The first two months of the 2020 Legislative Session are off to a good start. Some bills are progressing quickly, while others seem to be riding on turtle shells.
Senate Bill 623, which I sponsored, will ensure that abused and neglected children will have a court appointed guardian ad litem who will meet with the children within seven business days of their appointment. It has been approved by the Missouri Senate and is awaiting action by the Missouri House of Representatives. I hope to see this bill continue to move through the legislative process.
Senate Bill 591 modifies the process for awarding punitive damages. Under existing law, plaintiffs could bring meritless cases for both compensatory damages (damages to right a wrong) and punitive damages (as a punishment or deterrent) creating an inflated number to scare businesses into making larger settlements faster. Punitive damages are not covered by insurance and therefore represent a significant threat against a person’s wealth or businesses’ ability to operate. The bill does protect Missourians’ ability to collect punitive damages from bad actors and continues to give judges and juries the discretion to award damages. This bill has passed the Missouri Senate and is headed to the Missouri House.
Road and bridge funding remains one of my top priorities for this legislative session. The continued neglect of adequate funding affects the safety of our families and friends, as well as our economic well-being. This is the reason I sponsored a very small increase (Senate Bill 539) to help fund our serious shortfall. Since our cities and counties receive 30% of this fund, they too have suffered in receiving sufficient funding for their road and bridge repairs and construction. Missouri’s fuel user fee per gallon was last adjusted in 1996. Since 1924, this “user fee” also helps by collecting from out-of-state motorists using our roads when they purchase gas in our state.
Many constituents have a four plus hour journey to Jefferson City to visit the Capitol. This week I had the honor to meet with the Students of the Leadership Academy from Three Rivers College. They had a jammed packed day and asked many very good questions. I was also honored to meet with Braxton Watkins who is a sixth grader at Caruthersville. He was accompanied by his family and also his instructor, Ms. Sandra Hooker.
Congratulations goes out to Coach Gene Bess who is celebrating his 50th year at Three Rivers College and 1,300 career college wins. All the best to Lady Raider Coach Jeff Walk upon his retirement from TRC and his combined 600 wins. Also, congratulations to Mrs. Tonya Hill for being selected as the Teacher of the Year at the Poplar Bluff Kindergarten Center.
It is a great pleasure to serve the citizens of Southeast Missouri. Please contact our office if you have any ideas, questions, or concerns by calling 573-751-4843 or emailing doug.libla@senate.mo.gov.
For more information relating to any bill in the Missouri Senate, please visit https://www.senate.mo.gov.