(Missourinet) – Legislation that would legalize the growth of industrial hemp in Missouri was approved Monday by a state Senate committee in Jefferson City.

The Missouri Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee voted 5-1 to approve State Rep. Paul Curtman’s bill, which would legalize the growth of industrial hemp and create a program for its licensure and monitoring.

Curtman (R-Union) told the committee the bill creates an industrial hemp agricultural pilot program.

“Under the federal Farm Act of 2014, the federal government has authorized the department, the states to authorize their departments of agriculture or their departments of education to allow the growth and cultivation of industrial hemp under pilot programs for the purposes of research,” Curtman said.

Curtman’s bill would allow those licensed by the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) to “grow, harvest and cultivate” industrial hemp.

Supporters predict that multiple processing plants will be built in Missouri, if the bill passes.

Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee Chairman Brian Munzlinger (R-Williamstown) voted for the bill.

“I’ve always been a firm believer and backer of value-added,” Munzlinger says. “Anything we can do in Missouri that we can add value to is by far better, whether it’s through agricultural crops or anything else.”

Munzlinger has traveled to Kentucky, which is a leader in industrial hemp production.

Under the Curtman bill, applicants must complete a fingerprint criminal history background check.

Curtman’s bill says that a license or permit cannot be issued to someone who has been convicted of a felony within ten years, nor to anyone who has been convicted at any time of a state or federal felony of possession or distribution of a controlled substance.

While Missouri Farm Bureau State Legislative Affairs Director B.J. Tanksley testified against the bill on Monday, he emphasized that they’re not opposed to industrial hemp. He said the program must fall in line with federal law.

Tanksley told senators that Missouri Farm Bureau members adopted this policy.

Tanksley also expressed concerns with the bill’s fiscal note. Chairman Munzlinger (R) and State Sen. Jason Holsman (D-Kansas City) grilled Tanksley on the group’s position.

State Sen. Dan Hegeman (R-Cosby) cast the lone no vote, saying he wants stronger language and that he doesn’t want to put farmers at risk in abiding by the farm bill.

Curtman and bill supporters say 31 other states allow industrial hemp.

The Midwest Industrial Hemp Association says Curtman’s bill will help rural Missouri communities.

The association’s Hyatt Bangert testified Monday before the committee, saying they’ve been working on this issue for two years.

“It’s really an economic development bill in the disguise of an agricultural bill, because we see that this could be a multi-billion dollar business long-term, it has that kind of potential,” Bangert said.

Bangert is from St. Charles.

The Curtman bill now heads to the full Missouri Senate. The House voted to approve the bill earlier this month, on a 126-26 vote.

(Missourinet) – Last week, Republican infighting about different issues virtually shut down Senate business.

The Missouri legislature has three weeks left in its regular session.

Since the General Assembly convened on January 4, legislators have sent Governor Eric Greitens (R) five bills. Those measures include barring mandatory union fees in the workplace, changes to the procedure for determining expert witness testimony in jury court cases, creating regulations for ridesharing companies to expand statewide and increasing penalties against those for the off-label use of herbicides on crops.

If the upper chamber can’t revive, several critical bills could die this session. Some of them could have life or death consequences.

FY2018 budget: The one state constitutional requirement the Missouri legislature has is to pass a balanced state budget by May 5. The proposed $27 billion state budget that begins in July has passed in the House. The Senate Appropriations Committee has been working on it. Depending on if the upper chamber’s gridlock continues, the full Senate could try and work on the budget this week. That does not leave much time for the House and Senate to work out their budget differences.

House budget committee chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) told Missourinet that a special session to deal with the budget is a possibility. A special session comes at an expense to taxpayers.

Real ID: State Sen. Ryan Silvey (R-Kansas City) and state Rep. Kevin Corlew (R-Kansas City) are sponsoring legislation that would give Missourians the choice of whether they want an ID that is compliant with the federal REAL ID law. The law, which was passed in 2005, requires stricter identification standards for homeland security and immigration purposes. Silvey said the law is causing problems for Missourians who don’t have the ID and are trying to gain access to military bases and federal facilities.

Federal law says if Missouri doesn’t comply by 2018, residents will not be allowed to board planes. Critics of the law, including mostly Republicans, say it invades people’s privacy.

Gun loophole: State Reps. Tracy McCreery (D-St. Louis) and Donna Lichtenegger (R-Cape Girardeau) want to keep guns out of the hands of those found guilty of domestic violence. They are sponsoring bills that would close a loophole in state law created by the legislature’s 2015 passage of comprehensive gun legislation, Senate bill 656. Last year, the General Assembly passed the sweeping changes to Missouri’s gun laws with an agreement that lawmakers would return this year and close that gap in the law.

