80th District Session Report #7





Guns, Moms Demand Action, Marriage Licenses, Complicating Abortion, Israel Bill and More.



General laws Gun Hearing In response to the tragedy in Florida and the powerful shift happening on this topic across the country, Republicans delayed our hearing to add some of our Democratic bills to the hearing. This is the first time in years that Democratic gun bills were even given a hearing. That same week, Nick Schroer (a Republican member of the committee) stood up on the House floor alongside Bruce Franks and talked about how it’s time we cross party lines and work together for bipartisan solutions and common ground. I truly believed they were interested in working with us on our ideas and theirs to find common ground. Instead, after the hearing last week, I felt slapped in the face. I suspect many of the folks that came to testify on these bills felt that way too.. Instead, the Republicans went back to partisan politics as usual. It’s time we get rid of this radical supermajority that is so far out of touch with the real people of Missouri. The Republicans have proven that they are opposed to common sense and are completely disconnected with the people of Missouri who are demanding gun safety and responsibility. It’s time we hear the vast majority of our constituents that want common sense in how we approach gun violence. It’s time we elect Democrats that will act like adults and take this job seriously. The people of Missouri deserve that.

The gun bills: HB 1256-Banning Firearm Tracking Technology- Would prohibit government entities in Missouri from requiring the use of electronic firearm tracking technology (none of which currently do this or are even considering it). This bill is just another example of how the Republicans do not truly believe in local government control, and how they have run out of ideas for bills that show how pro-gun they are. This bill passed out of committee 7-4 with all the Republicans voting for it and all the Democrats voting against. HB 1865- Forcing Guns onto Private Property- Would force private property owners to allow people to bring guns onto their parking lots and garages. This bill mandates that all private property owners either allow firearms on their parking lots or have to pay for the storage of their employees’ and customers’ guns. This bill is a clear violation of private property rights which Republicans so often say they care about. Again, it passed out of committee 7-4 with all the Republicans voting for it and all the Democrats voting against. HB 1936- Guns Everywhere- This is the most seriously concerning of the gun bills, in my opinion. It makes changes to the list of locations an individual can carry a concealed firearm. Some of the places people would be able to carry guns include; daycares, hospitals,churches, amusement parks, universities, bars, polling places, stadiums and more. Democrats on the committee tried to offer amendments to this bill to try to make this TERRIBLE bill less terrible. We heard that we would be the first state in the country to allow concealed carry on college campuses and also have a minimum age of 19 to do it. (The 10 other states that allow guns on campuses have a minimum age of 21.) I offered an amendment that would have returned our age to 21. I argued that we should not make Missouri the test case for this irresponsible policy. The Republicans did not listen to reason and voted down my amendment. Also failing on party lines were Lauren Arthur’s amendment to remove bars from the list of places now allowing guns, Jon Carpenter’s amendment to ban bump stocks, and Tracy McCreery’s amendment to allow court orders brought by family members to prevent high risk people from carrying firearms. We heard testimony from many parents, teachers, students, and law enforcement officials who said that they were against this bill for many reasons. We heard parents and students say that if this bill passes they won’t attend universities in the state. We heard teachers and university faculty explain the many factors that make the carrying of firearms especially dangerous on college campuses. These factors include, but are not limited to; depression and risk of suicide, alcohol abuse, stress, immaturity and others. We heard testimony from sheriffs and other law enforcement officers saying that this bill would make our citizens less safe and make it harder for law enforcement to keep us safe. The Republicans responded to this testimony by passing the bill, 8-4, along party lines. HB1937- Unrestricted Open Carry- This bill prohibits any political subdivision from passing any ordinance which regulates the open carrying of firearms. This bill makes it so that someone could walk down the streets of St. Louis with a loaded AR-15 and the City of St. Louis couldn’t do anything about. Again, a significant overreach into local communities determining how best to keep themselves safe. We heard testimony from a law enforcement officer from Kansas CIty who had to stand between a left wing group with AR-15’s and a right wing group with AR-15’s. Luckily Kansas City Ordinance prohibited those guns from being loaded, but with the passage of this bill K.C. could not prevent those guns from being loaded. Law enforcement testified against this bill and told us it would hurt public safety.



