House bill could mean less in lawsuit damage awards for failing to wear seat belts

People who sue makers of cars and their components after sustaining injuries related to those products could be awarded less money if they weren’t properly using a seat belt, under a bill being considered in the Missouri House.

Representative Nick Schroer (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Right now a person filing such a suit could see damages reduced up to 1-percent, but only if expert evidence is presented showing that failing to properly use a seat belt could have contributed to his or her injuries.  Representative Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon), the sponsor of House Bill 1264, said such evidence is almost never presented if only because experts typically cost more to hire than the 1-percent mitigation would amount to.

HB 1264 would remove that 1-percent limit and the requirement for expert evidence, and leave to a jury the decision of whether the seat belt could have made a difference.  The jury would also have the option of whether to adjust damages by any amount.  The bill is going to be amended so that it will deal only with products liability cases.

“Now the manufacturer – whether it’s tires, auto manufacturer, seat belt, the tempered glass that’s put in there – they’re all making their product assuming, and making it safe in conjunction with, somebody wearing a properly fastened seat belt,” said Schroer.  “So this evidence would help – in certain situations – show, should somebody be made whole?  Is somebody actually negligent here?”

Schroer presented his bill to the House Special Committee on Litigation Reform.  Liberty Democrat Mark Ellebracht, who sits on that committee, said the legislation “speaks to fairness.”

Representative Mark Ellebracht (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

“There’s nobody that doesn’t know that every car comes with a seat belt and doesn’t know how to use that seat belt, and I don’t think that it’s unreasonable for the jury to be able to consider the use or misuse of that seat belt, or non-use of that seat belt, when it comes to a person’s injuries in the context of a products liability claim,” said Ellebracht.  “I think that fairness should include the ability for the jury to take into account some of those facts and say, ‘Well maybe you should have been wearing your seat belt at the time of that accident and maybe it’s not entirely the fault of that product.’”

Ellebracht favors an earlier version of the bill that would increase the cap on the mitigation of damages from 1-percent to 25-percent rather than remove it entirely.  Schroer plans to amend that version of the bill to match language the Senate is considering, which removes the cap entirely.

Both representatives hope the legislation will have the added effect of compelling more Missourians to wear their seat belts.

The Committee on Litigation Reform is expected to vote on HB 1264 next week.

Additional audio:  

Schroer:  “Now we have so many different safety mechanisms that are built in conjunction with one another, and if one of those cogs is not properly in the wheel or in the situation something may fail, and that’s why we think that during these times we need to update our statutes.”

Bill to legalize limited medical marijuana in Missouri heard in House committee

Again this year the Missouri House has heard testimony on whether the state should legalize marijuana for limited medicinal use.

Representative Jim Neely (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Cameron doctor and state representative Jim Neely (R) has proposed allowing the use of marijuana to treat terminal conditions.  Neely said his House Bill 1554 would expand on legislation that became law in 2014 that allows the use of a cannabis extract, cannabidiol (CBD) oil, to treat intractable epilepsy.  It would also expand on Missouri’s “right to try” law that allows doctors and patients to use drugs that haven’t completed the approval process of the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The House Committee on General Laws heard from people who said marijuana did help or could have helped their loved ones.  Jane Suozzi said her daughter Kim was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly before she graduated with two degrees from Truman State University in 2011.

After studying and pursuing multiple experimental treatments Kim turned to marijuana shortly after her diagnosis.

“Kim viewed marijuana the same as all the other experimental options she pursued.  She didn’t enjoy it but it gave her some additional hope and sometimes relieved her nausea,” Jane Suozzi testified.  “I appreciate Doctor Neely’s efforts to afford people like Kim potentially life-extending access to experimental treatments including medical cannabis.”

The committee also heard from a number of veterans and organizations that represent them.  Kyle Kisner served in the Missouri National Guard for seven years and spent tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He said for years he was treated with opioids for pain and benzodiazepines for depression, during which time he said his personality was altered and he twice attempted suicide.

