PDMP forward, and to me that is something that is ultimately going to save lives.”

      Proponents say under SB 63, Missourians’ medical information will only be available to doctors and pharmacists.

Foster reforms aimed at giving more children permanency sent to governor

      The legislature has proposed several measures meant to give more Missouri children a chance to get out of the foster care system and into permanent homes, and to help foster and adoptive parents afford the costs of caring for and adopting children.

Representative Hannah Kelly watches as fellow legislators cast votes for one of the two foster care reform bills she sponsored. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      House Bills 429 and 430 were agreed to this week and now await action by Governor Mike Parson (R), who lawmakers say has indicated support for them.  Mountain Grove Republican Hannah Kelly sponsored both.

      HB 430 would expand current tax credits for the adoption of Missouri children with disabilities to be available in any adoption, while giving priority to instances involving Missouri children with disabilities.  Kelly said of a program capped at $6-million a year, less than $30,000 was claimed last year.

      She said by allowing a broader offering of this credit, more Missouri children will have the opportunities for permanent families.

      “When people say it should stay to be Missouri children.  Well if a Missouri family wants to adopt a child then that’s a Missouri child in my mind,” said Kelly.  “If you’re a Missouri taxpayer we’re going to support you in your effort to open your home and your heart to children in need.”

      HB 429 authorizes an income tax deduction for expenses related to providing care as a foster parent. 

      It also creates a “Birth Match” program.  It would require the state Children’s Division and the State Registrar’s Office to compare birth reports with information on parents who have been convicted of certain crimes.  When parents have history of the specified crimes, Division personnel will make contact with the family to see if any action is appropriate. 

      This could include seeing whether any crimes are being committed, but Kelly said in a broader sense it is about seeing whether the family is in need of any of the types of assistance the state could facilitate.

      “Birth Match is intended to match the families with the services to prevent a repeat of previous situations,” said Kelly.  “If you can step in and offer services, whether that be parenting classes, whether that be … do you need to be signed up for Medicaid … do you need prenatal care … do you need, OK you need a washer and a dryer.”

      “That is the heart of Birth Match, is to allow government departments to communicate faster … in regards to ensuring the overall outcome is safety of baby and mom and dad and whoever else is in the picture,” said Kelly. 

      HB 429 also increases the age threshold for abandoned infants and children from one year or under to under three years old.  It sets a time frame of six months before a petition of termination of parental rights is considered in cases of neglect by a parent. 

Foster care reform is a priority for House Speaker Rob Vescovo. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      Kelly said by restructuring this and other parts of law, impediments to giving a child a permanent home are removed.

      “The research was showing us that [children] were getting ‘caught in limbo,’ is the best way to put it,” said Kelly.  “This is expected very much to help make sure that kids don’t get stuck in what can feel like forever being hung between, ‘Okay, I know that I’m abandoned by my bio-family but I also need a termination of parental rights process to happen before my family who wants to adopt me can officially be my adoptive family.”

      Kelly credits House Speaker Rob Vescovo (R-Arnold) with making the legislation a priority, which pushed these bills to be the first non-budget measures sent to the governor this year.  She said not only did he make these issues priorities, he bravely, publicly shared his own personal story of having been in Missouri’s foster care system as further evidence of the need for reform.

      “His willingness to tell his story; his willingness to lay it out there and personally exemplify why this matters has been huge,” said Kelly. 

      The legislation received overwhelming bipartisan support.  The final House vote on HB 429 was 127-8; the vote on HB 430 was 142-0.