We returned to the state capitol building Wednesday, Jan. 5, for the start of the 2022 legislative session, which is officially the second regular session of the 101st General Assembly.
House members returned to Jefferson City with a current split of 110 Republicans, 49 Democrats, and four vacant seats.
On the first day of the session, two Republican members announced their resignations to pursue other interests. The resignations drop the total number of Republicans in the House to 108 members.
The session begins with a number of pressing issues on the table. We will need to move quickly to approve new congressional district maps based on the latest U.S. Census data. The maps have to be approved and signed into law in time for the Aug. 2 primary.
Lawmakers will also work expeditiously to approve a supplemental budget bill proposed by Gov. Parson. The governor has asked the House and Senate to have the legislation approved by Feb. 1.
As the 2022 legislative session progresses, members will also focus on a number of other important issues, including the state operating budget, protections for the unborn, election integrity, school accountability and transparency, and protections against overly burdensome mandates.
Missouri Legislative Leaders Release Proposed Congressional District Map (HB 2117)
Before the new year began, the respective chairs of the Missouri House Special Committee on Redistricting and Senate Select Committee on Redistricting jointly released their proposed changes to Missouri’s congressional district map. The map, which is treated as a legislative bill, was filed as HB 2117.
The proposed congressional map balances several required criteria including compliance with the Missouri and U.S. Constitutions as well as the Voting Rights Act. The map’s districts are compact, contiguous and equal in population. The districts adhere to the doctrine of “one person, one vote” and have preserved the cores of each existing congressional district to the greatest extent possible.
The chair of the House Special Committee on Redistricting said, “The task of creating this congressional district map required balancing the legislative process while maintaining compactness, contiguity, equal population, and preserving the existing districts’ core identities. I look forward to working with my House and Senate colleagues to deliver HB 2117 to Gov. Parson for his signature without delay.”
Both congressional and state legislative districts are redrawn every 10 years upon the completion of the census. Missouri’s congressional districts are drawn by state legislators and state legislative districts are drawn by independent, bipartisan, citizen commissions. The 2021 redistricting process has been compressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and technical delays by the U.S. Census Bureau. The proposed maps are available at https://house.mo.gov.
Gov. Parson ends state of emergency
As 2021 came to a close, Gov. Mike Parson announced that Missouri’s COVID-19 related state of emergency would expire and not be renewed on Dec. 31. Parson first issued an executive order (EO) declaring a state of emergency due to COVID-19 on March 13, 2020.
Parson extended the COVID-19 related state of emergency five times before issuing a final targeted executive order for health care needs in August 2021. Currently, only three of Missouri’s bordering states and 20 other states in the nation have state of emergencies related to COVID-19 in place.
It is an honor to serve as your state representative.
Atchison represents District 153. He can be contacted at Darrell.Atchison@house.mo.govor call 573-751-1066.