Legislative Update
The Missouri Senate called it a week a little early due to a filibuster by Senator Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) that lasted for hours before they adjourned at 1:00 a.m. today. Senator Moon was trying to block the confirmation of Governor Kehoe’s appointment of former State Senator Dave Schatz to the Franklin County Commission. Schatz served as President Pro Tem of the Senate for several years.
The House of Representatives spent this morning passing budget bills before heading back to their districts.
Representative Brian Seitz (R-Branson) had two bills heard in the House Special Committee on Tourism, which he chairs, yesterday. HB 967 modifies the Tourism Supplemental Revenue Fund. (Senator Brad Hudson is carrying the companion bill.) The other bill, HB 109, designates Branson as the “Live Entertainment Capital of Missouri”. Several committee members expressed their support for HB 109 during the hearing.
Financial Institutions – Senator Crawford’s (R-Buffalo) SB 98 creates the offense of financial institution accounts fraud. The offense would be punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the dollar amount and circumstance. The bill passed out of the House Financial Institutions Committee this morning.
Financial Institutions – Representative Bill Owen’s (R-Springfield) HB 1049 authorizes a bank to offer a "trusted contact" program, as defined in the bill, to customers who can designate one or more trusted contacts for the bank to contact in the event of an emergency, loss of contact with the customer or suspected third party fraud activity or financial exploitation targeting the customer. HB1049 was perfected in the House yesterday.
Temp Tags – Representative Pollitt’s (R-Sedalia) HB 378 addresses the expired temporary vehicle tags we see on the roads, along with several other vehicle-related items. The bill would remove the 90-day permits and require purchasers of vehicles to pay sales tax before they can purchase a temporary permit. It also authorizes law enforcement, based on reasonable suspicion, to stop or inspect a person to determine if the temporary permit is valid or current. This bill is now in the Senate for consideration.
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