Editorial

Governor signs top legislative priorities

Saturday, July 24, 2010

More than 1,800 bills and resolutions were filed by lawmakers during the 2010 regular session, which ran January through mid-May. Of those measures, 32 Senate bills and 74 House bills were sent to the governor for his signature, who had until July 14 to sign or veto them, or they would automatically become law on their effective dates. As is typical, the governor did sign most of the legislation we passed this year, and only vetoed five bills.

All in all, it was a very successful session, and I feel fortunate that most of the bills I sponsored or handled this year were signed into law. This includes one of my top priorities, Senate Bill 733, a college scholarship measure that equalizes Access Missouri awards for public and private universities, and makes changes to Bright Flight scholarship requirements to better serve those deployed in the military. Another education-related bill that will become law is HB 1543, which I handled. This multi-faceted bill has several provisions designed to increase school safety, as well as a provision allowing for the Parents as Teachers program to be need-based by serving low-income families first, to name a few.

Also receiving the governor's signature are a handful of bills that address issues important to our military and veterans. House Bill 1524, for instance, allows overseas service members to request voter registration applications and absentee ballots electronically, requires state and local governments to give a measured preference to service-disabled veteran businesses when contracting a job or service, and establishes the Missouri Youth Challenge Academy for at-risk high school age youth. In addition, HB 2147 exempts certain students who are dependents of recently retired military personnel from the three-year attendance requirement under the A+ Schools program.

Another signed bill that will help veterans and other local volunteer groups is SB 940, which relaxes bingo regulations in Missouri. The major provisions include expanding the hours during which bingo halls can operate, increasing the number of games they are able to hold, and raising the cap on the amount of money they are allowed to spend on advertising.

Other bills of importance to the district that I worked on include HB 1612 that deals with the Little Blue Sewer District in Cass County; SB 754 that creates the Missouri Eating Disorder Council; HB 2262 that lays the ground work to re-establish a National Guard Boot Camp for troubled youth; and SCR 31 that recognizes the importance of international education at Missouri's colleges and universities.

For a complete list of the bills signed and vetoed by the governor, go to www.governor.mo.gov/actions. Most bills, unless they contain an emergency clause (in which case they take effect immediately upon receiving the governor's signature or at another specified date), become effective as of Aug. 28.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office with your questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at (866) 277-0882 (toll-free), or (573) 751-2272, or by fax at (573) 526-7381.

Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District. Sen. David Pearce, State Capitol Building, Room 419, Jefferson City, MO 65101 Website: http://www.senate.mo.gov/pearce