“Cannabis allows me to focus.  It’s allowed me to consistently hold some kind of employment for the past few years, and for the past year-and-a-half I’ve gone back to school and I’m currently finishing up two bachelor’s degrees at Lindenwood University; something I couldn’t do when I was nodding out on three to four hours a day taking some kind of opioid or something for anxiety,” said Kisner.  “There’s thousands of veterans out there that are taking that.  You guys asked if this is medicine.  I say, ‘Yes, absolutely, without a doubt this is medicine.’”

The Missouri Prosecutor’s Association spoke against the proposal.  Its lobbyist, Woody Cozad, said for Missouri to pass legislation legalizing marijuana at any level would fly in the face of federal statute.

“Nullification was decided by the Civil War.  Whether this legislature has previously attempted to nullify federal gun law or anything else doesn’t alter the fact that under our system of government, the system for which all of these veterans including myself fought, the states don’t nullify federal laws,” said Cozad, “and it just creates a confusion that at least our members can have a lot of difficulty dealing with.”

Legislators noted that Missouri already has laws that conflict with federal laws, and questioned whether prosecuting people like those who testified for the bill – veterans and those with serious medical conditions – would be a priority for any prosecutors.

Kansas City Democrat Jon Carpenter told Cozad several states have already legalized marijuana to some extent, in spite of federal law, “and I don’t see the mass confusion happening, so I’m not sure why we would anticipate having a different experience if we were to go down this path in Missouri.”

Neely said his bill, as it is written, is about improving quality of life for patients.

“I remember, I may have been an intern, a doctor telling me that his goal as he was near the end of his life as a physician, what he did in life was to provide some comfort to people, and I guess that resonated with me,” said Neely.  “I think that’s what I’m after is that I’ve seen people struggle.  Narcotics aren’t effective, pain control, anxiety, depression, a variety of other issues that the marijuana may be beneficial.”

The committee has not voted on Neely’s bill.  Last year he filed the same language in House Bill 437 and it was voted out of two committees but was not debated in the full House.

Budget subcommittee chair to recommend delay in basing college, university funding on performance

The Chair of the House subcommittee that deals with education funding says he will recommend the legislature put off a performance-based funding mechanism for state-supported colleges and universities.

University of Missouri System President Mun Choi testifies to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education on January 31, 2018. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Cedarcreek Republican Lyle Rowland’s subcommittee heard from those institutions’ presidents over the course of two days and said many of them wanted the same things:  a delay in implementation of that plan, and a restoration of their core funding.

The state budget proposed last month by Governor Eric Greitens (R) would cut higher education funding by 10-percent, or roughly $100-million, from its Fiscal Year 2018 level.  Also in early January, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education approved linking 10-percent of funding for publicly-backed colleges and universities to performance factors such as students’ job placement, degree completion, and budgetary practices.  The model would look back at institutions’ performance over the past three years.

The combination means it is possible, though unlikely, that any given institution could see a decrease of as much as 20-percent in year-to-year state support.

Rowland said he agrees with the institution presidents who told him implementing performance-based funding now puts them at a disadvantage.

“[Institutions] didn’t know what their standards were going to be.  They didn’t know how to change their operation of their colleges and universities to help meet those goals,” said Rowland.  “With them not knowing what standards were, what those areas of concern are going to be, they have no way of implementing it, so it was going to hurt them financially.  We don’t want to hurt them financially.”

He wants to postpone that plan for three years so that institutions will know what areas to work on before their support is tied to them.

“We want to give them the opportunity to build up before we start with the funding model and then let’s put x-amount of new dollars into performance funding then and if you’re not meeting it you’re not going to get all of that funding.  We’re going to redistribute that to the other schools and universities.”

Rowland’s panel on Wednesday heard from University of Missouri System President Mun Choi, who touted to lawmakers the system’s accomplishments but coupled that with words of caution.

He said 90-percent of Mizzou’s students found a job within six months or moved on to graduate school; research is yielding advancements in the agriculture and medical fields; and Missouri S&T last summer beat out other universities from around the world in a competition to design a Mars rover.

“Those kinds of stories are peppered throughout all of our campuses but our ability to continue these programs is in jeopardy because of the cuts that we’ve experienced,” said Choi.

