Missouri House Democrats say the fight against opioid abuse is about more than passing a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. They today unveiled a slate of legislation that would attack the problem by addressing a number of other issues.
House Democrat Leader Gail McCann-Beatty and Representative Gina Mitten speak about their caucus’ multi-bill approach to attacking opioid abuse in Missouri. (Photo; Chris Moreland, Missouri House Communications)
Democrats continue to support passage of a statewide prescription drug monitoring program to track the use of prescription narcotics. Such legislation has advanced farther through the legislative process in each of the past few sessions, but fallen short of passage. Last year St. Louis Democrat Fred Wessels sponsored such legislation that was combined with a bill sponsored by Sikeston Republican Holly Rehder and fell just short of final passage. Both representatives will sponsor such legislation again this year.
In addition, Democrats have filed bills that would require pharmacies to post information about methods and locations for the safe disposal of unused medication; require for medical professionals with prescribing authority at least four hours of training on the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs and recognizing addiction in patients; require the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to mirror federal regulations for prescribing opioids for chronic pain; require insurance coverage of medication assisted treatment and remove insurer-proposed barriers to addiction services; establish a sterile needle and syringe exchange pilot program; require the Show-Me Healthy Babies program to cover substance abuse treatment for women up to one year post-partum; and expand the use of CBD or hemp oil to include being used as a pain management alternative for those with a history of opioid abuse.
Mitten is sponsoring the bills that deal with safe disposal of abused prescription medication and additional training for prescribers.
Missouri is the only state in the nation without a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. Many counties in the state are participating in a program initially launched in the St. Louis region, and Governor Eric Greitens (R) signed an executive order creating a tracking program for some prescription information handled by one benefits provider.
The legislation discussed today by House Democrats is for the 2018 legislative session, which begins January 3.
A House Republican will again this year propose that Missouri increase the age at which young offenders can be tried in Missouri’s adult courts.
Representative Nick Schroer (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
17-year-olds can be prosecuted in adult courts. O’Fallon Representative Nick Schroer wants to “raise the age” to 18. He said the bill has broad, bipartisan support.
Schroer on Friday pre-filed House Bill 1255, which mirrors House Bill 274 from the 2017 session. He said by passing it and increasing that age to 18, Missouri would save money by reducing recidivism; would allow more offenders to use the resources of the juvenile justice system to hold them accountable and rehabilitate them; and would strengthen Missouri’s workforce and economy by keeping 17 year-olds from having criminal records.
Schroer said his bill would also protect the rights of Missouri parents.
One of the hang-ups of past “raise the age” legislation has been the projected cost to Missouri. Schroer said those estimates have been inaccurate. He said in the 45 states that have passed similar laws, their projections of cost were also high but once the laws were in place, the actual costs were far lower and some states saved money.
A Missouri House member has been recognized for her work to screen Missouri newborns for two life-threatening diseases.
Representative Becky Ruth received the “Abbey” RareVoice Award for State Advocacy from Rare Disease Legislative Advocates at a ceremony in Washington D.C., November 15, 2017. This was for her work on House Bill 66, the language of which was added to a larger bill and became law.
Representative Becky Ruth (R-Festus) sponsored legislation that became law this year that will expand newborn screenings to look for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and mycopolysaccharidosis II (MPS II), otherwise known as Hunter syndrome. Missouri becomes the first state to offer newborn screenings for those conditions.
For her work, Rare Disease Legislative Advocates presented Ruth with the “Abbey” RareVoice Award for State Advocacy. She received the award at a ceremony Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
“I’m very, very honored to receive this award. I actually cried whenever I got the news that I had been chosen for the award,” Ruth said. “I always go back to giving credit, though, to my grandson Brady. He’s the reason why we have expanded newborn screening in our state. He’s the reason why Missouri is actually number one when we look at newborn screening throughout our entire country – even internationally.”
Both genetic diseases can be fatal, but children can have better outcomes the earlier each are detected. Ruth said that’s what is truly rewarding about sponsoring her legislation.
“Children with these diseases – they’re going to go through a whole myriad of diagnoses just trying to find out what’s wrong with them, and when they are finally diagnosed it’s pretty severe by that point. These children will eventually die,” said Ruth. “With the early intervention with the newborn screening, we’re going to actually be able to save their lives. They’re going to be able to go on and live very healthy, normal lives.”
Ruth became involved in issues regarding newborn screenings after her grandson, Brady Alan Cunningham, was diagnosed with Krabbe.
