Capitol Report - January 15, 2024
Today we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Junior, who was a great fighter for civil rights. He famously stated, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Today is a state holiday to honor his legacy. I plan to spend some time today reading his Letter from a Birmingham Jail and thinking about what it means to have "just" and "unjust" laws.
In December, there was a Supreme Court decision about governmental immunity. The court says that unless a task is purely administrative, with no opportunity for an employee to decide how their task is done, then the employee is immune from liability to the public for hire the task is done.
In this case, a woman sued because her brother, who had been institutionalized since the early 1970s in a state hospital, was left unattended and not secured in his wheelchair. While he was unattended, he slid down the wheelchair and hung by his seatbelt. The Court stated that neither the state of Missouri nor the employees can be held liable for his death. You can read about my exchange with the Department of Mental Health about this in a blog post.
This week, I also filed an ethics complaint against an individual for violating campaign finance laws.
FDR Memorial
The beginning of session is always slow while we wait for committees to get moving. There were no bills heard on the House floor last week, and my committee did not meet.
During the quiet winter week in Jefferson City, I spent some time in Washington, D.C. In between meetings, I visited some tourist attractions, including learning about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, our longest-serving president. He served during both the Great Depression and World War II.
As much as he accomplished, it is easy to forget that FDR spent his life in a wheelchair, unable to walk. He didn’t succeed because of his disability, or even in spite of it. He didn’t overcome his disability. Disability was a part of who he was, and he succeeded because he was a great leader.
I also learned about his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, who was a leader of in her own right. She helped establish the United Nations following the war, and she was a primary author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
I enjoyed walking along the memorial and reading some of his quotes.
Bills
I have filed the following bills this year:
HB 1839 - Renames Confederate Memorial State Historic Site
HB 1840 - Creates an Office of Inspector General within the Department of Social Services
HB 1841 - Allows the Department of Labor and the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute wage theft
HB 1842 - Replaces old statutory references to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act
HB 1843 - Adds tobacco products and vapor products to the "drug-free schools act"
HB 1844 - establishes protections for immigrants who are in rental housing
HB 1845 - Requires a Certificate of Value be filed when real property is transferred
HB 1846 - Abolishes the Death Penalty
HB 1994 - Establishes the Missouri Bureau of Investigation under the Office of Attorney General
Administrative Rules
One often-overlooked part of state government is Administrative Rules, which lay out the nuts and bolts of how the government follows the rules.
The January 16, 2024 Missouri Register proposes rule changes for the following Departments:
Conservation Commission (83)
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Division of Learning Services (85)
Office of Childhood (89)
Missouri Department of Transportation
Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (89)
Motor Carrier and Railroad Safety (91)
Department of Commerce and Insurance
Missouri Real Estate Commission (92)
I asked the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition about the proposed rule changes related to voting in the January 3 Missouri Register. They were not aware of them at the time I contacted them; they stated that they would get back with me.
Administrative rules govern much of the day-to-day workings of the state government. The legislature writes the laws - the basic framework. The administrative departments write the rules about how these laws are implemented.
Just like with the legislature, there is the opportunity for testimony on these rules. Usually, there is not a public hearing, but anyone can submit written testimony.
The Secretary of State’s Website has the Administrative Rules, as well as a listing of Emergency Rules and the Missouri Register, which contains proposed changes.
You can also sign up to be informed of administrative changes for specific issues.