Lincoln University Interim President Michael Middleton echoed Choi’s call for a restoration of core funding and a delay in the performance model.

Representative Lyle Rowland (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

“We are about as lean as we can be.  We’re already seeing that giving multiple responsibilities to individuals affects our productivity, which I believe is reflected in the number of students we’re able to recruit and retain,” said Middleton.  “With this [proposed] additional wave of cuts we are in a perfect storm with no clear break in the clouds.”

As for the proposed cut to core funding, Rowland said the governor’s proposal is not likely to stand, but given the state’s overall economic picture some reduction is probable.

“I’m sure there will be some cuts.  What we’re trying to do is try to make it as little as possible,” said Rowland.  “We’re hoping to be able to locate some things [elsewhere in the state budget] that we might be able to transfer into higher ed.”

The ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, Kip Kendrick (Columbia), has been one of several lawmakers expressing concern about the timing of performance-based funding.  He thinks most legislators will agree it should be pushed back.

“Higher education institutions across the board were on the same message about this, whether they were going to receive an additional hit from the performance funding model or not,” said Kendrick.  “Everybody was very tepid in having that implemented in a year where there is a potential for up to 10-percent of additional cuts to higher education.  We can’t penalize institutions on top of the additional cuts that they’re receiving this year.  It’s way too punitive and not the right year to implement it.”

Rowland will submit his recommendation to the full budget committee.  That committee will develop its own state budget proposal to be considered by the full House.  Eventually the House and Senate will have to agree on a state spending plan to be sent to the governor.

‘Simon’s Law:’ bill would require parents’ consent to end a child’s life-sustaining care

State lawmakers have heard passionate testimony while being asked to decide what steps should be taken before life-sustaining treatment of a child is ended.

Representative Bill Kidd (photo; Chris Moreland, Missouri House Communications)

Some are telling state lawmakers state law should require parents’ consent before such treatments can end.  Others are urging the opposite.  Both say the humane, compassionate, and complete care of children hangs in the balance.

House Bill 1361, known as Simon’s Law, would require written permission from a parent or legal guardian of a patient under 18 years old before a do-not-resuscitate order can be issued for that patient.

The House Committee on Children and Families heard from the parents of Simon Crosier that he died at three months old in a hospital that had a “futility policy,” and after doctors put a DNR order on him without their knowledge.

“Then we got the medical records after he died and the DNR was still there even though we were told it had been removed,” said Scott Crosier, Simon’s father.  “We had told them … my crying words to my doctors and to the medical staff and to anybody that would hear me is, ‘We will not expedite his demise.  I want you to treat him like he is a healthy child and has conditions, so you get him healthy so that we can try and get him better and if nothing else extend his life so we can have a Christmas together.’  He died December 3, 2010.”

The committee also heard from Kim and Paul Kosednar, whose 2-year-old son Elias died of interstitial lung disease.  They say they were involved with doctors in every decision about the care for their son, and they oppose Simon’s law.

“All this journey was done without any form of us ever knowing a futility clause or staring at a DNR.  We used our knowledge to present our goals and wishes for Elias with our specialty team and this would change daily; sometimes hourly,” said Kim Kosednar.  “Again, parents of terminally ill children have to keep evaluating the stance of, ‘How far are you willing to go to keep trying?’  Love is very strong and it is very binding and it is so much more complicated than just a piece of paper.”

Several medical professionals told the committee the story of Simon’s family is not common and urged lawmakers not to base state policy on it.

Doctor Sarah Younger, a Columbia neonatologist and leader of a palliative care team, said, “I’m so just unbelievably shaken by the testimony from Simon’s father because no parent should ever go through that, ever.  That was abhorrent to me.”

Younger said requiring a parent’s written permission for a cessation of their child’s life-sustaining care would take away her ability to ease parents’ burden of making such a decision.

“When you put the onus on a parent of having to sign a piece of paper, basically the child’s death warrant is how they often see it,” said Younger.  “Forcing them to sign that piece of paper is just really inhumane when someone’s at that point.”