The Republicans responded by voting along party lines to pass this bill. HB 1326- Tax Deduction for Firearm Training- Authorizes an individual income tax deduction of up to $150 per taxpayer for the cost of up to eight hours of firearm education and training courses or firearm safety courses that teach proper and safe firearm handling. This bill, filed by Steven Roberts, was the only Democratic bill passed by the committee. In my inquiry of Roberts he said that the reason he filed this bill was as a last ditch attempt to encourage some firearm safety training after the Republicans made it so that a license is no longer necessary to conceal carry. It is absolutely ridiculous that we require no license or training whatsoever to conceal carry in this state. HB 1733- Repealing permitless carry and “enhanced” stand your ground (My Bill)- We had a thorough hearing and discussion on this bill. We talked about how law enforcement across the state spoke out against permitless carry and stand your ground - and how those changes had made us less safe and them less safe. We talked about how in the year following that bill passing, rates of gun crimes rose dramatically throughout the state even as other violent crimes declined. We talked about how the policy encouraged folks to both carry guns without any training or oversight from their local sheriffs, and to use them in public places freely upon any threat. I believe the vast majority of our general public agrees with the overwhelming opinion of the law enforcement community we claim to support and want to protect — we should pass my bill and get back to a more sensible policy toward guns in our state. Democrats came to the table in good faith, trying to negotiate balanced policy and common ground. We offered our bills to do moderate things like require background checks for all gun sales, matching federal law in banning ammunition sales to minors (which should already be banned but apparently is not being followed uniformly without state law), creating incentives for gun safety courses, and closing a loophole for keeping guns out of domestic violence situations. We came to the table with amendments that sought small tweaks to the Republican bills — tweaks like keeping guns out of BARS, banning bump stocks (which even Trump now supports), allowing oversight to keep guns from individuals identified as high risk, and raising the age to get a permit to 21 (to match the other states that have passed campus carry). We even came to the table with amendments to our own Democratic bills to try to respond to republican concerns for the day before and aim toward compromise on them. I even offered an alternate approach to my bill to allow local municipalities to determine their own rules as to whether a permit would be required to carry in their communities -- if guns affect our communities differently, perhaps we should be open to different approaches in each. The Republicans did not come in good faith - they came and instead played political games with this incredibly serious topic. Jered Taylor, the sponsor of HB1936, offered an amendment to my bill. He described it as “adding” Nick Schroer’s terrible from last year to make private businesses liable if they prohibit guns on their property. I inquired of him to ask if that’s what he was doing, and even asked “So if you add this bill, which is entirely unrelated to mine, will you support the change of permitless carry and stand your ground?” He laughed and said no, acknowledging that I still would not have supported his “guns everywhere” bill even if my additional language raising the age for those guns to 21 had passed. I laughed and agreed. I strongly opposed the amendment as it passed on party lines, then considered whether I’d still vote for the overall bill if it included this bad piece. What I failed to realize until Jon Carpenter subsequently pointed it out is that this amendment didn’t simply add that bad language as Jered described — it deleted my entire bill and replaced it with that terrible one. As we came to realize what was happening we looked across the room and saw smirks on the faces of the Republicans on the committee. They thought it was funny, because now they wouldn’t have to vote on my bill, and now they would even force me to vote against “my own” bill. Remember: this bill would have put us on the side of law enforcement and seek to protect them and our constituents. It’s no joke. The Republicans decided to make it one. Thankfully, the bill failed unanimously or I would have been forced to continue to sponsor a bill that had no connection to the bill I filed. This bill deserved a vote. Our law enforcement deserved a vote. Our voters deserved a vote. Not a political jab. HB 2281- Background Checks for Gun sales-Would Requires all sales or transfers of firearms, from those not related, to be processed by a federally licensed firearms dealer who is first required to conduct a National Instant Criminal Background Check System background check to determine if the purchaser/transferee is legally barred from possessing a firearm. This bill is extremely simple. Right now any person, including a criminal or terrorist, can meet up with somebody from Craigslist and buy a gun from them. This bill would simply make it so that buyers know they are not buying a stolen weapon and that sellers know they are not selling to a criminal. Despite the simplicity and common sense of this bill, the Republicans all voted against it and the bill failed to pass out of committee.



