The halfway point of this legislative session has been reached. That means that for the week of March 18th-22nd there will be no session as we pause for spring break.
The fact that we will not be in session this week indicates that the people’s liberties will be more secure this week then they have since the session began in January!
Before the week ended, I was able to make two substantive changes to the state budget. If these changes are maintained throughout the rest of the process and become part of the fiscal year 2020 budget it will be of great benefit to the district.
The first amendment I was able to make to the House budget would provide a new Associate Circuit Judge for the 40th Judicial Circuit.
Before the week ended, I was able to make two substantive changes to the state budget. If these changes are maintained throughout the rest of the process and become part of the fiscal year 2020 budget it will be of great benefit to the district.
The first amendment I was able to make to the House budget would provide a new Associate Circuit Judge for the 40th Judicial Circuit.
The 40th Judicial Circuit is made up of McDonald and Newton counties. Currently, the 40th Circuit has one Presiding Judge, two Associate Judges for Newton County, and one Associate Judge for McDonald County.
A new Associate Circuit Judge would bring the total number of Judges to five. This new Associate Circuit Judge would be like the Presiding Judge, in that this Judge would be elected and serve both McDonald and Newton counties.
There was a “Judicial Needs Assessment” that was released in June of last year that showed the 40th Circuit actually needs seven Judges.
Again, we currently have four between the two counties. Of the thirteen Judicial Circuits in Missouri that have four Judges, the 40th Circuit has the heaviest workload. The people of McDonald and Newton counties are not able to access their courts as quickly as citizens in other Judicial Circuits. I feel it is my duty to advocate for the people in our area, so they have equal and timely access to the courts.
The other budget amendment I made was to secure $332,500 of new funding in the state budget to expand the nursing program at Crowder College. The additional dollars will allow the college to develop and offer a practical nursing program at its Nevada campus, and double the size of the nursing program at the McDonald County campus.
The other budget amendment I made was to secure $332,500 of new funding in the state budget to expand the nursing program at Crowder College. The additional dollars will allow the college to develop and offer a practical nursing program at its Nevada campus, and double the size of the nursing program at the McDonald County campus.
The expanded program will create a new LPN program and provide an opportunity for students at the Nevada campus who need training beyond a Certified Nurse’s Assistant, but are not ready to pursue a registered nursing degree. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates a 12 percent increase in LPNs until 2026. Crowder College’s service area saw more than 900 LPN’s employed during 2017.
In addition to creating the LPN program at the Nevada campus the expansion also includes the nursing program at the McDonald County campus. The expansion would allow for Crowder to double the current size of the nursing program at the McDonald County campus from 25 to 50 students.
We will vote to approve the House version of the budget and send it to the Senate next week. Both of my budget amendments will have to survive scrutiny in the Senate before making it into the final 2020 state budget. I have already been speaking with our State Senators, and look forward to working with them to advocate for these two appropriations. Needless to say there is work left to be done!
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