Submitted by the Office of Rodger Reedy
This week was a short one after being on a brief Easter break on Monday. Now with only four weeks remaining in the 2023 Legislative Session the pace quickens as we work to get our priorities across the finish line. I presented my personal property bill, HB. 713, in the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tax Policy this week. This bill would ensure that motor vehicle valuations would depreciate each year by implementing a depreciation table in the statutes; this fixes a problem that taxpayers faced in 2021 & 2022 when values increased due to an unstable used car market. After presenting the bill to the Senate Committee, Senator Sandy Crawford will now handle the bill while it is in the Senate for consideration.
The Missouri Association of Counties held their annual Legislative Conference this week. A large number of county officials came to visit the Capitol and talk with my fellow Legislators and I about their policy concerns and issues. It was nice to visit with many friends from across the State of Missouri.
I am pleased to announce that our office has given final approval for our updated District 57 Directory. We hope to see them mailed out soon.
Here are a few highlights of the legislative business conducted this week.
House Members Approve the Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act (HB 419)
House members took action this week to approve legislation supporters say will protect Missouri’s children from unnecessary and harmful sex change drugs and surgeries. By a vote of 103-52, the House approved HB 419, which would establish the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act.
The SAFE Act would prohibit health care providers from performing gender transition surgery on young people under the age of 18. The act also prohibits a health care provider from prescribing or administering cross-sex hormones or puberty blocking drugs for the purpose of a gender transition for anyone under the age of 18. The performance of a gender transition surgery or the prescription or administration of cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs to an individual under 18 would be grounds for a cause of action against the health care provider. Such action could be brought within 30 years of the injured individual reaching the age of 21 or the date the treatment of the injury at issue in the action has ceased, whichever is later.
The bill’s sponsor said, “This is just common sense. You think about smoking cigarettes, purchasing alcohol, gambling, consenting to sexual activity. There are a number of substances and activities that we as a society agree that children should not be exposed to and involved in because they have not developed yet to the point cognitively where they can fully understand the life-altering consequences of decisions that they may be making.”
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Missouri House Gives Initial Approval to the Save Women’s Sports Act (HB 183)
House members this week gave initial approval to legislation meant to promote fairness in competition and opportunity for female student athletes. By a vote of 107-41, the Missouri House perfected HB 183 to establish the Save Women’s Sports Act.
The bill would prohibit public school districts and charter schools from allowing students grade six to 12 and public and private postsecondary educational institutions from allowing any student to compete in an athletics competition designated for the opposite sex, as determined by the student's official birth certificate. The bill clarifies that biological sex is only correctly stated on birth certificates if it was entered at or near the time of birth or modified to correct scrivener's error. The bill also makes it clear a female student may be allowed to compete in an athletics competition designated for male students if there is no such athletics competition for female students offered.
The bill’s sponsor said the legislation is important because, “Biological males are bigger, they are stronger, and they are faster. The majority of women simply cannot compete. Years of competing against biological males will wipe out female sports as we know it. We must protect the gains women have made in the last 50 years.”
The bill now requires a final vote in the House before moving to the Senate.
Bill to Provide Direct Access to Physical Therapy Receives Final Legislative Approval (SB 51)
Legislation now on its way to the governor’s desk would give Missourians direct access to physical therapy. With a bipartisan vote of 146-2, the Missouri House gave final approval to SB 51 to allow physical therapy visits without the need for an appointment with a physician.
The legislation would allow physical therapists with a doctorate of physical therapy or five years of clinical experience to evaluate and initiate treatment on a patient without a prescription or referral from an approved health care provider. The bill also states physical therapists must refer to an approved health care provider patients with certain conditions, including those with conditions beyond the scope of practice of physical therapy, as well as any patient who does not demonstrate measurable or functional improvement within ten visits or 30 days, whichever occurs first.
The bill’s sponsor said, “This legislation allows Missourians to have direct access to physical therapists. Currently, patients must visit a physician before they can make an appointment with a physical therapist. This costs the patient additional money and delays them from returning to their life before the injury.”
Lawmakers Give First-Round Approval to Constitutional Amendment to Protect the Right to Hunt and Fish (HJR 20)
A piece of legislation moving through the General Assembly would allow voters to decide if the rights of hunters and anglers should be enshrined in the Missouri Constitution. This week the Missouri House gave first-round approval to HJR 20 with a voice vote.
If approved by both the House and Senate and by the voters of Missouri, the measure would guarantee the right of hunters and anglers in the state to engage in hunting and harvesting wildlife and fishing by legal means, subject to duly authorized powers of the Conservation Commission.
The sponsor of the legislation said, “This preserves the right of folks in our state to hunt and fish. The same rights we enjoy now, it intends to preserve those rights.” He added, “More than 25 states have adopted an amendment similar to this as a result of the similar concern that some groups across the country might want to detract from this fundamental right that we enjoy to hunt and fish.”
As usual, my legislative assistant Blake is available Monday through Thursdays from 8:00 – 5:00 and from 8:00 – Noon on Fridays. You can contact my office by calling 573-751-3971 or emailing Rodger.Reedy@house.mo.gov. If you would like a courtesy resolution from the House of Representatives please contact my office. As always, it is an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of District 57.