HB 1342- Banning Ammo Sales to Minors- Would prohibit a person from selling firearm ammunition and accessories to minors. This bill would have us mirror Federal law which already does this. The reason for this bill existing is that there have been instances in which stores have sold ammunition to minors in Missouri. This bill would simply have state law match federal law, making it easier for local authorities to prosecute those who violate the law. The Republicans however felt that Missouri should not have a law banning firearm ammunition to minors and voted against this bill causing it to fail along party lines.

Moms Demand Action Lobby Day February 20th was the lobby day for Moms Demand Action. It was great to see so many moms, dads, and young people here at the capital advocating for gun sense in Missouri. I heard that there were OVER 400 of them in the capital and that they visited every legislator in the building. It was great to speak to them about how we can make Missouri a safer place for all our citizens. They are letting the Republicans know that the people of Missouri are sick and tired of out of control, dangerous gun policies. This past Thursday, I spoke at the Moms Demand Action meeting in Webster. Over 1,000 people came out to this meeting. There is no question in my mind that this conversation is finally changing. Voters don’t want us turning to arming teachers in order to protect our kids at school. Voters want universal background checks and sensible limits on guns in our state. Voters want a sensible approach to guns, and it’s time we demand it. You can see video of part of my speech at the Mom’s meeting here: https://www.facebook.com/becky.jaynesmorgan/videos/10216089384093864/ Raise the Age for Marriage We voted on the marriage bill (HB 1630) last week. A bill that says children under 15 can’t get married, and 15-16 year olds only can with a parent’s consent and a judge approving that there is no duress or abuse involved. Currently there is NO minimum age for marriage in Missouri, and 15-16 year olds don’t even need a judge’s approval as long as one parent consents. Amazingly, fifty reps voted against this bill. They felt that the government SHOULD continue issuing licenses for minors to get married without any level of court oversight to protect children from abuse. FIFTY reps believed that government telling minors they can’t marry adults without any oversight would be overly intrusive into “personal family decisions.” They believed it would interfere with “a parent’s fundamental right” to let their child marry an adult. Most of the 50 also oppose gay marriage, and believe that the government has every right to stop two gay people from marrying. A “private family decision about the fundamental right of marriage.” Nearly all of the 50 also supported a bill just a week earlier to require not only a parent’s consent for a minor getting an abortion but also a judge’s intervention if the minor doesn’t have the consent of a second parent. A “private family decision.” (Marriage of a 15 year old currently only requires the consent on one parent and no judge.) 50 reps believe that our government should issue a license for a 40 year old to legally have sex with a 15 year old as long as one parent says it’s ok. Or a 12 year old if a judge agrees that it’s ok. In my previous newsletter, you can watch my inquiry of one of the most vocal opponents of the bill. This was pretty astonishing, if you ask me. General laws Report 02/20/18 Executive Session HB 1510- Inspections (Heard Last Week)- Prohibits a city or county from adopting or enforcing a residential property licensing ordinance that includes a requirement for periodic interior inspections of privately-owned residential property. This bill would also prevent city governments from having stronger safety codes than county or state statutes. In my opinion the second part of this bill goes beyond protecting unwanted inspections of private property and could potentially hurt safety overall in Missouri. For this reason I voted no on this bill, along with the other Democrats, but the bill passed out of committee 9-4. HB 1651-Electronic Notice of Sale (Heard Last Week)- Provides that notice of sale made through electronic publication instead of the newspaper, at the discretion of the trustee. One issue I see with this is that if there are many different websites out there with this information then it may be difficult for people to find it. I also don’t believe the Trustees themselves should be able to operate their own “notice” websites. I also have concerns that this approach would be a violation of due process rights associated with our state’s non-judicial foreclosure process. For these reasons I voted no on this bill, but it passed out of committee 8-5. HB 1795- Personnel (Heard Last Week)- Requires public