(Missourinet) – Legislation aimed at providing transparency for the State’s Legal Expense Fund was unanimously approved by a Missouri House committee in Jefferson City on Wednesday.

Missouri’s Legal Expense Fund is used to make payments that stem from lawsuits against the state.

The “Kansas City Pitch” broke the November story that the state paid more than $7 million during the past four years, to settle lawsuits brought by Corrections employees who claim they were victims of harassment and retaliation.

State Rep. Paul Fitzwater (R-Potosi) chairs the Missouri House Corrections and Public Institutions Committee.

“As you know, in the past we have paid out millions of dollars, millions of dollars, in lawsuits and checks have been written to people that we (state lawmakers) didn’t even know about,” Fitzwater told the House Rules Committee.

The Potosi Republican testifies he was “flabbergasted” when he read the scathing November “Pitch” investigation.

“Again, almost $8 million, 7 point something million has been paid to people, and my understanding is they were paid and the deal was they couldn’t say anything about it,” Fitzwater said.

State Rep. Cloria Brown (R-St. Louis County) told the committee on Wednesday that former Attorney General Chris Koster (D) should have been posting the payouts on the State Accountability Portal website.

Fitzwater’s bill requires new Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) to submit a monthly report to legislative leaders starting in September, detailing all activity concerning lawsuits filed against the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC).

The bill also requires details about any payments from or deposits to the fund, involving the DOC.

The House Rules Committee voted 12-0 to approve Fitzwater’s bill on Wednesday.

The bill now heads to the full House.

Rep. Fitzwater, whose sprawling southeast Missouri district includes the maximum-security Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, said his aim is transparency and accountability.

Fitzwater also told committee members that Mr. Hawley’s office supports the bill.

Daniel Hartman, Special Counsel at the Attorney General’s office, testified before the Rules committee, for informational purposes.

Hartman said Hawley’s office supports efforts to increase transparency. Hartman also said AG Hawley’s office will issue its first State Legal Expense Fund report to legislative leaders this month.

“The first reports will be released April 30 and will go back to January, February, March and April,” Hartman testifies. “And then every 30 days we will follow on and release the prior months.”

Hartman testifies the reports will involve settled cases and cases where they have judgments, not active litigation. He said the Attorney General’s office doesn’t want to “tip their hand,” with trial strategy.

State Rep. Michael Butler (D-St. Louis) requested that Hawley’s office post the number of active cases in the reports, without details. Hartman told Rep. Butler he would check on that and get back to him.

Lawmakers in both parties were outraged when they learned about the payouts from the November “Pitch” stories.

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D-Kansas City) has filed a separate bill, which would require the Attorney General to submit a monthly report to lawmakers detailing all activity concerning the fund.

(Missourinet) – EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will be in Missouri Thursday to learn about renewable energy and wildlife habitat efforts.

Barry Hart with the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC), which serves about two million rural Missourians, said Pruitt’s visit so early on is significant.

“This is a historic event for the state of Missouri and electric cooperatives,” Hart said. “This is the first time that an administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency has actually come to one of our energy plants in Missouri to view some of the things that we’ve done as electric cooperatives as far as our environmental stewardship record.”

The U.S. Department of Energy has recognized AMEC as one of the top wind utility cooperatives in the country.

“The Association was the first utility to participate in wind generation projects in northwest Missouri,” Hart said. “Presently they have like 750 megawatts of renewable wind energy on the electric coop system, which makes us one of the largest wind generation utilities in the Midwest.”

Hart said Pruitt has also heard about Missouri’s electric cooperatives leading the country in protecting the environment.

“As he charts the new direction of the country on trying to keep energy rates affordable and keep them energy-reliable, he also wants to make sure we do them in an environmentally responsible manner,” Hart said.

He said Missouri’s electric cooperatives have invested $1.5 billion in pollution control equipment to make its coal plants some of the cleanest in the country. Hart said the equipment has reduced power plant emissions by about 90% in Missouri.

“There is no technology out there that you can have electricity when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing,” Hart said. “No matter what, if you want reliable electricity in the country, you are going to have to have these base load plants, clean coal plants or combined cycle plants or hydro.”

Retired Columbia physician Gordon Christensen, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2016 against Republican Vicky Hartzler, opposes Pruitt’s plans to cut EPA jobs, clean water regulations and climate change efforts.

