Missouri House of Representatives Newsroom

Legislature coming down to the wire this week on FY ’18 budget proposal

The legislature’s top responsibility enters its final push this week, as Friday is the constitutional deadline for it to propose a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Beginning tomorrow, selected House and Senate members will work to negotiate a compromise between each chamber’s budget proposals. Any compromise the two sides reach must then be voted on by 6 p.m. Friday to be sent to Governor Eric Greitens (R).

The House proposed that the state should for the first time fully support the formula for funding K-12 schools. Early discussions in the Senate suggested it would do otherwise, but it decided to follow suit. That was the top priority for House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob), and with both chambers agreeing on it, he says his priority now is clear.

“A balanced budget,” Fitzpatrick said.

Getting there by Friday, however, will be challenging. The difference between the two chambers’ budget proposals is somewhere beyond $100-million.

Fitzpatrick said much of that difference is in projects the Senate added when they were planning not to fully fund the K-12 education formula. When the Senate voted to instead fund the formula, it didn’t remove those projects.

“Now that the formula is funded, I think the projects are going to be tough to [pay for],” said Fitzpatrick.

Another substantial difference between the two proposals concerns “Es.” For several years, legislative budget makers have used an “E” at the end of a budget line to represent an open-ended spending limit. This was often used in places where predicting how much would be needed over the course of a fiscal year was particularly difficult, and it would allow an entity to exceed the budgeted amount if necessary. The effort to remove Es began several years ago, and the House proposed a budget that completed that removal.

The Senate restored some Es to various places in the budget. Fitzpatrick wants to remove those in the final compromise. He said their presence in the Senate’s proposal also distorts how far apart the House and Senate plans are.

“So like for the budget reserve fund, we put a $25.5-million number in there. The Senate put the E back on and made it $1, so that makes their budget actually appear $25.5-million smaller,” said Fitzpatrick. “So really to compare apples to apples you have to add $25-million to their budget to see the difference.”

Fitzpatrick said he doesn’t know how many more such examples exist throughout the budget plans.

One line of particular importance to Fitzpatrick and others in the House is the state’s legal expense fund, which has had an E on it. That line has been the focus of great legislative attention this year after the revelation that the Department of Corrections has settled millions of dollars in lawsuits in recent years in cases of employee harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

With an E on that line – the line from which comes the money for all settlements with the state – Corrections never had to come before a legislative committee to explain what was behind the multiple, large settlements. Lawmakers say that kept them in the dark as to the environment and repeated issues in the Corrections Department.

The House’s proposal replaced that line with lines in the budgets of each state agency. That meant any future settlement would come out of the involved agency’s budget, and if it had so many that it exceeded what the legislature appropriated, it would have to explain why to lawmakers. The Senate returned the legal expense fund to being a single line in the budget. Fitzpatrick and House members strongly want to see the House’s version restored.

House and Senate conferees begin meeting Tuesday morning. Their goal is to have a compromise ready for each chamber to vote on by Friday. Failure to meet the state Constitution’s deadline could mean legislators will have to meet in a special session, after the regular session ends on May 20, to complete a budget.

House votes to require monthly reporting on settlements in cases against Missouri

The House has voted to increase transparency when lawsuits against state agencies are settled. The legislation was prompted by the revelation that millions of tax dollars were paid out over several years in settling harassment and discrimination cases against the Department of Corrections.

Representative Paul Fitzwater (R-Potosi) carried HCB 7 on the House Floor. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

House Committee Bill 7 would require the attorney general to report every month to the legislature and others about how the state’s legal expense fund – the fund from which money for settlements is taken – has been used.

Those cases against Corrections came to light late last year when an article on Pitch.com detailed several of them, and outlined how employees who complained about being harassed or discriminated against were victims of retaliation by fellow Corrections staff members.

House members said after the article came out that they were unaware of the settlements because those have been paid out of a line in the budget that has no spending limit on it. That meant departments never had to come to the legislature and justify how much their settlement agreements were costing the state.

St. Charles Republican Kathie Conway, who chairs the appropriations committee that oversees Corrections, said this bill is needed.

“This is something that needs to be in statute so that the legislature is not caught unaware of all the goings on in different departments,” said Conway.