notice when a job class is opened for recruitment in the state Government. I voted yes on this bill and it passed out of committee 12-1. HB 2155- Liquor Delivery (Heard Last Week)- Allows wholesalers to employ persons 18 years of age to unload delivery vehicles and transfer liquor into retail premises with supervision. I voted yes on this bill and it passed out of committee 13-0. HB 1870- Patient Medications (Heard Last Week)- Allows medications in multidose containers that were administered to or used for a patient during a hospital stay to be sent with the patient at discharge. I voted yes on this bill and it passed out of committee 13-0. HB 2179-Israel Boycott Bill (Heard Last Week)- You can see my write up in the previous newsletter why I opposed this complicated bill with significant emotional testimony. I also included a link to my conversation with the bill sponsor if you’d like to watch. I was the only no vote on this bill in committee, as it passed 12-1. It passed Rules Committee, with Deb Lavender as the only no vote there, and will now head to the floor. I expect a difficult floor debate on this bill, and will keep you posted. Public Hearings HB 1249-Traffic Violations- Changes provisions relating to municipal courts and minor traffic violations. HB 1248- Powdered Alcohol- Adds powdered alcohol to the definition of intoxicating liquor used in state liquor control laws. The bill requires anyone shipping or delivering powered alcohol to a resident of this state for personal use to have an alcohol carrier license. This bill would ensure more regulation of this product that is easily abused and potentially dangerous if too much is consumed too quickly. HB 1915-No-Call List- Increases the penalty for knowingly violating the law relating to the no-call list. HB 1262-Personal Property- Requires towing companies in possession of abandoned vehicles to release all personal property from such vehicles to the true owner upon request. From the testimony we heard on this bill, this bill seems to do a really good thing. Right now tow companies can charge people for return of private property that is in their vehicle that was towed. There was also the opinion of the committee and bill sponsor that this bill should be expanded to cover vehicles towed for any reason, not just abandonment. I think this bill makes sense and would protect their private property rights and pocketbook from towing companies that would take advantage of people. On Tuesday, February 27, after voting on the gun bills, we also had long public hearings on a few important bills - including a statewide regulatory structure of AirBnBs and a bill to essentially prohibit Tesla from operating in Missouri. I’ll provide longer write-ups on those in the next newsletter following our Committee votes on those bills. Govt. Oversight 2/27/18 HCR 55- Term Limits Convention- Would Apply to Congress for the calling of a Constitutional convention of states to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution regarding term limits for members of Congress. The issue of term limits is something that is brought up quite often here at the legislature. Per usual with this bill, we discussed concerns about an unprecedented Article V Convention and opening the door to amending our Constitution, but also discussed our concerns about whether term limits are good for democracy. We have had term limits in Missouri for decades now, and in my opinion they have been nothing less than disastrous. There is a substantial lack of experience and institutional knowledge here in Jefferson City. This is problematic because as you all know, the issues of government are extremely complicated and mastery of them takes years. Often times in Missouri legislators who have just become masters of a certain issue or process are forced to leave office due to term limits. This is a serious problem not just because of the loss of expertise but because it leads to over reliance on lobbyists. Many lobbyists have been here for decades and are far more knowledgeable on the issues of the state government than many legislators. This leads to many legislators relying on lobbyists who are representing special interests that have their own agendas. Other than lobbyists, the only other group with significant amounts of expertise is unelected bureaucrats. Term limits, while appealing on the surface, serve to increase the influence of lobbyists and unelected bureaucrats while reducing the influence of the people’s elected representatives. Term limits have had a negative impact on our state and we stand against this resolution because it would be bad for our country. I also have a problem with ever telling voters they can’t vote to keep somebody in office that they are happy with and want to represent them. I generally prefer to trust voters to decide who their