“The proposed cuts in funding of the EPA are likely to lead to an increase in coal-fired pollution,” Christensen said. “Along with that, more heart disease, more asthma, more emergency room visits, more hospitalizations and more deaths.”

According to the environmental group Sierra Club, clean energy jobs in Missouri outnumber coal production jobs 52,000 to 15.

Caleb Arthur with a Missouri solar energy business said he doesn’t want those jobs to disappear.

“One out of every 50 new jobs added in the United States in 2016 was created by the solar industry,” Arthur said.

Hart said he does not think there is a disproportionate number of renewable energy jobs versus traditional energy jobs in rural Missouri.

“There may be more jobs in the urban areas dealing with renewable energy, but I think you have to look at where those jobs are and what those jobs are,” Hart said. “We certainly don’t see them in the 110 counties that rural electric cooperatives serve in.”

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will be in Missouri Thursday with Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) in northern Missouri’s Clifton Hill.

(Missourinet) – A state senator pushing legislation to expand a tax credit to soup kitchens says Missouri has a serious problem with homelessness.

Under current Missouri law, taxpayers can receive a tax credit up to $2,500 for food or cash donated to a local food pantry in the taxpayer’s “area of residence.”

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed’s (D-St. Louis) legislation expands that.

“This bill would expand the tax credits to include food or cash donations to local soup kitchens or local homeless shelters as well,” Nasheed said.

Senator Nasheed testified Tuesday in Jefferson City, before the Missouri House General Laws Committee.

“We have a very serious problem with homelessness, not just in the city of St. Louis but throughout the state of Missouri,” Nasheed said. “And this is the least we can do is allow for this tax credit, that we already have on the books, to be expanded.”

Bill supporters say Missouri ranks second in the nation in hunger.

Empower Missouri Executive Director Jeanette Mott Oxford, a former state lawmaker, testified for the bill on Tuesday.

Mott Oxford says Missouri is also seventh in the nation in “food insecurity.”

Nasheed tells State Rep. Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis) that the bill would be capped at $1.7 million.

No one testified against the bill, during the House General Laws Committee hearing. The committee did not vote on the bill on Tuesday.

The Missouri Senate has approved Nasheed’s bill 32-0.

(Missourinet) – A bill in the legislature would establish a Transportation System Task Force.

The group would evaluate the state’s roads and bridges as well as transportation funding and whether there’s enough money to maintain the system.

It would then make recommendations for addressing the needs and funding for roads. Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Director Patrick McKenna said it’s important for the task force to develop an action plan.

“We know what the problems are, and we know what the funding deficiencies are,” said McKenna. “It’s good to document those once again.  But it’s also about bringing an action plan together so that we can solve the problem, not just talk about it.”

MoDOT has identified $825 million in additional money needed every year to address roads in its “Citizen’s Guide to Transportation Funding.”

Broken down, the expenses include $170 million to maintain roads, $275 million in economic development and safety projects, $300 million to reconstruct interstate highways, and $80 million to improve mobility options.

“We understand that that is a heavy load. We’re just identifying what the needs are in the system.”

McKenna said if the funding sources for roads had been adjusted for inflation, the state would be generating $500 million more every year.

McKenna said he would like to see an increase in those sources, which are the gas tax and fees for licensing and registration, but acknowledges the public has so far been resistant to those moves.

The gas tax hasn’t been adjusted since 1996, while some of the licensing fees date back to the 1960s.  Voters have rejected any measure lawmakers have placed before them to increase funding for roads since 2002.

McKenna claims his agency’s research shows deficient road conditions are costing the public far more than it would take to fix the problem.

“There is $4.8 billion a year in incidents – accidents, crashes, property damage, that sort of thing – that occur in Missouri annually,” McKenna said. “$4.8 billion.  That’s twice as much as we pay for the transportation network itself.”

Missouri has the nation’s seventh largest state highway system, but ranks 47th in revenues per mile.

McKenna said the average Missourian now pays $30 a month for access to 34,000 miles of roadway and more than 10,400 bridges.

“That includes all of the operations, the traffic operations, our mowing operations, plowing in the winter, ice storms, flood response, emergency response,” McKenna said. “All of those things told, that’s a pretty good value in my opinion.”