Alissa Johnson with Concerned Women for America told lawmakers about children with mental and physical disabilities who were adopted by her husband’s parents.  She said doctors told her in-laws life-sustaining care shouldn’t be given to those children, but those children are now in their teens and twenties.

“I’m here to say that doctors don’t always know and parents sometimes do, and they are the biggest advocates for their kids and they should absolutely have to give consent, and in a way where it’s very clear that they gave consent,” said Johnson.

The sponsor of HB 1361, Independence Republican Bill Kidd, told the committee what happened to Simon and his family was not a unique case.  He said Simon’s Law is written to give a voice to children who are not terminally ill.

“When you heard the testimony today those children were terminally ill, but these children like Simon … they’re not terminally ill.  There is a chance of survival,” said Kidd.

Under HB 1361, in cases in which parents do not agree on whether to give permission for a termination of care one parent can petition a court to consider the matter.  HB 1361’s requirements would not apply if life-sustaining care is deemed “medically inappropriate.”

The committee has not voted on HB 1361.  Last year the House voted 117-22 to amend Simon’s Law to Senate Bill 50, but the language was removed by the Senate.

House budget reject Greitens’ administration plan to expedite tax refund payments

House budget leaders are rejecting Governor Eric Greitens’ (R) plan to use a line of credit to help pay for getting tax refunds out to Missourians.

House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (left) and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Representative Kip Kendrick (photos; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Under the administration’s plan the state would seek a line of credit of up to $250-million.  That would be used to help the state get refunds out faster and would be paid off by the time the fiscal year ends at the end of June.  The loan would have come from MoHEFA, the Missouri health and Educational Facilities Authority, which typically helps finance buildings projects for colleges and universities.

House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) considered the idea since it was first presented to him, but has since cooled on it.

“I personally didn’t love it at first, the first time I heard it, and the more I thought about it the more it wasn’t something I thought we should do, so the House is not going to do it,” said Fitzpatrick.

Both Fitzpatrick and the top Democrat on the budget committee, Representative Kip Kendrick (D-Columbia), also question the constitutionality of that plan.

“One of my biggest concerns about the whole thing is we have a process in place already to make sure we can pay refunds.  The idea that we can pull from MoHEFA, and the explanation that taking this $250-million line of credit is the same thing as providing funding for Mizzou Arena – that’s a false equivalency.  It’s not.  The “F” in MoHEFA stands for facilities,” said Kendrick.

“The nature by which they wanted to do it was to use a quasi-governmental agency to borrow off budget and then use state appropriations to pay off through that quasi-governmental entity those loans,” Fitzpatrick said.  “It was creative but it isn’t something that I feel real comfortable with on the constitutionality issue.”

Senate leaders have also reportedly rejected the loan idea.

Asked whether the legislature needs to reevaluate how refunds are disbursed in order get them out faster, and with the state paying less interest on delayed refunds, Fitzpatrick said let’s wait and see.

“Like two years ago we had a 15-percent year-over-year increase in refund expenditures.  It went up like $200-million in one year and … we didn’t anticipate that.  When you have something like that – that kind of growth in refunds – it can create some cash flow problems, especially right at the end of the fiscal year,” said Fitzpatrick.  “If we have a good year of growth and we can get our General Revenue Fund cash balance in a better situation, and we don’t have an explosion in refunds … I think we ought to be able to get ourselves in a better situation where we’re paying refunds in a timely fashion.”

The House Budget Committee this week began going over Greitens’ budget proposal.  Over the coming months the House and Senate will craft a legislative spending plan that will be sent to Greitens before the end of the session in May.

House budget leaders discuss Greitens’ plan to cut college, university funding

After legislators began going through Governor Eric Greitens’ (R) budget proposal many began expressing concern over his proposal to cut money from Missouri’s colleges and universities.

Representatives Kip Kendrick and Scott Fitzpatrick (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

The Governor proposed a 7.7-percent reduction to higher education.  Coupled with money frozen in the state budget that took effect July 1, 2017, that would be a 10-percent cut overall.