representatives are and how long they serve. Despite wide agreement about the negative impacts of term limits, many members pointed to wide support of voters for term limits. The bill passed out of committee 8-2. I was unfortunately not able to attend this Executive Session but if I had been there I would have voted no. The Resolution passed with members voting along party lines. Representative Justin Hill said he only voted yes on this bill because he wanted it to come to the floor and be debated. Complicating Abortion HB 1383- For anyone still questioning whether Rs use abortion primarily as a political wedge: The two-parent notification bill was set to be heard on our calendar a couple of weeks ago. This session, the floor leader has been really good about hearing bills for perfection, then third read, in the order they came up. Interestingly, after the special election this month, this bill was skipped over on the Third Read calendar. I was later informed by credible sources that it was being delayed until the new members came in to office, because they wanted to put our new Democrat in a difficult position with this vote. I wasn’t sure it was true. On Tuesday, our new members were sworn in. The first bill we took up that same day for Third Read? Two parent notification. Folks, this is about politics, first and foremost. It’s not about reducing abortions - it’s about forcing votes that let them send mail about democrats wanting “easy access to abortion”. It’s about putting democrats in purple districts in the position to decide between voting for a bill that may put young women in abusive situations at risk, or voting against the bill and having mail sent to all their neighbors saying that they want to kill babies. This bill would not reduce abortions. This bill would not improve women’s health. This bill is politics at its worst. I honestly didn’t have the energy to debate it again on the heels of the long gun debates, so for anyone curious to hear my very heated exchange with the bill sponsor at perfection, I’ll post the link again, and my explanation of my position, below: Short version of my primary concern — this bill doesn’t provide sufficient protection for young girls that may be in abusive or otherwise problematic relationships with a parent, and don’t want to be forced to tell that story to a court in order to get a waiver of the notification requirement. A young woman with an estranged abusive father, who may have resolved the situation and cut off ties without utilizing a court, shouldn’t be forced to either contact that father (who may even be the one that got her pregnant) or go to court in order to tell her painful story in order to go forward with an abortion. I could even possibly support this if there was an exception for a medical professional to disregard the second parent’s notification if they had a reasonable belief that such notification would endanger the young woman. But the bill sponsor failed to include that. Here’s the video if you’d like to hear my conversation with the bill sponsor. I start at 2:04. https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmohouse.granicus.com%2FMediaPlayer.php%3Fview_id%3D1%26clip_id%3D573&h=ATP-SfakOWqXNM0PzXLdKgRRNgY11eJak1GrZ5nNVtPCmsoFaY3DtmeiSbBu7tQL2WkcR8VBA2WCSXAAZCzc9vTzFePqEm8tP2L9ACZ5hFEgjyKuiBH6 Emerging Leaders Parent Forums

The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus Foundation and University of Missouri – Columbia is gearing up for the 2018 Emerging Leaders Youth Conference. This year we will be hosting “Emerging Leaders Parent Forums” as a way to engage Parents/Guardians and students directly so we can answer questions they might have about the conference. Please forward this email to your constituents, or post this information in your Capitol Newsletters and encourage parents to complete ASAP. Parents can complete the sign up the information from their cell phone and it will only take about 5 minutes. The survey can be access by clicking Emerging Leaders Parent Forum If by chance that link is not working, the long url is: https://missouri.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3sD0PEuig6D4H1H It was great to see the 4th graders from Kennard at the capitol this week. I've had a great time reading all of the letters they dropped off. Piper's Birthday!

Happy birthday wish to this curious, opinionated and incredibly sweet little lady! Hope she has another amazing year ahead! (And hope we’re ready for another two year old officially in the house!) Follow me on facebook for more current daily updates on what's happening in the House! Notice

Here is a link to a corrected version of the 80th House District Directory. http://house.mo.gov/docs/?s=080 If you would like to subscribe to Representative Peter Merideth's weekly update click the button below. Subscribe