Ruth credits Grace Grutter and Leslie Derrington, two mothers of children with SMA who testified during legislative hearings on her language, for helping push it to passage.
Ruth became interested in sponsoring her 2017 legislation after attending a conference on Krabbe, the genetic disease her grandson, Brady Alan Cunningham, had. It was his condition that helped spur passage of House Bill 716 in 2009 which expanded newborn screenings for that and other conditions. Ruth’s legislation this year expanded on what the 2009 bill accomplished.
Her bill means that screenings will be conducted for all Missouri newborns whose parents don’t opt out of them. The bill gives until 2019 for screenings to start, but Ruth said there is a chance they will begin earlier.
A Legislative Task Force on Dyslexia has completed its work and released recommendations for having Missouri public school students screened for dyslexia.
Representative Kathy Swan (left) listens as Kim Stuckey, Director of Dyslexia Specialists at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, discusses the report of the Legislative Task Force on Dyslexia. (photo; Chris Moreland, Missouri House Communications)
The Task Force’s report to legislative leaders and the governor recommends that all students in kindergarten through grade three be screened for dyslexia and related disorders beginning in the 2018-19 school year. It also recommends that students who have not been previously screened, and who have been identified as “struggling” in literacy, be screened.
The Task Force was chaired by Cape Girardeau representative Kathy Swan (R), who said early identification of reading difficulties is key to helping children get the education they need.
It is also recommended that schools require two hours of in-service training in assessing reading difficulties. Currently schools are required only to offer such training.
Swan said it is also important that Missouri colleges’ and universities’ teacher education programs address dyslexia characteristics, identification, and intervention.
Task Force member Erica Lembke chairs the Department of Special Education at the University of Missouri. She said she is excited about what the recommendations could mean for teacher education programs.
Erica Lembke, chair of the Department of Special Education at the University of Missouri, comments on the report of the Legislative Task Force on Dyslexia. (photo; Chris Moreland, Missouri House Communications)
The Task Force’s report says the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) should recommend a process for universal screening that includes a multi-tiered support system. It stresses that districts should make clear to parents that a positive screening for dyslexia is not a diagnosis.
The Task Force was created with the passage of House Bill 2379 in 2016. It required that public schools in Missouri screen for dyslexia and related disorders, and established that DESE would develop rules for screenings based on the Task Force’s recommendations.
An attempt to eliminate recess in the Westchester Elementary School was unanimously defeated today in the Missouri Capitol, by a legislative committee made up of members of its 4th grade class.
Students Keaton Bradshaw (left, holding base of microphone), Jacob Whitson, and Keaton Coldwater testified against a mock bill that would have eliminated recess at their school, Westchester Elementary, while 4th grade teacher Brigette Ryan (left) listens.
The class held a mock hearing on the proposal, giving its students a chance to learn more about how the legislative process works.
The hearing was chaired by Kirkwood Democrat Deb Lavender, whose district includes Westchester Elementary.
Lavender explained that sometimes people come to the Capitol to testify on real bills that they have a concern about, just as students today testified about this made-up legislation.
The students had prepared in the weeks leading up to the mock hearing learning how the legislative process works and preparing to make their case against the banning of recess.
The mock bill was introduced by 4th grade teacher Jeni Ono, who presented the arguments for this made-up proposal.
No one spoke in favor of eliminating recess except Ono and her fellow 4th grade teacher Brigette Ryan.
Children argued that recess gives them time in sunlight during which they are exposed to healthy Vitamin-D, that it gives them time to interact socially, and that studies have shown that children need time for unstructured play in order to thrive.
4th grader Keaton Coldwater said sometimes kid need a break just like adults.
The student committee held a vote and the mock bill to eliminate recess was defeated 11-0. Lavender noted this was the third year such a proposal had been offered and defeated, and she expects it will come up again for future students to consider.
State House Budget Committee members are not pleased with how Governor Greitens’ (R) administration paid for a new prescription drug monitoring program.
The Missouri House Budget Committee (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The Governor created the program with an executive order issued in July. It includes a $250,000 no-bid contract with Express Scripts, under which that company provides data to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The Department uses that data to try to identify prescription drug abusers.
Legislators on the budget committee are frustrated that the administration created and found a way to pay for that program without their input or approval.
Versailles Republican David Wood said it looks bad for this new program to have been announced at a time when the governor has withheld money from other state programs, and after the legislature refused to fund many things saying the state is in a tight budget year.
The Office of Administration’s budget director, Dan Haug, told legislators the money came from additional federal funds for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that the state had not anticipated it would get. He said the administration was free to use that money as it saw fit, and used it to address what it sees as a crisis: prescription drug abuse.