House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) said that would amount to a reduction of about $68-million.  Higher education funding is also shifting to being based on performance, which could mean additional decreases for some institutions.

“I haven’t heard any rumblings from any institutions about, ‘If this happens, we’re closing,’ but I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility,” said Fitzpatrick.  “I don’t anticipate that all of those reductions will stand in the budget.  I think that we’ll probably try to recover some of that, but I think that the institutions – some more than others – are going to have a difficult time with it.”

Fitzpatrick and the budget committee are just beginning the process that over the next couple of months will see countless changes made to the governor’s budget proposal to morph it into the legislature’s own state spending plan.  He is sure efforts will be made along the way to restore at least some higher education funding.

“It’ll depend on what things we find in the budget that we think we can reduce or any other revenue source that we’re not currently considering that could become available through the process, which usually happens in some way shape or form,” said Fitzpatrick.

Legislators in both parties and in both chambers are expressing intent to propose more funding to colleges and universities than the governor proposed, so it seems likely the 10-percent reduction will not stand.  Still the leading Democrat on the House Budget Committee, Representative Kip Kendrick (Columbia), said he’s alarmed at the governor’s proposal.

“This is a time when we’re at full employment.  That’s what scares me the most is the economy’s doing well, yet we’re seeing such tremendous cuts to public higher education across the State of Missouri.  I’m very concerned about what it’s going to mean for our state,” said Kendrick.  “I think that this is a very concerning trend that we’ve been seeing … what happens in the next [economic] downturn?  What’s that going to mean for higher education at that time?”

As for other provisions in the governor’s plan, neither Fitzpatrick nor Kendrick are supportive of a plan to take out a line of credit to pay for the state to get tax refunds out to Missourians faster.  Both also want to retain or improve on the governor’s proposal to increase pay by $650 to state employees making less than $50,000 a year, but say only time will tell what form any state employee pay hike could take.

House asked to back needle exchanges to stem potential disease outbreaks

Members of a House Committee have been told a bill to exempt needle exchange programs from drug paraphernalia laws could help combat a potential outbreak in intravenous diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C.

Representative Holly Rehder (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Holly Rehder (R-Sikeston) told the Special Committee on Urban Issues that abusers who take advantage of needle exchange programs are five times more likely to enter treatment programs.

The committee also heard that the Centers for Disease Control have identified 10 counties in Missouri where conditions could lead to an outbreak like that in Scott County, Indiana.  In that county of more than 24,000 people, 227 became infected with HIV in 2015 and 2016 due largely to sharing needles used to abuse intravenous drugs.

“This bill is to, honestly, sanction existing programs that we have running in the state,” Rehder told the committee about her bill, House Bill 1620.  “Right now we have syringe access, or needle exchange which it is also called, running in the St. Louis area and the Kansas City area.  These have been ongoing for some time but the problem is that they’re running in a somewhat grey area because Missouri’s law has a paraphernalia charge that could be charged.  The local jurisdictions have not pressed that because they see the good in these programs.”

Chad Sabora is a former prosecutor who became a heroin user, and is now an activist in fighting heroin addiction.  He runs one of the needle exchange programs operating in Missouri, which he said won’t stop an outbreak but is a “crucial piece of the puzzle.”

“80-percent of the people that use my syringe access program I put into treatment within three months, because as Holly stated it’s early engagement,” said Sabora.  “They walk into my office seeking clean needles and nothing else, and what they get is something different. They get conversation, they get compassion, they get treatment resources that they did not know exist, and once they find out that all these options are available for them most of them reach out for help, and I never would have told them about those options if they didn’t walk into my office just to get that clean needle that day.”

The committee heard needle exchange programs could also save the state money.  Rehder told the committee the cost to treat HIV patients on Medicaid is expected to increase this year because of changes to the Medicaid program.

Sabora told the committee that a rule change by the Department of Social Services means that anyone with Medicaid can receive treatment for Hepatitis C.

“Before that passed, when it was only the very limited few that got Medicaid treatment, the state still spent upwards of $80-million in 2014.  We can reduce these infections, we can reduce future cost of treatment, and lower the cost to the state,” said Sabora.

