In years past I have taken several post-session reports to highlight specific legislation of significance that passed or failed to pass during the course of the just-concluded session. I will do so again this year in the coming weeks, but in this report I want to highlight the two pieces of legislation I have received the most feedback on from you since session ended: expanding the A+ Program to students from private schools, and voter ID.
Since the beginning of this legislative session, passing reasonable legislation to help protect the integrity of elections has been a priority. With many hours of bi-partisan discussion and negotiations led by Sen. Will Kraus, the Legislature hammered out a reasonable compromise that establishes a framework for voter ID requirements and then allows Missourians to decide whether or not they believe it is appropriate to verify individuals' identities prior to voting.
The fact of the matter is that presenting an ID to vote is neither a burden nor an impediment to voting. Presenting an ID to vote is not an effort to disenfranchise voters or to prevent a certain segment of society from voting. Presenting an ID to vote is not a solution in search of a problem. Instead, presenting an ID to vote is a simple measure to help ensure the integrity of the one-person, one-vote system and is a protection that is long overdue. I am confident that Missourians will support this on the ballot in November.
With the passage of SB638, students at private schools will be able to receive the benefits of the state's A+ Program. Currently, the A+ Program is limited to students who graduate from A+ certified public schools, but SB638 expands these benefits to A+ certified public and private schools. The A+ Program has proven very popular and effective, and remains a cost-effective investment in producing students who are educated, trained and prepared to enter the workforce or to continue their education. I am grateful to Sen. Jeanie Riddle for her leadership on this important legislation.
In addition to voter ID and expanding the A+ Program, I was pleased with the accomplishments of this legislative session. In the end, the Legislature passed legislation that: creates a balanced budget while defunding Planned Parenthood, improves Missouri's legal climate with significant tort reform, responsibly and reasonably modifies the state's K-12 foundation formula to accurately reflect the reality of gaming (which makes fully funding the formula more likely), protects and enhances the Second Amendment rights of Missourians, strengthens while protecting our No. 1 industry, agriculture, and improves the ethical climate of the Capitol, all while opposing the policy and regulatory excesses of the federal government.
We live in a world and a country that is changing quickly. Since my last report, the president has seen fit to threaten school districts across the nation if they refuse to abandon the notion that boys and girls should have different bathrooms based upon their biological sex. I never thought I would see this day. As a matter of public policy, his guidance is both foolish and dangerous and needs to be aggressively opposed. As a father of three daughters, I find it insulting that the president and a small group with a radical agenda seek to dispose of fundamental differences between the sexes via administrative decree and extortion.
As your senator, I will work to fight these changes even if I am the last man standing doing so. I believe that God created male and female in His image and that they are distinct and different. The differences between male and female are static and distinct and they do not change based upon a feeling, an inclination or political convenience. If this view is old-fashioned and close-minded, then so be it; my children, your children and all children deserve better than what the president, his administration, and a small segment of society are trying for force upon us.
Finally, I want to wish each of you a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. This weekend is the unofficial kick-off of summer, and it is good that it be spent with friends and family cooking a thick, Missouri-raised steak on the grill. Whether or not you apply A-1 sauce or some other ointment to that steak is a source of great debate at many of these gatherings, with passionate advocacy on both sides.
For some of you, this year's A-1 vs no A-1 argument will be absent a traditional vehement participant because they have stepped into eternity in the past year. This is the essence of Memorial Day, a time to remember those who have died and to reflect on the roles they played in our lives including, as the day was originally established, those who died in uniform defending the freedoms we have today. This weekend I wish each of you the opportunity to appreciate the wisdom of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3; there is a time for everything including death and mourning, but also time to laugh and dance.
My purpose and my intent is to serve the constituents of the 6th Senatorial District. If you are in the State Capitol during the coming weeks and months, please stop by your office in Room 321.
State Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, represents MIssouri's 6th District.