This week was a busy one in the state capitol. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate conducted a jam-packed schedule of committee hearings, Monday through Thursday, and the Senate worked on and perfected four Senate bills on Wednesday, a record for this session. Tensions among Senators are still evident during debates, and the state’s updated Congressional redistricting map is still in limbo in the Senate.
Senate bills perfected on Wednesday included SB 652 (Rizzo, D-Kansas City) providing a sales tax exemption for the sale of 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets to matches held in Jackson County, SB 681 & 662 (O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina and Arthur, D-Kansas City) modifying provisions regarding educational outcomes, SB 655 (Crawford, R-Buffalo) relating to Missouri’s local government employees’ retirement system, and SB 649 (Eigel, R-Weldon Spring) modifying taxation provisions.
The House on Wednesday focused on perfection of HB 2168 (Porter, R-Montgomery City) relating to the delivery of documents required for insurance transactions, HBs 1897 & 2414 (DeGroot, R-Ellisville) setting up infant nurseries within correctional centers, HB 2355 (Andrews, R-Grant City) relating to time-critical diagnosis, HB 2366 (Shields, R-St. Joseph) for gifted children, and HB 1861 (Eggleston, R-Maysville) dealing with COVID-19 vaccination status.
The deadline for filing new bills in the General Assembly was March 1. House bills total 1,641 and Senate bills total 640 … a grand total of 2,281 bills for consideration! There is one more week of session until legislators embark on Spring Break, March 14-18. When they return to Jefferson City, eight weeks will remain in the regular session until adjournment on Friday the 13th of May.
GOVERNOR APPOINTS NICKELSON AS DHSS ACTING DIRECTOR
On March 1, during a press conference at the state capitol, Governor Mike Parson announced his selection of Paula Nickelson to serve as the Acting Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). The appointment was effective March 1. Nickelson, a Missouri native, has served within DHSS for more than 22 years and has a distinguished career in public health and health care management. For most of her time with DHSS, she has been a leader in program areas, including maternal-child health, chronic disease prevention, and emergency preparedness and response.
Nickelson was also involved in the state's H1N1 response and planning efforts following the 9/11 attacks. Most recently, she was instrumental in COVID-19 response efforts. She helped establish the state’s first PPE warehouse, led an interagency team that implemented the "box it in" COVID mitigation strategy for long-term care facilities, oversaw the state’s antigen testing program, and led the implementation of the state’s decontamination system for N95 masks for health care workers when resources were still scarce.
Nickelson earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Central Missouri and a Master of Education in counseling psychology at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
VACCINE MANDATES
The Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee met Wednesday morning to consider passage of SB 702, SB 651, SB 636, and SB 693, sponsored by Senator’s Karla Eslinger (R-Wasalo), Bill Eigel (R-Weldon Spring), Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis), and Rick Brattin (R-Belton). All four bills include provisions prohibiting all public and private employers from requiring an employee or prospective employee to receive a vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition of commencing or continuing employment. SB 693 varies slightly and includes additional provisions prohibiting political subdivisions from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination to access transportation systems, services, or public accommodations, and prohibits students from being required, as a condition of school attendance or participation in school-sponsored extracurricular activities, to be immunized against COVID-19 or to undergo any testing policy as an alternative to a COVID-19 vaccination. During committee discussion, substitute language was adopted to combine all provisions from the four bills into SB 702, creating one legislative vehicle. Once modified, the committee passed the bill by a 10-1 vote.
House Bill 2631 (Kalberloh, R-Lowry City) requires that any elected official who orders the closure of a private business without proper authorization under state law or guidelines to address any public health concern or the spread of a contagious disease during a pandemic shall have his or her pay suspended during the period of private business closure. Hearing held Feb. 28 in the House Workforce Development Committee. No testimony in support or opposition of the bill.