Rehder has led legislative efforts in recent years to pass a statewide drug monitoring program to help fight opioid abuse, and has shared how opioid addiction struck her family; her daughter became addicted to opioid painkillers after being treated for a cut she suffered at work.  Rehder said she sees this as another tool to fight opioid addiction.

“We’ve got to be sure that we move emotion to the side and actually look at the numbers, look at the statistics – what’s working?” said Rehder.  “When people first hear about needle exchange one of the first things they say is that’s enabling a user, but you have to look past that.  You have to look beyond the stigma of addiction and you have to see, ok but what helps?  What works?  What gets better outcomes?”

Rehder said if her bill passes to remove the “gray area,” she believes needle exchange programs will spread to other parts of the state including the counties flagged by the CDC.

“There are some federal dollars that we’re passing up right now because we don’t have in statute that these are clear of any gray area, so once we get this passed these individual health departments or individual needle exchanges can reach out to get some of that help in some of these more underserved areas,” said Rehder.

The committee voted unanimously to pass HB 1620.  It next goes to the House Committee on Rules.

House committee considers change to abortion parental notification law

A Missouri House Republican is again asking to require that both parents be notified before a minor in Missouri can have an abortion.

Representative Rocky Miller (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Lake Ozark representative Rocky Miller says it’s a matter of common sense, but Democrats argue the legislation could put some young women in danger.

Missouri law requires that a minor seeking an abortion and one parent or guardian of that minor give written consent before the procedure is performed.  House Bill 1383 would require that the parent or guardian giving consent notify any other custodial parent or guardian in writing before the minor gives her consent.  It would not apply in an emergency or for custodial parents or guardians that have been found guilty of certain crimes, are listed on the sex offender registry, are the subject of an order of protection, have had parental rights terminated, or for whom the whereabouts are not known.

Miller first filed the proposal five years ago and related it to his own experience.  His daughter at 15 became pregnant with his granddaughter, who he and his wife later raised.

“I did have a 15-year-old child that got pregnant and by the grace of God they notified me, which was nice,” said Miller.  “If you remember the first time we had this bill five years ago we had testimony from a woman … that said when she was 15 they went and got an abortion … well later her father, it was a married family, found out about it and he looked at her and he said, ‘I just want you to know I would have done whatever it takes if you wanted to keep that child,’ and she said – it was really gut-wrenching testimony – she said that she looks at her three children now and knows that there should be a fourth.”

Democrats including Stacey Newman of St. Louis oppose Miller’s bill, saying its requirement could put teenage girls in danger. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

In a hearing of the House Committee on Children and Families, Democrats said major medical associations have opposed Miller’s proposal each year because its requirement could put teen girls in danger.  They say despite the exemptions in the notification requirement it could force the involvement of a parent who is abusive or otherwise a danger to a pregnant teen.

Kansas City obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Valerie French told the committee, “The bill could put scared teens at risk to do something that would harm themselves.  This law could be detrimental to teens’ health and safety because research shows that laws like this one can delay access to care and force a teen to take measures into her own hands.”

In two previous years Miller’s proposal has been voted out of the House and approved by a Senate committee, but was not passed out of the Senate.

The Committee on Children and Families has not voted on HB 1383.

Wife and Missouri state rep. both recovering after three-way, cross-country kidney transplant

A state representative’s wife and he are recovering after a three-way kidney transplant that she needed to save her life.

Representative J. Eggleston (second from left) and his wife Cathie were joined by their daughter Stefanie and son Nick at the governor’s inauguration, January 9, 2017. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Cathie Eggleston, wife of Maysville representative J. Eggleston (R), was in need of the transplant.  J. Eggleston learned he wasn’t a match to donate to her directly, but through the Kidney Paired Donation program he donated a kidney to a patient in Michigan.  That patient’s friend donated a kidney to someone elsewhere in the U.S., and that recipient’s friend donated a kidney to Cathie.

The first round of surgeries began around 5 a.m. Wednesday, with the second round beginning around 2 p.m. that afternoon.  All were completed successfully and Cathie and J. Eggleston are recovering.