The resolution to create the transportation task force was approved out of committee.  It was passed by the full chamber Tuesday evening, and will now head to the Senate.  It’s not known if there’s enough time to push the measure through the legislature with less than a month left in the current session, and the slower moving Senate currently focused on bringing the budget together.

If it did pass the legislature, a bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers would be appointed to it along with the governor or his designee, the heads of the State Highway Patrol, Department of Economic Development and Department of Transportation (McKenna), and nine residents of the state.

(Missourinet) – A bipartisan bill to regulate Transportation Network Companies – or TNCs – is headed to Missouri Governor Eric Greitens’ desk.

Taxi agencies in St. Louis and Kansas City were persuaded to accept the legislation, which they had opposed for several years.

The measure sets guidelines and standards for ride sharing organizations such as Uber and Lyft, which hire independent contractors to supply their service.

Republican Bob Onder of Lake Saint Louis, who carried the bill in the Senate, said it was important to ensure TNCs could operate seamlessly across counties and municipalities.

“In my own county, we had executives from MasterCard, from Citigroup, from Nike who could get from the airport to St. Charles County using a ride sharing service, but couldn’t get back home,” said Onder. “Also in my own county, in southern St. Charles County, we have a winery district along Highway 94 and taxis wouldn’t come down to the winery district because it was too far away.”

Onder said it was important for the legislation to clearly distinguish TNCs from Taxi services.

“It would be clear that those local regulatory authorities wouldn’t be treating ride sharing companies as if they were taxis. Taxis and TNCs are to some extent apples and oranges.  And really, we needed to clear that regulatory hurdle to allow TNCs to operate as TNCs and be allowed to operate freely.”

Among other things, the bill establishes a permitting process for TNCs, and requires transparency of time and distance rates being charged to riders.

Onder said lawmakers were able to work with Kansas City and the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxi Commission to clear the last couple of hurdles to TNCs operating across the state.

Under the measure, Kansas City will be authorized to audit a TNC up to two times per year, in order ensure they’re complying with its requirements.

The TNCs can be charged up to $5,000 for the costs of the audit. If any violations are discovered, Kansas City can fine the TNC up to $500 per violation.  According to the bill’s House sponsor, Republican Kirk Mathews of Pacific, money generated from audit violations will go to the state’s Department of Revenue.

The legislation was bipartisan, with Democratic cosponsors in both the House and Senate.  Still, a handful of lawmakers opposed the legislation. During floor debate in the House, Democrat Judy Morgan of Kansas City told Mathews that the Revenue Department would strip out too much regulation.

“I think that they did say that they thought they were going to work with you to make the regulations more minimal, and that’s probably where you and I have a disagreement, because I think I want a little bit more regulatory function there.”

Those against the measure also contend expenses to perform audits of TNCs could drain money from the state’s general revenue fund.

In addition, there’s concern that all TNC, taxi and food service delivery drivers would will be exempt from having to obtain a commercial license, which could diminish funding for the Transportation Department.

The measure ultimately passed the Senate 31-1, and was approved in the House by a 144-7 margin.  Onder, the Senate sponsor, said TNCs have a positive impact on public safety.

“One study showed a 51% reduction in DWI arrests when the TNC companies fully operated in given markets.”

With Governor Greitens signature, the measure will make Missouri the 40th state with a ride sharing law.

“The time has come for Missouri to enter the 21st Century and allow this innovative industry to thrive across our state,” Onder said. “I fully expect Governor Greitens to sign it soon. This is a great day for Missouri.”

(Missourinet) – A bill in the state legislature would let Jefferson City attempt to turn the historic Missouri State Penitentiary within its borders into a tourism bonanza.

The proposal from Rep. Mike Bernskoetter (R-Jefferson City) would allow the governor to transfer ownership of 30 acres of the facility’s 128 acres to the city, which would then use the property to develop attractions.

Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin testified before a House committee that is examining the measure. She noted tours at the penitentiary rose from 3,000 in 2009 to more than 33,000 in 2016, and said the city has three elements no other place has.

“We have a state capitol, a river and an historic prison,” Tergin said.  “And we’re the only city in the country that has those three things. So we feel very certain that we can reach these numbers if we’re aloud to move forward with development.”

