To the Constituents of the 125th District,

The House, again, took up the Federal congressional maps. We voted and approved a map back in January and it was sent to the Senate. After 8 or 9 weeks, the Senate finally sent us back their version of the map, and there was a few things we did not like about theirs, so we sent it to conference committee, where a committee of ten Senators and ten House Representatives, go to committee and try and work out the differences. The Senate voted not to send it to conference committee and said take our map or no map. So again today, we voted not to approve their map and asked again for a conference committee and sent it back to the Senate. I would hope that we could get into a room as this committee and work on a solution for these maps and for the people of Missouri.
House Rejects Senate Version of Proposed Congressional Map (HB 2117)
The original map approved by the House can be viewed at the following link: https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills221/maps/Map.4875H.02P.pdf.
The modified map approved by the Senate can be viewed at the following link: https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills221/maps/Map.4875S.05F.pdf.
Enjoyed meeting with the group of West Central Missouri Association of Realtors on Tuesday to briefly discuss a few of their issues. Always good to have visitors from the district at the Capitol.
The House 3rd read and passed, which is the final step on the House side, to get a bill over to the Senate for their approval and then on to the Governor before it becomes law, several pieces of good legislation.
House Members Approve Legislation to Protect Life (HB 2012)
House members once again took action to protect the lives of the innocent unborn. The House gave initial approval this week to a measure that contains several provisions to protect the sanctity and dignity of life.
HB 2012 would make it a felony offense to use or donate fetal tissue from an abortion for any purpose other than to diagnose anomalies, determine paternity, or for law enforcement purposes. The bill also makes it a felony offense to hoard aborted human remains.
An amendment added to the bill during floor discussion would enact the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which mandates that a child born alive during or after an abortion or attempted abortion will have the same rights, privileges, and immunities as any other person, citizen, and resident of Missouri, including any other live-born child. The actions of the House build on measures approved in years past that were designed to reduce the number of abortions in the state. Figures released by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services show that 151 abortions occurred in Missouri in 2021. That number is down significantly from 2019 when 1,471 abortions took place in the state. As recently as 2010, the state saw more than 6,000 abortions take place within its borders.
Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence (HB 1699)
The House has voted to make several changes in state law meant to make victims of domestic violence safer.
The bill’s sponsor told his colleagues, “This bill seeks to plug some of the gaps in our laws that allow abusers to circumvent the system and continue to use the system actually to further abuse their victims.”
HB 2005 specifies that any electrical corporation that proposes building a transmission line must provide a minimum 50% of its electrical load to Missouri consumers to be considered a public service and to be allowed to condemn property to construct the transmission. The provisions of the bill do not apply to electrical corporations operating under a cooperative business plan. The bill also specifies that in condemnation proceedings, just compensation for agricultural or horticultural land shall be 150% of fair market value, which will be determined by the court. The sponsor said the bill is a response to the land owners who are pleading with the legislature for help. He said the bill, “ensures utility projects in Missouri actually benefit the state of Missouri.
HB 1677 provides that beginning on March 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) utilized by the Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan shall file a report with the Plan for the immediately preceding calendar year regarding rebates, as defined in the bill. The report shall include: the aggregate dollar amount of rebates collected from pharmaceutical manufacturers; the aggregate dollar amount of the rebates that were not passed on to the Plan, and the aggregate dollar amount of all fees and payments received from pharmaceutical manufacturers. Supporters say the bill will lower costs of prescription drugs for patients and increase transparency for the pricing practices of PBMs. The bill’s sponsor said, “This is the bill that will show transparency for prescription drugs. It will drive costs down for all of our constituents.”
I am honored to serve as your Representative in the Missouri House. If at any time, you have questions, concerns or ideas regarding state government, please feel free to contact me at 573-751-4065 or Jim.Kalberloh@house.mo.gov.
State Representative Jim Kalberloh