Missouri lawmakers have filed about 250 bills so far ahead of the start of the 2020 legislative session.
Sen. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, told the News Tribune on Monday - when pre-filing opened - he had filed five bills. More information about those and other Senate bills - including a sixth pre-filed by Bernskoetter - began to trickle in on Tuesday as the information was uploaded to the Senate's website.
SB 585 is similar to the bill Bernskoetter filed last year to transfer some land in Cole County to the Heartland Port Authority for a Missouri River port in Jefferson City. Full text of Bernskoetter's port bill this year was not yet available Tuesday afternoon.
Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, has also again filed a port bill, HB 1330, identical to legislation the General Assembly considered earlier this year.
Bernskoetter's SB 586 concerns tax credits for supporting the repair and maintenance of Capitol complex buildings - identical to a Senate bill he also filed last year.
The Capitol complex includes the Capitol, the Supreme Court building at 207 W. High St., the Old Federal Courthouse at 131 W. High St., the Missouri Department of Transportation Central Office building at 105 Capitol Ave. and the Governor's Mansion.
The Capitol Complex Tax Credit Act would create separate Capitol Complex Fund accounts to receive monetary donations, one account for rehabilitation and renovation and the other for maintenance.
The Commissioner of Administration would approve all projects paid for with the money and authorize the release of any money from the fund for any expense.
Donors would receive credits against state income taxes worth 50 percent of monetary donations and 30 percent of eligible artifact donations. Tax credits that would exceed the donor's tax liability could be carried forward for the following four years or - only in the case of donated money - be refunded.
The Department of Economic Development would cap tax credits at $10 million per year, and any donations received beyond that would "be placed in line for tax credits the following year," unless a donor chose to give anyway without receiving a credit or just asked for their donation back.
The ongoing renovations of the Capitol and recent renovations of the Governor's Mansion are being and have been paid for with previously issued state bond money.
Bernskoetter's SB 587 would extend the sunset of $5 fee collection on certain filings with the Secretary of State from Dec. 31, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2026. The fees - which support the state's technology trust fund - are collected on filings related to business organizations, commercial transactions, trademarks, names and private emblems.
The Prescribed Burning Act that would be established by SB 661 would prohibit landowners or agents of a landowner from being liable for damages caused by a prescribed burn or the smoke from it, unless negligence is proven. Landowners and agents of landowners would also not be liable for damages from a prescribed burn or smoke from it when conducted with a "certified prescribed burn manager and a prescribed burn plan," as described by the act, unless in the case of gross negligence by the landowner or their agent. Further text was not yet available Tuesday.
Venison jerky would be included in the definition of "shelf stable packaged food" in Bernskoetter's SB 662, and donors and charities or nonprofit organizations would be exempt from criminal or civil liability arising from injuries or deaths due to such shelf stable food, if the food was given or received in good faith. Further text was not yet available Tuesday, but Bernskoetter said Monday that the bill would allow jerky to be included in donations to the Share the Harvest program that transfers donated deer meat from hunters to food pantries.
A sixth bill Bernskoetter had pre-filed, SB 660, would authorize the Gasconade R-2 school district - which has boundaries that cross county lines - to use the county that "yields the highest dollar value modifier under the school foundation formula." Further text was not yet available Tuesday, and Bernskoetter did not immediately respond to the News Tribune for more information on the bill.
Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Callaway County, had pre-filed seven bills for the 2020 legislative session, as of Tuesday.
All of Riddle's bills are identical to ones she filed earlier this year, except for SB 639 and SB 699.
Riddle's SB 554 would establish the Coroner Standards and Training Commission to establish training standards "relating to the operation, responsibilities and technical skills" of county coroners.
Coroners would be held accountable to staying current on training, and an additional $1 fee charged on death certificates would support in-state training programs. Investigation requirements on deaths in hospice care would also be loosened.
Riddle's SB 555 would, with exceptions, prohibit a person from filing a lawsuit on being injured by a product after 15 years have passed since the sale or lease of the product.
Psychologists who work with prisoners would be more stringently protected by Riddle's SB 556 from professional consequences of unsubstantiated complaints. The bill would include complaints made by people who "have been ordered to be evaluated in a criminal proceeding involving mental illness."
Psychologists who are subject of a complaint by such a person could submit a written request to destroy documentation of the complaint and could notify states' licensing boards and national registries that the complaint was found to be unsubstantiated.
SB 637 would make changes to the process of psychologists' application for licensure in Missouri.
SB 638 would prohibit sex offenders from being within 500 feet of athletic complexes or fields that are primarily used by children.
Riddle's SB 639 would change the public documentation of laws passed by the General Assembly, changes to the Missouri Constitution and old death records.
Inspections of facilities that produce eggs, milk, other dairy products, livestock and poultry, or dogs or other animals not used to produce food products, would be limited by SB 699 to specific state and federal agencies and the county sheriff. "Unless requested by the owner of the grounds or facilities, no other entity may inspect the grounds or facilities to enforce or carry out the laws or administrative rules of another state."
Riddle was not available Tuesday for comment on her bills.