Tergin contends the Missouri State Penitentiary could reach the same number of tours conducted at well-known sites such as Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania and Alcatraz.

Eastern State has 350,000 tours per year while Alcatraz has 1.3 million. Tergin pointed out during the hearing that the Missouri State Penitentiary is 100 years older than Alcatraz.

She also noted there’s frustration over money lost in the 13 years the site hasn’t seen development.

“One reason we’ve heard, of course, is the state has the budget issues, and it’s been something that just hasn’t been a priority to put the development into the sight,” Tergin said. “So the city is saying ‘We are happy to facilitate that development and partner with the state.’”

According to Tergin, the city would follow the state’s two-year old master plan to develop the prison with hotels, entertainment venues, dining, retail, housing, loft apartments and office space.

A couple of organizations have set up offices at the facility over the past 12 years.  The Lewis & Clark state office building was occupied in 2005.  In 2006, the Missouri State Health Lab opened at the site.

Diane Gillespie with the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, which oversees tours at the prison, also spoke in front of the committee.  She said all profits are reinvested in the space.

“Under the use agreement, any net profits that are made off the tours, go back into the preservation of (the penitentiary),” Gillespie said.  “For example, last year we were able to put in $100,000 toward improvements.  So that is just preserving that building and we will continue to do that.”

The facility offers a variety of two and three-hour tours as well as five and eight-hour “public overnight investigations.”  It’s also offering a special tour during this summer’s total eclipse.

The city’s plan to finance the 30 acres it’s asking for includes joining Cole County on a $2 million sales-tax partnership to build a road into the site, and using $13 million in lodging tax funds to construct a meeting space.

The House bill sponsored by Rep. Bernskoetter will have a tough time pushing through the legislature, given the body’s pace moving legislation and the fact there’s only four weeks left in the current session. However, two measures from Senator Mike Kehoe (R-Jefferson City) have passed through the upper chamber and are now in the House. One of them could hit the House floor at any time.

(Missourinet) – 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.

A Missouri House committee could vote next week on Lichtenegger’s bill 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 with an agreement that lawmakers would return this year and close that gap in the law.

Lichtenegger says she’s the perfect person to sponsor the measure because she understands both sides of the argument.

“This is a very hard bill for me to do. My mother and I have both been domestically abused by my father,” says Lichtenegger. “Just the whole thing with my belief in people owning their guns and being able to have their guns. I take that as a sacred right of this country. We know that we need to fix what was left undone for our police departments to help victims when they have been domestically abused. Not just wives, husbands, spouses and partners, but people who are dating.”

Lichtenegger’s bill includes a 24-hour period in which abusers have to transfer ownership of their guns.

“I know that we need a transfer period. Otherwise, the person is committing two federal crimes,” says Lichtenegger. “I just happen to think that 24 hours is too long. That’s probably the most dangerous time for somebody that has been domestically abused.”

Lichtenegger withdrew a similar measure and filed the one under consideration. She says the previous bill wasn’t properly written and had several problems with it.

Both Lichtenegger’s and McCreery’s bills bar those found guilty of misdemeanor domestic violence.

“It saddens me and frightens me. I’m a gun owner myself but I just feel like I’m more of a common sense gun owner,” says McCreery. “I think that the vast majority of Missourians think that we should do everything we can to protect victims of violence and their children. Having guns in the hands of someone convicted of domestic abuse is deadly.”

McCreery’s bill also aims to protect stalking victims and dating partners.

“The federal definition of intimate partners does not include dating partners but the Missouri definition does include dating partners. I think that’s an important distinction because violence can happen even with people that are just in an early stage of a relationship,” says McCreery. “It’s not like an abuser waits until you are married or until you have moved into an apartment or house together.”

It also extends protections to the children of victims.

“One of the things we see in controlling relationships is, you can use children or sometimes, for that matter, even animals or pets, as a way to kind of get the victim that’s under your control to do things or not do things as well,” says McCreery.

McCreery says her proposal is similar to federal law. She also hopes the measure will please her Republican counterparts. It includes prohibiting gun ownership to those who have been dishonorably discharged from the military, are not a U.S. citizen or renounced U.S. citizenship.

McCreery’s bill has not been assigned to a committee at this point.