The big news out of the state capitol this week was final approval by the Senate of a congressional redistricting map.  The map creates 6 Republican and 2 Democratic districts.  In our region, Representative Emmanuel Cleaver’s district remains solidly Democratic.  The new map now heads to the house who is expected to vote on it on Monday, March 28th.  If there are no changes, the map will head to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

Vaccine Mandates

As they were negotiating the congressional map behind closed doors, the Senate worked deep into Wednesday night and Thursday morning trying to pass a bill from Sen. Lincoln Hough that would rework some of the processes that governments use when contracting for design-build projects. The bill was derailed by an amendment from Sen. Bill Eigel that would prohibit governmental entities from doing business with any company that mandates its employees be vaccinated. A bipartisan group of senators prevented Sen. Eigel’s amendment from reaching a vote and the bill was ultimately laid over so that the Senate could move on to the map debate. This issue is likely to rear its head again before the session concludes.

Sports Betting

Sports betting was approved in the Missouri House and is now headed to the Senate for consideration.  It would add Missouri to the list of 32 states which have legalized sports begging.

Medicaid Eligibility

The Senate Appropriations Committee heard a proposed constitutional amendment that would change the way funding for Medicaid recipients in the new expansion population is appropriated. HJR 117, sponsored by House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, would separate the Medicaid expansion population from other Medicaid recipients and allow the General Assembly to determine how much funding to provide to that population each year.

The measure also includes new work and residency requirements for participation in the program. The committee will have to approve the resolution before it can be debated by the full Senate – where it is expected to hit significant resistance from Democrats and a handful of Republicans. If both chambers approve this measure, it will have to go to voters for final approval.

Unemployment Benefits

Early this week the Senate spent approximately three hours debating a bill from Sen. Mike Bernskoetter that would reduce the duration of unemployment benefits in Missouri from 20 weeks to 8 weeks if the state’s unemployment rate is below certain thresholds. The bill was filibustered by the entire Democratic caucus and laid over before it could reach a vote. It is likely to see more time on the floor before the session concludes in seven weeks.