House Democrat Leader Gail McCann Beatty hopes to prevent state employees who have complained of harassment or discrimination from having to sign gag orders as part of court settlements. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

House Democrat leader Gail McCann Beatty (Kansas City) proposed that the reporting should cover all state agencies and not just the Department of Corrections. She said the reporting requirements could lead the legislature to make changes in policies or laws to address issues resulting in lawsuits in other agencies.

She hopes the legislature will go further and address the signing of gag orders by state employees who complain of harassment or discrimination, as some in the Corrections cases did under the terms of their settlements.

“While we can sunshine and get this information it does not give that employee the opportunity to give their side,” said McCann Beatty.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) announced in March he would begin monthly reporting on the activity of the legal expense fund. Legislators praised his decision but said HCB 7 is still needed to ensure future attorneys general will follow suit.

Hawley’s first such report comes out April 30.

HCB 7 would also require the Department of Corrections’ director to meet with the House’s committee overseeing that department twice each year to discuss issues with that department.

The House voted 150-1 to send the bill to the Senate, but only two weeks remain in the legislative session for that body to consider it.

House votes to send project labor agreement ban to Governor Greitens

Missouri legislative Republicans’ labor reform agenda took another step Thursday with the final passage of a bill barring project labor agreements (PLAs) for public projects.

Representative Rob Vescovo began proposing a ban on project labor agreements for public projects when he was first elected to the House for the 2015 session. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

The House voted to send Senate Bill 182 to Governor Eric Greitens (R), who had called for the elimination of PLAs.

Under a PLA, a governing body requires non-union contractors to pay union dues to workers on a project. SB 182 would prohibit that, and would bar local governments from giving preferential treatment to union contractors. Governing bodies that violate the bill’s provisions would lose state funding and tax credits for two years.

Republicans said PLAs are unfair to non-union workers and contractors. Arnold representative Rob Vescovo (R) said PLAs discriminate against the largest segment of Missouri’s workforce.

“86-percent of that workforce will not be able to do work on those job sites or bid on those job sites unless they sign a project labor agreement,” said Vescovo.

Lake St. Louis Republican Justin Hill said PLAs amount to extortion.

“Those non-union contractors are forced to pay union dues into benefits that they will never receive,” said Hill.

Representative Bob Burns said project labor agreements are good tools for local governments, which the legislature should not move to take away. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Democrats called the legislation an attack on unions. Representative Bob Burns (D-St. Louis) said PLAs protect local governments by ensuring that they will have work done that is quality and completed on time by skilled workers. He said his time on a board of education in Affton provided evidence of that.

“A lot of things that should have lasted 25, 30 years were failing after 5 years or 2 years, and these contractors were nowhere to be found,” said Burns. “The district wouldn’t have to spend more funds to get something done and get it fixed if it would’ve been done properly in the first place.”

SB 182 was carried in the House by Vescovo, who began introducing such legislation as a freshman in 2015. It is expected Greitens will sign the bill into law.

The House’s passage of SB 182 follows other labor reforms it has proposed, including the passage of a right-to-work bill signed into law by Greitens earlier this year. That legislation prevents the collection of union dues or fees from workers as a condition of employment.

Earlier story: House Republicans continue labor reform efforts; address project labor agreements

Missouri House votes a second time to ease state’s motorcycle helmet law

The state House has voted twice this session to relax Missouri’s law requiring that helmets be worn by motorcycle riders.

Representative Shane Roden offered an amendment to a Senate bill to ease Missouri's motorcycle helmet law. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications) — Representative Shane Roden offered an amendment to a Senate bill to ease Missouri’s motorcycle helmet law. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Members voted earlier this month to pass House Bill 576, and on Tuesday voted for an amendment to Senate Bill 8, both containing the same language. They would allow riders 21 and older who have completed a motorcycle safety course or who have had their motorcycle license for at least two years to ride without a helmet if they have insurance.

Missouri legislators have for years debated easing the state’s helmet law. While both measures received favorable votes, the issue stirs passion in both proponents and opponents, and both sides of the issue are bipartisan.

Rolla representative and doctor Keith Frederick (R) said he generally, “doesn’t want the government telling people what to do,” but riders without helmets could cost taxpayers a lot of money.