Boat dock safety changes: A measure sponsored by Sen. Jake Hummel (D-St. Louis) would enact policies meant to prevent electrical shock drownings at Missouri lakes. The bill, once sponsored by former Republican state Rep. Caleb Jones of Columbia, was filed in response to the 2012 drownings of Brayden and Alexandra Anderson of Ashland on the Lake of the Ozarks. Since 2012, four people have died at the lake from electric shock drowning.

The proposal would make new docks and those changing ownership have safety inspections and meet new standards like requiring a switch to cut off power to the docks. The bill would also mandate that Highway Patrol boats have defibrillators.

Blue Alert System: The proposed creation of a “Blue Alert System” would send out text and broadcast alerts in a locality if a police officer is attacked. Another bill would increase criminal penalties for assaulting a police officer, as well as damaging or trespassing on police property. State Reps. Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin) and Justin Hill (R-Lake St. Louis) and Senators Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) and Doug Libla (R-Poplar Bluff) are sponsoring such legislation.

Radioactive waste: Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D-University) and state Rep. Mark Matthiesen (R-Maryland Heights) are sponsoring legislation that would use $12.5 million in state funding to buyout 91 homes near the St. Louis area’s West Lake Landfill.

About 100,000 tons of WWII era nuclear weapons waste are stored in the landfill. An underground fire has been burning at the nearby Bridgeton landfill since at least 2010. That fire could soon meet the radioactive material lingering at West Lake Landfill.

Residents of Bridgeton and nearby Coldwater Creek have complained for a few years about the fire’s fumes and the exposure to health risks those fumes and the radioactive waste pose.

The measure, which has passed in the Senate, will be considered this week by a House committee.

Prescription drug monitoring program: Sikeston state Rep. Holly Rehder has championed legislation for several years that aims to reduce opioid prescription drug abuse and illegal distribution. The House and Senate have both passed the measure with changes. Members in both chambers are trying to work out their differences on the bill.

Missouri is the only state in the nation without a prescription drug monitoring program.

The leading forces in last week’s party drama appeared to be Sen. Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph), Greitens and GOP legislative leaders.

Schaaf ate up a significant amount of floor time last week vocalizing his opposition to expanding managed care in Missouri and also about so-called dark money. Schaaf, who has sponsored past legislation to reign in on lavish campaign contributions, has taken aim this session at Greitens’ refusal to share information about some campaign contributions.

On Wednesday, Schaaf made an unprecedented move by having each House bill that is largely supported be removed from a position that’s meant to streamline the legislative process.

A nonprofit organization created by Greitens’ campaign staff released digital ads on Friday attacking Schaaf. At least one of the ads included Schaaf’s cell phone number. Schaaf tells Missourinet he has received thousands of phone calls, including robocalls, since the ads were unveiled.

A tweet by Greitens staffer Austin Chambers said Schaaf should stop blocking the conservative agenda.

(Missourinet) – A House committee charged with investigating the Missouri prison scandal heard testimony from Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe Thursday.

The recently appointed department head offered a series of programs she’s initiated to eliminate the culture of harassment, violence and retaliation which has devastated the agency.

One plan introduced by Precythe offers three pathways for employees to register a complaint – the chain of command, the regional human resources officer, and a hotline.

“There’s no more wardens making a decision ‘Should I report this up or not,’” Precythe said. “And I know that was one of the largest concerns that had been had.”

Precythe was appointed by Governor Greitens to clean up the troubled prison system, which was the target of employee lawsuits resulting in more than $7 million in settlements.

She said there’s now a clearly defined chain of command for employees to file a complaint, and a follow-up system through the recently created Office of Professional Standards.

“If an employee files a complaint through the chain of command, the employees will know at some point they should get a call from the Office of Professional Standards,” Precythe said. “If they don’t get a call, then we know that somehow the complaint hasn’t gotten to where it needed to go.”

Precythe said the Office of Professional Standards, which was launched in March, brings clarity to the way investigations are assigned. All complaints are sent to the office, and all hotline calls go directly to it without any third party in between.

Another change Precythe reported to the committee was the swap out of the Inspector General’s office with a Civil Rights Unit, which will respond to allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation and unprofessional conduct.

The Civil Right Unit will also build up the PREA Unit (Prison Rape Elimination Act) which will investigate sexual related incidents.

Precythe also told the committee there’s a plan to more closely coordinate with local officials about crimes committed in prisons. She said local prison officials would meet on a regular basis with law enforcement personnel and prosecutors.

One hint that there’s been insufficient communication inside the prison system came when Precythe announced to the committee that she’d held a first ever meeting of all the leaders within the department. It included wardens along with management from both the central office in Jefferson City and the Probation and Parole division.

Committee member John McCaherty (R-High Ridge) expressed hope that Presythe’s overhaul of the system would help low level employees who have most often been the victims of the rampant harassment and abuse.

