JEFFERSON CITY — A week into his new job as Missouri’s 25th District senator, Jason Bean has hit the ground running.
Bean, a Bootheel native, was sworn into the 101st General Assembly on Jan. 6, and he’s been busy ever since.
“We’ve been busy. We are getting things ready for when people from the district want to come up, and I promise there hasn’t been a lot of dust settled,” he said.
Bean already has been part of multiple meetings with constituents and state departments to “try to figure out how to do what I can for the district.
“I really am enjoying it. We have had lots of meetings with different people talking about issues across the district,” Bean said.
“As an example, I’m meeting this week with the Missouri Department of Transportation on the I-57 expansion,” Bean said. “I was involved with that early on.”
He’s also spent a great deal of time meeting other legislators he will work with in the months ahead.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to know my fellow state senators and also getting to know some house members,” Bean said. “So much in the senate is just getting to know your fellow senators and those you’re going to be working with.”
Bean noted he has been “staying here until about 7 every night, getting to know the building and the people. I’m truly enjoying it.”
Bean already has been assigned to a committee, even though most assignments won’t take place until later.
“There are three committees that they always announce early, which are the rules committee, the administrative committee and then the gubernatorial appointments. I did get on gubernatorial appointments, so I was pretty happy about that,” Bean said.
So far, Bean said, he’s been impressed with the cordial, respectful nature of the debates he’s heard on the senate floor.
“It was really impressive to me, the day after we were sworn in, there was debate about a rules change. That change was basically about going electronic versus paper. The senate has always been traditionally paper,” he said. “Listening to that methodical debate, it was nice to see Republicans and Democrats debating and agreeing with each other.
“Being a true freshman senator, that was really great to see people working together. “
When legislators “don’t work together and the tensions start to fly, we get nothing done for the people we represent,” Bean added.
Currently, Bean said, he is trying to learn about all the bills in the senate system.
In addition, he’s already pre-filed some bills himself.
“It was very important to me to listen to our district, so we filed some bills that pertain to our district and what they are wanting,” he said.
Once such bill is what Bean called a “Heritage Act,” where, if passed, the intentional destruction or defacing of such things as memorials, monuments and statues could be deemed by county commissioners as a Class D felony.
That bill is SB373.
“We also have filed a bill making it a hate crime for any crime committed against a police officer or first responder,” Bean said.
That bill is SB74.
Another bill he filled has the potential to be controversial, Bean said, but is important to people in the 25th District.
“We have filed a bill that would be a potential county-by-county right-to-work. That will be a hot topic there, but listening to the counties we represent, I will tell you that in Pemiscot, Dunklin, New Madrid and Mississippi counties especially, that was very important to them because we border states that are all right to work states,” Bean said.
That bill is SB73.
The senator noted it is “very important for people to know I do not have an issue with labor unions. My father-in-law was a union member. I don’t have a problem, it’s just that I represent five of the poorest counties in the state of Missouri, so we need to give them every available advantage we can to stop the slide.”
Another issue he’s been working on, Bean said, is COVID-19 vaccine availability in the Bootheel.
“I’ve met with Dr. Williams, the state health director, and the governor’s office,” Bean said, “trying to make sure we are getting those vaccines there, because once again, we are some of the most vulnerable counties in the state.”
Bean said hard work always has been in his nature, and he’s ready for the challenges ahead.
“I’ve hit the ground running, and I love it. I’m pumped,” he said.
Bean’s office in Jefferson City can be reached via telephone at 573-751-4843, or through his senate website at www.senate.mo.gov.