“Somebody has a bad accident and they have a head injury that incapacitates them for years, it’s … I think the gentleman from the White District in the past has pointed out the lifetime cost is average about $4.5-million,” said Frederick.

Kansas City Democrat Ingrid Burnett said she could not support the amendment after the death of a close family friend.

“He hated wearing a motorcycle helmet but he wore his helmet when he was in Missouri because Missouri had a helmet law, but when he was traveling back to Oakland and going through a state where there was no law, he had a serious accident and lost his life,” said Burnett.

The amendment to SB 8 was offered by Cedar Hill representative Shane Roden, who said he rides motorcycles himself. He said he would wear a helmet most of the time even if the law is changed, but he wants the freedom to ride without it.

He argued that nearly half of fatal motorcycle accidents involved riders that had more than the legal limit of alcohol in their systems, “so if we want to talk about reducing fatalities maybe we need to start enforcing DWIs a little bit stronger, so I would say if you really want to make an effective reduction in deaths, maybe we need to go on the campaign about riding while intoxicated or buzzed driving.”

Representative Keith Frederick opposes proposals this year to relax Missouri's motorcycle helmet law. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications) — Representative Keith Frederick opposes proposals offered again this year by fellow Republicans to relax Missouri’s motorcycle helmet law. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

St. Joseph Republican Delus Johnson said as a motorcycle rider, he feels he is “grouped in” by the state’s helmet law with those who ride while intoxicated or ride recklessly.

“Why am I being punished?” asked Johnson. “Why am I grouped in with these drunks that are riding motorcycles that probably don’t have a motorcycle license, they don’t have motorcycle insurance. If they’re not wearing a helmet and they get in a wreck they’re breaking the law anyway. Why are we grouped in with those lawbreakers?”

Supporters also argue that allowing people to ride in Missouri without helmets would increase tourism. They say many riders and groups deliberately avoid the state because of its helmet law.

HB 576, sponsored by High Ridge Republican John McCaherty, is awaiting a vote by a Senate committee. SB 8 has been sent back to the Senate with several amendments that that chamber must consider.

Representatives urge on Yom HaShoah remembrance, education about the Holocaust

Two state representatives have asked Missourians to remember the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah, the day Israel commemorates the six million Jews killed in that event.

Representatives Shamed Dogan (left) and Stacey Newman speak in the Missouri House about Holocaust remembrance. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communication)

St. Louis Democrat Stacey Newman and Ballwin Republican Shamed Dogan spoke on the House Floor on Monday, as Yom HaShoah was being observed. In Israel, the day is marked by ceremonies, the closing by law of entertainment facilities, and a two-minute moment of silence during which most people stop what they’re doing for solemn reflection. This includes motorists stopping and standing by their vehicles in the roadway.

“The overwhelming theme that runs through all of these observances worldwide, with reformed, conservative, orthodox Jews, lay leaders of all faiths, is the importance of remembering,” said Newman. “Recalling the victims of the catastrophe and ensuring that this tragedy never happens again.”

Newman’s husband’s father, aunts, uncle, and grandmother are Holocaust survivors who escaped Nazi Germany in 1938. Many of his grandmother’s sisters, brothers-in-law, and other family members, were never accounted for.

She and Dogan, whose wife is Jewish, say they will spend the next year working together to revive the Missouri Holocaust Education and Awareness Commission Act of 2006.

Dogan said the commission was created to, “Educate the public of the crimes of genocide in an effort to deter indifference to crimes against humanity, and human suffering wherever they occur.”

Missouri House members observe a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims, survivors, and heroes of the Holocaust. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Dogan said he and Newman would work with the St. Louis Holocaust Museum & Learning Center and the state’s universities and public schools to keep the Act alive.

“We’ve seen enough antisemitism in our own state, and unfortunately nationwide we’ve seen the continued existence of Holocaust denial, which is a lie, and all of those things make this – the education of the Holocaust – even more urgent,” said Dogan.

At the request of Newman and Dogan, the House observed a minute of silence on Monday to remember the victims, survivors, and heroes of the Holocaust.