“They feel like they need to watch their back from the inmates, their fellow corrections officers and their management,” McCaherty said.  “Hopefully we get some structure there that they can at least feel comfortable that somebody’s not out for them on both sides.”

After the hearing, Precythe told Missourinet that her task at the Department of Corrections has been the biggest professional hurdle she’s faced.

“This has been one of the best challenges in my career.  It’s been huge, but I am very excited to take it on.”

Precythe came to Missouri’s prison system after a career in probation and parole at the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. She established a zero tolerance policy since taking over at the state DOC.

(Missourinet) – In his first two months as America’s Environmental Protection Agency chief, Scott Pruitt visited northern Missouri’s Clifton Hill to learn what rural energy workers are doing to help protect the environment.

Pruitt said the war on fossil fuels is over and he said America burns energy in a way that is far cleaner than any other country.

According to Pruitt, the U.S. has reduced its air pollution by 65% since 1980.

“That’s something we should celebrate. It was only this past administration that said to us that we had to choose between jobs and protecting our environment,” Pruitt said. “We can do both. You know the old saying, ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it too.’ Whoever says that doesn’t know what you are supposed to do with cake.”

Pruitt said both can be done with fewer regulations and the continued use of coal to produce energy.

“The agency has been an agency that’s tried to pick winners and losers, that’s used regulatory power not to make things regular for those that are regulated, but to say ‘we’re going to put our thumb on the scale in favor of certain types of energy at the expense of others,’” Pruitt said.

He vows to partner with states to invest and improve air, land and water quality.

“I believe that you care about the air that you breathe. I know that you care about the water that you drink and that you are invested in that – People that own property, that generate electricity in Missouri,” Pruitt said. “For farmers and ranchers, the most important asset they have is their land.”

Pruitt’s critics say his plans to cut EPA jobs and regulations will undo all the hard work that’s been done to help protect the environment.

Embracing Pruitt’s message Thursday at the Thomas Hill Energy Center include Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Attorney General Josh Hawley, Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn, state Reps. Chuck Basye (R-Rocheport), Tim Remole (R-Excello) and Travis Fitzwater (R-Holts Summit).

(Missourinet) – A measure to enhance Missouri’s Amber Alert system is forging through the Missouri legislature.

After garnering practically unanimous support in the House, the bill to improve distribution of the alert among police agencies was heard in a Senate committee Thursday.

House Republican Curtis Trent of Springfield said there’s a problem because not all law enforcement interface systems are connected with the Amber Alert system.

“So what we want to is make sure that whatever interface system the police officer normally uses, that they can access the Amber Alert system digitally and seamlessly with that platform,” Trent said. “And by eliminating any unnecessary steps, make the issuance of those alerts as fast as possible.”

The bill calls for the Amber Alert System to be integrated into the Missouri uniform law enforcement system (MULES) and the Regional Justice Information Service (REJIS) to expedite the reporting of child abductions.

Known as “Hailey’s Law,” the measure is named after 10-year-old Hailey Owens, who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in Springfield in 2014.

Jim Wood, the father of alleged killer Craig Wood, said he thinks he could have helped prevent the tragedy if an alert been had sent more quickly.

“I was in the neighborhood, within about four blocks of Craig’s house,” Wood said. “And if I would have received an Amber Alert is a more timely manner, I would have recognized my license plate number on the vehicle that I owned.”

After Springfield Police responded to a child abduction call, there was a two-hour delay before an Amber Alert was issued statewide.

The bill was approved in the House by a resounding 144-1 margin. While Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) is carrying it in the Senate, Trent, the House sponsor, presented the measure before the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee Thursday.

He said he thinks it has a decent shot at becoming law, even though the legislature is winding down to its last three weeks of the yearly session.

“Unless something mechanical prevents us from getting it to the finish line, then it will get there,” Trent said. “And of course I’m also looking at alternative ways to get the language through, such as through an amendment on a Senate bill.”

Trent said the bill itself is meant to ensure enhancements are made.

“I think we’re already moving in that direction. But having the requirement in there makes sure that this will be the case going forward, because this technology will continue to change and continue to update as we go along,” Trent said. “And so we don’t want any system in the future to be developed where this integration were not a part of it.”

Wood, the father of Hailey Owens’ accused killer, spoke with Missourinet after the hearing. He said the incident has torn two families apart.

“The victim’s family is in turmoil over this. And my family is. This is the biggest stunner that I’ve had,” Wood said. “We had a close-knit family and Craig, my son, had never been in trouble before. This is just the most bizarre thing I could ever anticipate in my life.”

Craig Wood is charged with first degree murder, kidnapping, rape and sodomy and is set to go on trial in southwest Missouri’s Greene County on October 23.

As of Thursday evening, the News-Leader newspaper was reporting Owens mother, Stacey Barfield, had asked prosecutor to drop his pursuit of the death penalty in the case.