Kansas City Democrat's veterans' survivors benefits bill advances

(By Rep. Ingrid Burnett, D-Kansas City)

I thought you all might like to know that the bill that I filed to restore benefits to state workers who are widowed because their spouse was an active military person who was killed while on active duty, HB1566, has been placed on the Perfection Calendar for debate on the House Floor.

This means that it has gone through all the proper committee procedures and was sent on to the Speaker who referred it to the Floor Leader, who then put it on a list with other bills of the same status to be taken up by the House Chamber. 

During perfection, bills can be amended (or not), and then typically voted on by a voice vote. “All those in favor will say, ‘aye,’ and all opposed will say ‘no.’” If the ayes have it, then the bill will sit for at least 24 hours while the staff checks on the fiscal impact of the final product. 

If the fiscal impact is greater than $100,000.00, it gets referred to the Fiscal Review Committee for another committee vote, and if it passes out of the Fiscal Review Committee, the bill comes back to the House Floor for an up or down vote - also known as “third read.” 

Debate can sometimes be quite lively during third read, but no more amendments may be added, and all third read votes are recorded electronically. 

Assuming it passes that final hurdle in the House, the bill then goes over to the Senate where it will follow a similar path before finding its way to the Governor's desk.

It’s ridiculous that this bill had to be filed in the first place. 

The language that is currently in statute was added three years ago when the Republican majority was in an urgent rush to change our state employees from being on a merit system to being classified as “at will” employees. 

In essence, the bill that this language was inserted in stripped all employees of any protections when it comes to their hiring or firing, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of discrimination against a protected class. 

For no obvious reason, language was added to the definition of surviving spouse in the section of statutes that clarifies employee/employer identity, declaring that the surviving spouse is the “unmarried survivor's spouse of any person who was killed while on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States…” 

At the time this bill was brought before us, I offered an amendment during the perfection stage that would have fixed it and made it consistent with the intent (surviving spouse). It was soundly rejected as a “poison pill” that would have killed the bill. 

So now, and for the last three years, if you are a state employee in Missouri, and you are married to someone who is on active duty in our nation’s armed forces, and your spouse is killed in action, you are not eligible for the same benefits given to a widow of a National Guard veteran or the widow of a disabled veteran. 

You know who is eligible? A ghost. 

There is no such person as the “unmarried survivor’s spouse.” This will be the third year that I have brought this to the attention of our state legislature, and I am appalled that I have to fight this hard to get it fixed. 

Last year I was successful in getting it added to a Senate bill that was then vetoed by the Governor. Before he vetoed the bill this amendment was on, his office called me to ask me about it, and we had a lengthy discussion about why it was important to fix this error. I never heard back.

Oh, The Irony!

On Monday, the General Laws Committee is scheduled to hear Rep. Schnelting’s (St. Charles Republican) Marriage Abolition Bill. HB 2173 opens the same chapter of definitions that my surviving spouse bill opens, and guess what? It doesn’t attempt to fix the language there, either.

House Again Approves Drug Monitoring Program

Wednesday, 2/12, was an active day for the perfection calendar. After spending about an hour on a bill relating to gifted children, we spent several hours debating the creation of a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. 

This is the 7th year that Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, has offered what has become her trademark legislation. HB1693 would give doctors access to an electronic database that tracks controlled substance prescriptions given to patients all across the state. 

Ideally, this system gives doctors an efficient, real-time tool to determine if they should prescribe a controlled substance, namely opiates. 

When used effectively, PDMPs can prevent potential “doctor shopping,” the practice of visiting multiple physicians to obtain multiple prescriptions for otherwise illegal drugs. In that way, it can prevent addicts from getting their fix from hospitals, and it can also prevent people from getting addicted to opiates (most of which are extremely addictive) in the first place. 

According to the CDC, “Although findings are mixed, evaluations of PDMPs have illustrated changes in prescribing behaviors, use of multiple providers by patients, and decreased substance abuse treatment admissions.” 

A roll call vote resulted a favorable 95-56 vote to end Missouri’s distinction as the only state in the nation without one. 

While support for the bill was bipartisan, only Republicans voted in opposition. Having a fiscal note of over $100,000.00 now sends the bill to the Fiscal Review Committee where it will likely pass before coming back for the final vote in the House to send it to the Senate. This is where it has stalled in the past due to opposition from conservatives who believe a state-run PMDP would leave sensitive patient information vulnerable to being hacked or otherwise falling into the wrong hands.

After the General Assembly proved unable to create a statewide PDMP, St. Louis County launched its own monitoring program several years ago and opened it up for other counties to join. Nearly 90 percent of the state’s population lives in one of the counties that belongs to St. Louis County’s program. Enacting a statewide PDMP at this point primarily would just provide PDMP coverage to the remaining counties.

Senate sends Clean Missouri repeal bill to House

On Monday, Feb. 10, the Senate voted to advance to the House of Representatives a proposed constitutional amendment sought by Republicans to ditch new statehouse redistricting reforms that nearly two-thirds of Missourians voted to adopt in 2018. A single Republican joined unanimous Democrats in opposing the measure.

The voter-approved redistricting plan, known as Clean Missouri, calls for state House and Senate seats to be drawn by a non-partisan state demographer using constitutional criteria designed to maximize the number of competitive districts and ensure partisan fairness. Senate Joint Resolution 38 would reinstate a modified version of Missouri’s old redistricting process that was controlled by the Republican and Democratic parties.

If the Republican-controlled House also approves SJR 38, it automatically would go on the November 2020 statewide ballot. 

The Clean Missouri plan is slated for use in the 2021 redistricting cycle but would be pre-empted if voters ratify SJR 38. The new statehouse districts that will be drawn next year will be used from the 2022 through 2030 legislative elections.