House pushes for closure for families of missing Missourians from Vietnam War

The Missouri House has voted to urge the federal government to determine what happened to 15 Missourians who fought in the Vietnam War.

Representative Tom Hurst (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Of 35 Missourians unaccounted for in that war, 20 are classified as killed in action. 15 Missourians are presumed dead.

The sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 35, Meta Republican Tom Hurst, said it’s time the families of those 15 soldiers know definitively what happened to them.

“When our nation has the opportunity to bring our fallen heroes home and to provide closure to the families who simply want to know what happened to their loved ones and to give them an honorable burial, it’s heartbreaking to see our nation fall short in its duties and to see these families forced to live for decades with the pain of loss and uncertainty,” said Hurst.

HCR 35 would ask the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to prioritize resolution of the cases of those 15 men.

“This is a country that should honor and revere its heroes. This should not be a nation that forgets those that have given their lives in services, and we should not be a people who abandon those who have fought and died for our freedoms,” said Hurst.

Hurst shared on the House floor the story of Private First Class Paul Alfred Hasenbeck of Freeburg, who disappeared while returning from a patrol in Vietnam. His sister, Jeanie, is still looking for information on what happened to him.

“Throughout her efforts she has been frustrated by conflicting and confusing information. Officials from the Pentagon have disputed information provided by U.S. intelligence services regarding the whereabouts of her brother. The C.I.A. told her that they have no files on her brother after she had already obtained several C.I.A. documents from other sources,” said Hurst. “Then she later found out that a museum in North Vietnam’s Hanoi once held 13 pieces of Paul Hasenbeck’s personal identification including his wallet, his social security card, his dog tags … The North Vietnamese government claimed to have no information detailing Paul’s fate. Clearly someone knows something.”

Hurst said Jeanie Hasenbeck told him, “When Paul went to Vietnam, I know he expected to be wounded. I know he expected to be killed, but he never expected to be abandoned.”

St. Joseph Democrat Pat Conway is a Vietnam Veteran. He said people who fought for this country should not be left behind, and their families should not be left with questions.

“If we owe a debt, we owe a debt to those people who served, but we carry on that debt to those families who supported those servicemen,” said Conway. “Especially in this resolution, for those servicemen and those families who have not had the answer to the questions that they’ve had for over four decades.”

Besides Hasenbeck, the Resolution lists the other 14 Missourians who fought in Vietnam and are presumed dead: 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., Lieutenant Junior Grade Charles Weldon Marik, Major Carl D. Miller, First Lieutenant Bernard Herbert Plassmeyer, Lieutenant Colonel Dayton William Ragland, First Lieutenant Dwight G. Rickman, Captain Robert Page Rosenbach, Captain John W. Seuell, First Lieutenant George Craig Smith, and Sergeant Randolph Bothwell Suber.

The resolution has been sent to the Senate for its consideration.

House asks Senate to come to the table on proposed prescription drug monitoring program

The state House has asked the Senate to debate the changes it made to the House’s proposed prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP).

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

A PDMP aims to fight the abuse of prescription drugs by entering into a database information on people’s prescriptions to see who is getting large numbers of drugs that can be abused. Backers say the program will help identify abusers and cut back on “doctor shopping,” or going to multiple doctors to get multiple prescriptions for drugs.

The House passed House Bill 90 earlier this month that would require pharmacists to report to the database in real time by 2020, require the Department of Health and Senior Services to notify law enforcement if it believes any law or professional standard has been broken, and keep submitted prescription information confidential except when there has been a breach.

The Senate proposed several changes to the House plan. It would require that information only be kept on the database for 180 days; limit the database to opioids and benzodiazepines (the House proposed including all schedule II, III, and IV drugs); and mandate that doctors check the database before writing prescriptions for specified drugs.

The sponsor of HB 90, Sikeston Republican Holly Rehder, has been pushing for passage of a PDMP for years, driven in part by how drug abuse has affected her family. She opposes some of those proposed changes and wants to see if the House and Senate can work out differences.

She said those in the medical field she has talked to say the database won’t be effective if information is only kept on it for 180 days. They want it to be on there for at least two years.

“Typically when you’re looking at addiction, your first two years you have more relapses,” Rehder explained. “Once you get past that two-year mark you’re doing pretty good.”

