Senator offers legislative outlook for 2016

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
State Sen. Dan Hegeman on Wednesday briefed members of the Nodaway County Commission about his expectations for the upcoming 2016 session of the General Assembly in Jefferson City. Hegeman’s summary covered a varied list of legislative proposals addressing such issues as transportation spending, palliative care, and law enforcement. Pictured are Hegeman, left, North District Commissioner Robert Westfall, and South District Commissioner Robert Stiens. Presiding Commissioner Bill Walker attended most of the meeting before leaving to attend a family funeral.

State Sen. Dan Hegeman met with members of the Nodaway County Commission Wednesday for a briefing on proposed legislation apt to affect Nodaway and other portions of rural Missouri.

The Missouri General Assembly convenes for its 2016 session on Jan. 6 and will adjourn on May 13. Hegeman is about to start the second year of his first four-year term in the Senate. He served in the state House of Representatives from 1991-2002 before being term-limited out and also spent five years as Andrew County clerk.

In addition to Nodaway, Hegeman’s 12th District includes Andrew, Atchison, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Mercer, Putnam, Sullivan, Worth, and part of Clay County.

Hegeman told the commissioners that he has pre-filed a number of bills in anticipation of next year’s session, including legislation that would modify residency requirements for members of special road district boards.

The senator said some counties have trouble finding people eligible to serve on such boards due to lack of population. Hegeman’s bill would open board membership to landowners with property inside special road districts but who live in other parts of the county.

Other legislation sponsored by Hegeman would require candidates for the county office of public administrator to demonstrate that they meet bonding requirements before filing to run for office.

In Missouri, public administrators manage the affairs of citizens who have been declared incapable of making their own decisions with regard to healthcare or finances. Being bonded means that a bonding company has secured money available to clients or their families in the event of a claim.

Hegeman said he proposed the legislation after a candidate elected to serve as public administrator in Andrew County turned out not to be bondable and was forced to step down. Requiring proof of bondability at the time of filing for office, he said, will ensure that the will of the voters is carried out and “save a lot of embarrassment for the candidate.”

Another Hegeman bill would create the Missouri Palliative Care and Quality of Life Interdisciplinary Council, which would be charged with advising the state Department of Health and Senior Services on matters related to the “establishment, maintenance, operation, and outcomes evaluation of palliative care initiatives in the state.”

The new council, which would include lawmakers from both chambers as well as other members appointed by the governor, would also submit an annual report to the General Assembly assessing the availability of palliative care statewide.

Hegeman’s proposal also calls for the creation of a Palliative Care Consumer and Professional Information and Education Program designed to “maximize the effectiveness of palliative care in the state by ensuring the public availability of comprehensive and accurate information about palliative care.”

On other fronts, while admitting that there isn’t a lot of sympathy in the Senate this year for tax credit legislation, Hegeman said he is seeking a tax break for people wishing to make donations to community foundations, including the Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri.

Such non-profit organizations are becoming popular mechanisms for encouraging investment in civic and charitable endeavors in parts of Missouri where population is declining, and wealth is being passed on to family members who have moved to urban areas or other states.

Hegeman’s bill would cap total tax credits available each year at $500,000 and end credit availability in 2021.

Turning to legislation either pre-filed or expected to be filed by other lawmakers, Hegeman told the commissioners to expect an effort to expand the ability of sheriff’s departments to offer mutual aid regardless of location.

Currently such inter-departmental actions are confined to adjoining counties, Hegeman said. Eliminating such requirements would allow larger, urban agencies to share resources with outstate sheriff’s departments in the event of major crimes resulting in large-scale investigations.

Additional law enforcement bills will likely seek an increase in the $19 per diem the state currently pays for housing Department of Corrections prisoners in county jails, and propose a cellphone or Internet tax that would provide more funding for maintaining and updating 911 emergency notification systems.

Missouri is the only state that still relies solely on a landline telephone tax to pay for 911 operations, but proposals to create a 911 cellphone tax have twice been rejected by voters.

Hegeman also warned the commissioners that they might face an unfunded mandate for the training of sheriff’s deputies under new standards issues by the state Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST), which earlier this year raised the number of POST continuing education hours officers must complete from 48 hours every three years to 24 hours annually.

Turning to transportation, Hegeman said the Legislature will no doubt continue to debate revenue options for the fiscally struggling Missouri Department of Transportation. Proposals could include asking voters to approve a motor fuels sales tax increase, a strategy that has failed in the past, or legislative approval of a smaller levy that falls below the threshold of constitutional tax ceilings.

Hegeman warned that some lawmakers from urban areas are floating the notion of returning the state’s lettered “farm-to-market” routes to county ownership. While such a move is unlikely and would require an amendment to the Missouri Constitution, Hegeman said the proposal has a surprising amount of traction.

Sen. Rob Schaaf of Buchanan County, he said, has proposed a joint resolution for an amendment that would increase motor fuels taxes by three and a half cents for diesel and one and a half cents for gasoline while returning “supplementary state highways” to “local control and maintenance” with funding limits on state assistance.