“I’m grateful for the other donors, the other recipients who have stepped forward.  We would love to meet them some day,” said Rep. Eggleston.  “We’re not allowed to know anything about them but after it’s all said and done if everybody gives permission to have their identities revealed to each other we’d love to get to know them and thank them for their gift.”

Eggleston said his wife was down to about 15-percent kidney function as of her latest appointment.  Without a donation she would have had to go to dialysis each day for the rest of her life.  He said she was expected to live about five years if she went on dialysis.

Cathie’s journey began roughly a year ago when she went to a doctor who discovered she had extremely high blood pressure.

Some will know Cathie Eggleston for her frequent visits to the Missouri House, during which she often brings cookies. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

“Hers was at about 210,” said J. Eggleston.  “In the process of doing all the tests they learned that her kidney function was severely hampered.  It was at only about 20-percent of what kidney function should be.  Over the years she had developed symptoms of fatigue that we just chalked up to aging but they said no, it’s the fact that her kidneys were not filtering her blood properly.”

J. Eggleston said he’s grateful that the KPD program exists. He encourages everyone to take advantage of any opportunity to donate organs, including by filling out the donation form on the back of a Missouri driver’s license.

“Obviously check it out, but I don’t see any reason why anyone wouldn’t want to sign up for that at the DMV knowing that the last thing you may do on this planet is to save the life of anywhere from one to eight other people with your donations,” said Eggleston.  “As far as live donations with your friends, ask them.  If you know they’re going through some kidney issues, they have been briefed on the procedures by their doctors and the coordinators for all of this and they can put you in contact with other people whose job it is to have the donor in mind.”

Cathie Eggleston will spend about six weeks recovering.  J. will need about three weeks before he returns to the Capitol.  The couple will spend part of that time staying with their son in Smithville and being helped by Cathie’s sister who will come from her home in North Dakota for a few weeks.

J. Eggleston thanks his son and sister-in-law, as well as several representatives who have agreed to handle legislation he has filed while he recovers.

About 18,000 people receive kidney transplants in the U.S. each year.  Roughly 12,000 of those come from deceased donors and the remainder from friends or loved ones.  About 100,000 people are on the waiting list hoping to receive a kidney.

House votes to send latest lobbyist gift ban proposal to Senate

The Missouri House has for the third straight year proposed a ban on lobbyist gifts to legislators and other elected and appointed officials.

Representative Justin Alferman (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

The House voted 134-12 Wednesday to send to the Senate House Bill 1303, sponsored by Hermann Republican Justin Alferman.  The bill would bar lobbyists from giving gifts to government officials – things such as meals or tickets to concerts or sporting events.  It would allow lobbyists to pay for gifts at events in Missouri when all members of the legislature or all statewide officials are invited at least three days before the event.

“We’re trying to alleviate the one-on-one interactions that sometimes have personally consumable items given to individual legislators in the State of Missouri,” said Alferman.  “I think it’s important … that we as legislators tackle these tough issues and show the State of Missouri and its citizens that we are capable of handling complex issues like ethics reform.”

The bill specifies what elected and appointed officials could still receive.  That includes things like entrance fees to events at which they are participating in a ceremony; flowers or plants as expressions of condolence or congratulations; and plaques or awards.  It would also eliminate the requirement that lobbyists report having given such gifts.

Representative Peter Merideth (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Democrats wanted to restore those reporting requirements.  They also proposed that the bill should include penalties for lawmakers who violate it.  Their proposed amendments were rejected last week, though the bill still received broad bipartisan support.

“I do wish that we had included in the bill some provisions of transparency with regard especially to the new exemptions for allowable expenditures that are for individual legislators,” said St. Louis representative Peter Merideth (D).  “I also do wish that we had added provisions to make ourselves accountable under this bill … However with that said I still think this is an improvement from current law and so I will be supporting it.”

The vote came a year to the day after the House last voted to send a gift ban proposal to the Senate.  Neither that bill nor the one the House approved in 2016 were approved by that chamber.