Rehder said limiting a PDMP to opioids and benzodiazepines wouldn’t go far enough.

“Ritalin – Adderall is one of the highest drugs of misuse and abuse, so we need to be sure that we have all schedule II through IV (drugs) in my opinion,” said Rehder.

Rehder said she would not fight the change that requires doctors to check the database before writing a prescription.

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

The Senate also proposed letting the legislature decide after six years whether to continue the PDMP, and requiring training for database users.

Lake St. Louis Republican Justin Hill opposes Rehder’s proposal and urged the body to deny her motion. He said if Missouri is going to have a PDMP it should include the 180-day provision.

“I hope we keep the 180-days in because if we’re talking about addiction and pill shopping, then let’s try it. Let’s see if it works with 180-days,” said Hill.

Hill would rather Missouri not have a PDMP. He argues they haven’t worked in other states except to push more people from abusing prescription drugs to heroin.

“49 other states admit that this doesn’t work,” Hill told Rehder.

“No, no, tell me a state that admits it. You can’t just throw things out like that on the House floor and not have anything to back you up,” Rehder responded.

The House passed Rehder’s motion to seek a conference with the Senate, and now awaits the Senate’s answer. Fewer than four weeks remain in the legislative session for lawmakers to attempt to reach a compromise.

Veterans Committee chair: the path is clear on addressing veterans awaiting long-term care

State lawmakers now have information from the federal government that could make clear the path forward on creating more places for veterans on a waiting list to get into the state’s veterans homes.

Representative Charlie Davis (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

That waiting list has around 1800 veterans on it; about one-third of those have an immediate need for care. Legislators and state officials have in recent years considered building another state veterans home, replacing and/or expanding an existing home, or looking for options to get veterans into existing nursing homes closer to their own homes and families.

Missouri exceeds the number of veterans home beds it is allowed by the federal government before it will no longer reimburse the state for adding more. This has largely halted efforts that included attempts to pass a bond issue in the legislature to pay for a new home, at a cost now estimated to be around $60-million.

Webb City Republican Charlie Davis, in an e-mail last week to House members and staff, said the state Veterans Commission recently met with the Veterans Association about Missouri’s options for adding bed space. He said the VA confirmed it would not support the building of a new home. It would cover part of the cost to replace a home.

Davis said if a home will be replaced, it will be the home at Mexico.

“It is one of our oldest homes. It is one that is absolutely in need of some renovation and possibly so much renovation that it would cost quite a bit to actually take care of what needs to be done,” said Davis.

A new home to replace the one at Mexico would have about 50 additional beds.

To further address the state’s waiting list, Davis said the state could utilize existing space at nursing homes throughout Missouri. The difference is that veterans don’t have to liquidate their assets to enter a veterans home, whereas a person benefitting from Medicaid support to go into a nursing home must spend down their assets to get below the income threshold for assistance.

Davis wants to seek a waiver from the federal government so that federal dollars coming to Missouri could be used for part of the cost of care for veterans in nursing homes. The remainder of that cost would come from state aid and individual veterans’ own money.

“We do have some beds in all of our facilities across the state of Missouri, that would love to take care of our veterans, honor them, and do a fantastic job,” said Davis.

With the deadline to file new legislation for this year passed and four weeks left in the legislative session, Davis said it could be next year before the legislature can consider seeking the necessary federal waiver.

Davis, who is the chairman of the House Veterans Committee, said he is anxious to see action taken to provide homes and care for those who fought for the country.

“But the compassion, the love that we have, the honor that we have for veterans has to be met with the ability to fund it. If we do not have the ability to fund it then we absolutely cannot do it,” said Davis.

Hannibal representative Lindell Shumake (R) has a resolution that would ask voters to approve $63-million in bonds that could go toward replacing the veterans home in Mexico. That resolution (HJR 2) has passed out of one committee and awaits a second committee’s action.

House votes to block new state park creation until current parks’ maintenance is caught up

The state House has proposed that Missouri shouldn’t create any new parks until it catches up on taking care of the ones it has.