Yukon Republican Robert Ross said the administration circumvented the legislature’s authority and used money that could have supported other state needs, including some the legislature voted to pay for but that later saw the governor withhold the funding.
Budget Director for the Greitens’ Administration, Dan Haug, took the brunt of criticism from House Budget Committee members over how the administration paid to create a prescription drug monitoring program. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Criticism came from both supporters and opponents of prescription drug monitoring with those on both sides saying their problem was not with the program the governor launched, but with how he launched it.
It also came from both political parties.
Springfield Democrat Crystal Quade told Haug it was “extremely frustrating” that CHIP money was used in a way that the legislature had no say in.
House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) suggested the administration should not move forward with its drug monitoring program, and to instead bring it as a proposal to the legislature during the next budget process. He urged administration officials to halt the transfer of that CHIP money to pay for the program, and to not sign a contract with Express Scripts.
Members of the state House Budget Committee have told the Greitens Administration they aren’t pleased with how it paid to keep operating metal detectors in the State Capitol.
House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The state legislature passed a budget that approved paying for additional police officers to patrol the Capitol while the metal detectors, which were installed shortly before Eric Greitens (R) became governor, would be removed. Greitens’ administration has paid contract workers to continue operating those detectors using money out of a fund for building maintenance.
Lawmakers on the budget committee expressed frustration not only at how the administration is paying for those contract workers, but also at Greitens’ continued support for using metal detectors.
Representative Kathie Conway (R-St. Charles), who chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety, was critical of the administration’s decision to use money from the maintenance fund to pay to staff the detectors – a step that was done without the legislature knowing about it or approving it.
Not all budget committee members were as upset with the administration’s actions.
Kansas City Democrat Greg Razer asked Greitens’ Office of Administration Commissioner, Sarah Steelman, what would happen if the detectors are removed and an incident occurs at the Capitol.
Sarah Steelman is the Commissioner of the Office of Administration, under the administration of Governor Eric Grietens. She testified to the House Budget Committee that the administration wants to keep metal detectors in the Capitol. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications).
Fitzpatrick said he is, “somewhat indifferent,” about the metal detectors being in place, but he remains frustrated about the administration funding the staffing of those without the legislature’s approval.
He did say he does not want to see Capitol Police officers staffing those detectors after the legislature approved money for more officers to be hired so the Capitol halls would be patrolled.
The Missouri legislature did not act to override any of Governor Eric Greitens’ (R) vetoes of its legislation in the veto session that began Wednesday at noon.
Representative Deb Lavender came up with an earlier version of a “fund sweep” plan when the House was working on a proposed state budget. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The House was asked to consider overriding one veto; that of House Committee Bill 3. That bill would have reduced cuts to reimbursement rates for nursing homes and in-home care providers by taking $35-million from surpluses in multiple state funds. Governor Greitens called the proposal unconstitutional and a one-time fix to a long-term issue.
House and Senate leadership confirmed Wednesday those chambers would work together to create within three weeks a new funding solution to preserve care for the more than 8,000 Missourians who would be impacted by those cuts.
The House voted not to overturn that veto, 49-106, with most Republicans voting to sustain.
Kirkwood Democrat Deb Lavender was the chief architect of the idea of a “fund sweep,” as called for by HCB 3. She made the motion to overturn the veto.
House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick is charged with representing the House in developing a new funding plan to preserve services for more than 8,000 disabled and elderly Missourians. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
House Republicans said voting to override the veto wouldn’t accomplish anything because the wording of HCB 3 gives the Greitens’ administration the option of sweeping those funds, so he could still elect not to do it even if the bill were passed.
If they are successful, the legislature would next be asked to consider voting to call itself into special session to consider that plan. That would require approval by at least three-fourths of the legislators in each chamber.
Democrats were not convinced that the answer is to wait for a new plan to be developed.
The House adjourned with no motions having been made to consider overrides on any other vetoes. The Missouri Senate did not send the House any veto overrides to consider.
The sponsor of Missouri’s new law providing some immunity for those seeking help for overdose victims says he’s achieved all he set out to do, and is looking for other ways to help substance abusers.
Representative Steve Lynch (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Senate Bill 501 contained language offered by Representative Steve Lynch (R-Waynesville). It provides immunity to anyone seeking medical help for themselves or anyone else who is overdosing, from crimes including possessing small amounts of drugs; probation, parole, or restraining order violations; and underage drinking.
