Jill Carter: Parents' Bill of Rights passes Senate, SAFE Act presented to committee

(From Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby)

I presented Senate Bill 164, the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (S.A.F.E.) Act, to the Senate Emerging Issues Committee on Feb. 14. You can watch my presentation here. 

Senate Bill 164 would prevent children from being subjected to hormone therapy or life-altering sex change surgical procedures before the age of 18. My colleagues and I held a press conference with 18-year-old Chloe Cole and 21-year-old Luka Hein, which I hope you will take a few moments to watch. Chloe and Luka's stories are incredibly moving. 

As minors, Chloe and Luka both endured double mastectomy surgeries and hormone treatment. Chloe and Luka both regretted these decisions, detransitioned and are still suffering from the harm these surgeries and hormones caused.

Washington University Transgender Center Employee Alleges Medical Malpractice

Jamie Reed, an employee at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital since 2018, is shedding light on alleged medical malpractice happening in our own state. In her tenure, over a thousand children walked in the center’s door, and Reed attested to the validity of social contagion concerns in her statements. 

In an affidavit submitted to the attorney general, Reed alleges that those who came to the clinic were often in clusters from the same schools. 

Reed noted in a Feb. 21 article for The Free Press that up until 2015, the majority of gender dysphoria cases happened in biological males, but now the majority of patients are biological females. 

In her affidavit, Reed said, "Most children who come into the Center were assigned female at birth. Nearly all of them have serious comorbidities, including autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety, PTSD, trauma histories, OCD and serious eating disorders. Rather than treat these conditions, the doctors prescribe puberty blockers or cross sex hormones." You can read Jamie Reed's affidavit on the Attorney General's website at ago.mo.gov.

As the mother of a child with autism, I am particularly troubled by the way that this vulnerable population is being taken advantage of. A report last year on a British transgender center showed that one third of the patients referred are on the autism spectrum. I joined several of my colleagues in signing a letter to Senate leadership requesting a special committee to investigate the claims made against Washington University.

Concurrent Majority for Constitutional Amendments

I presented Senate Joint Resolution 28 in the Local Government and Elections Committee on Feb. 13. Senate Joint Resolutions, if passed by the Legislature, always go to a vote of the people. 

Senate Joint Resolution 28 would require a concurrent majority for the ratification of amendments to the Missouri Constitution. 

Currently, a simple majority of more than 50 percent is all that is needed to amend the Missouri Constitution. My legislation would require a simple majority of the vote as well as a majority of the 163 State House districts, ensuring the voices of all Missourians are heard, not drowned out by the larger populations in cities such as Kansas City and Saint Louis. This is similar to how the Electoral College operates. I have had many productive conversations with those impacted by this issue, and they are as hopeful as I am about this legislation moving forward.

Constitutional Sheriffs

I recently proposed Senate Joint Resolution 42 because of a meeting I had with over a dozen sheriffs on this topic. If approved by voters, SJR 42 would put the office of sheriff in the Missouri Constitution. This legislation would also create provisions in which county sheriffs would oversee all federal and state investigations in his or her county.

In Illinois, sheriffs derive their authority from the state constitution, not just statute. Even though that state’s Legislature and governor passed gun control laws, more than 70 sheriffs publicly vowed to protect their citizens' Second Amendment rights, according to a Jan. 17 Fox News story.

Under this legislation, sheriffs can still be removed from office for not performing his or her official duties.

Senate Bill 4 Passed the Senate

Senate Bill 4, known as the Parents' Bill of Rights, passed the Senate last week. Many senators expressed concerns with the language. 

Ultimately, there were too many serious concerns for me to support the bill in its current form. Before we had a chance to finish hammering out some of the issues in SB 4, a motion was made to perfect, which means that no further amendments could be made. 

Prior to perfection, I was working with senators and the bill sponsor to make changes and modifications to the language, but they were not implemented. 

Despite the intent of SB 4, I am concerned it will actually be enshrining Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Missouri statute and not end up giving parents the transparency they deserve because of loopholes in the language. That is without mentioning a $200 million increase in the fiscal note that occurred upon perfection, none of which had to do with the original transparency portal language. Here is the fiscal note before and after the substitute:

I hope the House of Representatives will address these concerns so I can support SB 4 when they send it back to the Senate. While many conservatives claim that they want to see the United States Department of Education abolished, they continue to give the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) more and more power.

On another note, the legislative process here needs to be reformed. When senators are given the floor substitute (a completely different bill from what they originally saw) and expected to vote “yes” within minutes, there is a serious problem.

(Photo- Senator Carter welcomes East Newton FCCLA students to the Capitol.)

Weekly Update on Bill Progress

Senate Bill 84: Freedom to Farm Act – Second read and referred - Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee

Senate Bill 85: Local Control School Districts – Senate Committee Substitute voted do pass on Feb. 7 - Education and Workforce Development Committee

Senate Bill 86: Raw Milk – Hearing conducted - Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee

Senate Bill 164: Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act- Bill combined with SCSs SB 49, 236 and 164 on Feb. 20

Senate Bill 165: Save Women’s Sports Act- Hearing conducted - Emerging Issues Committee. Senate Bill 39, which I have cosponsored, is a somewhat similar bill and is on the informal calendar for perfection.

Senate Bill 166: Religious Liberty – Schools – Second read and referred - Education and Workforce Development Committee

Senate Bill 230: Home School Sports and Activities - Second read and referred - Education and Workforce Development Committee

Senate Bill 232: Immunizations - Second read and referred - Emerging Issues Committee

Senate Bill 364: Property Tax - Schools - First read

Senate Bill 428: Religious Liberty – Human Rights Act - First read

Senate Bill 429: Drag Queen - First read

Senate Bill 430: Environmental, Social and Governance Contracts - First read

Senate Bill 436: Environmental, Social and Governance Pensions - First read

Senate Bill 454: Gas Tax Repeal - First read

Senate Bill 518: CPL Ben Cooper Memorial Bridge - First read

Senate Joint Resolution 28: Ratification Reform - Hearing conducted - Local Government and Elections Committee

Senate Joint Resolution 29: Parental Rights - Second read and referred - Education and Workforce Development Committee

Senate Joint Resolution 42: Constitutional Sheriffs – First read