Representative Randy Pietzman (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

It’s sent House Bill 698, sponsored by Representative Randy Pietzman (R-Troy), to the Senate. That would require that before any new parks are established and before any parks are expanded by more than 10-percent in acreage, the state’s current parks should be maintained, brought up-to-date, and have all maintenance work completed.

HB 698 would allow the Department of Natural Resources to accept the donation or gift of additional land, but no work could be done to it except to address public health, safety, or welfare concerns, until the other requirements of the bill are met. It would also require the Department to report annually to the General Assembly on maintenance at state parks and historic sites.

Pietzman said the bill is about making the Department of Natural Resources more accountable and more communicative with Missouri residents. He said the state has more than $200-million in state park maintenance backed up, but in recent years the Department has created and prepared new parks while letting others stay at various levels of disrepair.

La Monte Republican Dean Dohrman said the bill would go toward supporting one of the state’s top industries: tourism.

“We want to bring people in here. We don’t want to take them out to our showcases and they be dilapidated,” said Dohrman. “We want nice, clean facilities. We want to keep those facilities, I think, to a high mark.”

Washington Republican Paul Curtman said the bill represents the type of policy the state should be using on other issues as well.

“We should not be acquiring more property for our state parks if we don’t even have the ability to actually maintain the programs that we have right now,” said Curtman. “I think if we go back home and we tell people we had an opportunity to rein in government spending and make sure we’re spending money only on things that we can actually manage, people would expect us to say that we voted for that rather than against it.”

The bill passed out of the House 85-62; only a few more votes than enough necessary for passage. Many, including some of Pietzman’s fellow Republicans, said it goes too far.

High Ridge Republican John McCaherty said he supports seeking greater accountability, but said prohibiting new parks until all maintenance is caught up is unrealistic.

“That’s never going to happen. It’s never going to be completed. It wouldn’t be completed at your house. It’s not going to be completed at my house. There’s always going to be a building that needs repair, there’s always going to be electrical work that needs to be done, there’s always going to be some project somewhere within the state of Missouri that needs to be done,” said McCaherty.

McCaherty said the bill would tie the hands of the new administration of Governor Eric Greitens (R) in response to lawmakers’ perception of mismanagement that occurred under Greitens’ predecessor.

Representative David Wood (R-Versailles) is concerned the bill would interfere with a project to add 144-miles of the former Rock Island Railroad to the state’s trail system. He said the bill’s prohibitions would not block the state from taking that property in an anticipated donation from Ameren, but it would prevent the state from putting fencing along it.

“If we can’t spend the money, the gates for the crossings, the signs for the crossings to keep people off of the trail, the way to keep the cattle and the sheep, the livestock in place will not be put in unless it’s done at the property owner’s expense,” said Wood.

He is also concerned that without supervision of the newly-donated land, people will trespass on it.

HB 698 has gone to the Senate with four weeks left in the legislative session.

House votes to send proposed ridesharing company regulations to Governor Greitens

The state House has voted to send Governor Eric Greitens (R) a bill to regulate ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft.

Representative Kirk Mathews (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representatives voted 144-7 to endorse House Bill 130, sponsored by Pacific Republican Kirk Mathews. He told lawmakers such companies could mean thousands of jobs in Missouri, but those companies might leave the state if his bill failed.

“There’s enormous demand for these services in our state,” said Mathews. “The economic driver that this can be for our state, not just in the way that there will be thousands of new small businesses, but keeping Missouri competitive to compete on the national stage for high-tech businesses.”

The bill would require such companies, which let customers use apps to connect them to drivers offering rides, to pay a $5,000 licensing fee and conduct driver background checks and vehicle inspections. It would also exempt companies from local taxes and bar the hiring of drivers guilty of certain offenses.

The bill had broad bipartisan support, including from St. Louis Democrat Karla May, who had filed her own rideshare legislation.

“I just want to tell you congratulations and I’m excited,” May said to Mathews. “I can’t wait to see these jobs come into fruition.”

HB 130 advanced in part because of a compromise with Kansas City and St. Louis, who wanted criminal background checks of rideshare drivers including fingerprinting. Under the compromise, rideshare companies will perform checks on drivers and Kansas City and St. Louis can audit those records twice a year.

It is now up to Governor Greitens whether to sign HB 130 into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without his action. If it becomes law it will take effect on August 28.