Lynch said that combined with other laws allowing first responders, friends, and loved ones of abusers to have and administer naloxone – a drug that counteracts opioid overdoses – could save lives. Lawmakers considering the bill heard that often a person will die of an overdose or from drinking too much because others don’t call for help out of fear they will be prosecuted for crimes or face other consequences.
Having sponsored now a series of laws aimed at saving the lives of overdose victims, Lynch is now wondering what the next such issue to tackle might be. He’s meeting with the advocacy groups he’s worked with before in looking for the next steps that could be taken.
Meanwhile, Lynch says there must be an awareness campaign so that people with drug problems know about the laws that have been passed in recent years and can take advantage of them.
The immunity law is often called the “Good Samaritan” law, or “Bailey and Cody’s Law,” for two overdose victims whose parents believe having it in place might have saved their children’s lives.
A state representative has been “frustrated” in his effort to speed up a determination of what happened to 15 Missourians in the Vietnam War. The federal government, meanwhile, is looking for DNA from the families of two of those men.
The Missouri House honors Vietnam Veterans with resolutions and a standing ovation, on March 31, 2017. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The legislature in May passed House Concurrent Resolution 35, which asked the federal government to make it a priority to determine what happened to 15 Missouri men presumed killed in that war. This week Missouri House members received a response to that Resolution from Fern Sumpter Winbush, the Acting Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
In a letter Mrs. Winbush summarized the Agency’s efforts to account for the 15 men named in HCR 35 and described the process that goes into learning the final disposition of missing U.S. military personnel. She also noted that the Department has DNA for 13 of those 15 Missourians, to which it can compare DNA from unidentified human remains, but it has no DNA samples for Lieutenant Commander Charles Weldon Marik of Oakland and Captain Dwight Gray Rickman of Joplin.
Read more about Lt. Commander Marik and Capt. Rickman at the bottom of this article
Representative Tom Hurst offered HCR 35 after hearing the story of the family of Private First Class Paul Alfred Hasenbeck, and their effort to find out what happened to him in Vietnam. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Hurst said he is learning what impact efforts such as this resolution actually have when they reach Washington D.C. In this case he said he has received one letter basically acknowledging that HCR 35 has been received.
Hurst said he will look for other avenues to push for resolution in the cases of these 15 men and that could include asking Governor Eric Greitens (R), himself a former Navy SEAL, to get involved.
Hurst said much of that difficulty lies not with the U.S. Government but with the government in Vietnam, where there could be roadblocks to locating remains or belongings or to retrieving some believed to already have been located.
Representative Pat Conway (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Meanwhile Conway, Hurst, and other legislators are hopeful that relatives of Captain Rickman and Lieutenant Commander Marik can be found and put in touch with the Marine or Navy casualty offices that could potentially secure a DNA sample from them. Anyone in those families or who knows of them could contact the Missouri House Communications Office, attention Mike Lear, for help.
The other 12 men listed in HCR 35 who fought in Vietnam and are presumed dead are: Private First Class Paul Alfred Hasenbeck, First Lieutenant Steven Neil Bezold, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Donald Martin Cramer, First Lieutenant William R. Edmondson, Private First Class Dickey W. Finley, First Lieutenant Frederick William Hess Jr., Major Carl D. Miller, First Lieutenant Bernard Herbert Plassmeyer, Lieutenant Colonel Dayton William Ragland, Captain Robert Page Rosenbach, Captain John W. Seuell, First Lieutenant George Craig Smith, and Sergeant Randolph Bothwell Suber.
Captain Dwight Gray Rickman
On Christmas Day, 1972, Marine First Lieutenant Dwight Gray Rickman was the observer on an observation plane on a reconnaissance mission over southern Vietnam. During the flight radio contact with the plane was lost and it never returned to base. Search and rescue efforts failed to find the plane or its crew. Years later Rickman was promoted to Captain.
The Department of Defense investigated the case seven times in Vietnam, including the excavation of two possible burial sites, but Rickman’s remains have not been found and he remains unaccounted for.
Lieutenant Commander Charles Weldon Marik
On June 25, 1966, Navy Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Charles Weldon Marik was the bombardier/navigator on a fighter jet flying a combat mission over northern Vietnam. The plane was hit by enemy fire and both Marik and the pilot ejected over the South China Sea. The pilot was recovered but Marik was never found. He was later promoted to Lieutenant Commander.
In the 1990s, Department of Defense teams met with residents of coastal villages in case anyone remembered Lieutenant Commander Marik’s remains washing ashore. No evidence to that end was found and he is believed to have been lost at sea.