The five new Jefferson County members of the state House of Representatives may not have pushed a lot of legislation through in the first year of their freshman terms, but they seemed to have made an impression.
Four of the five newcomers – David Casteel (R-High Ridge), Renee Reuter (R-Imperial), Phil Amato (R-Arnold) and Ken Waller (R-Herculaneum) – all spoke at the Jefferson County Growth Association’s annual Legislative Forum, held June 22 at Jefferson College.
They were joined by the sole holdover in the state House – Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway (R-Festus), who is in her second two-year term – as well as state Sen. Elaine Gannon (R-De Soto), who is in the third year of her first four-year term.
The other freshman state rep, Gary Bonacker (R-House Springs), did not attend the Legislative Forum, nor did the county’s other state senator, Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Arnold), also in her first term.
Amato noted that Jefferson County representatives were appointed to many major committees, especially Buchheit-Courtway, who succeeded former state Rep. Becky Ruth as chair of the influential transportation committee.
“We’d be walking around together, and people called us the Jeffco Mafia,” Amato said.
He said he employed some sweet treats to get an audience with state Rep. Cody Smith (R-Carthage), who leads the powerful Budget Committee.
“I’d stop by his office, wanting to talk to him about one of the bills I sponsored, on tax credits for donations to local hospital foundations,” Amato said. “There were always 15 people deep and I could never even get to talk to his staff.
“One day, I tried bringing in a tray of cookies. That got me an appointment for the next week with Rep. Smith. The cookies really worked.”
“I’ve found that Krispy Kreme doughnuts are also good for bribes,” Waller said.
In a meeting a few days later with other members of the “Jeffco Mafia,” Amato said he learned about an effort to get $12 million in the state budget to build a road and bridge that would allow trucks in and out of the James Hardie factory to be built in Crystal City, bypassing streets near Mercy Hospital Jefferson on the way to I-55.
“When I heard that they were having trouble getting in to see Rep. Smith, I decided that all of them would come in about 20 minutes in at my meeting,” Amato said. “I was able to get all of us in and we got that road for Jefferson County.”
Waller agreed the strategy worked.
“All six of us spoke up and told (Smith) that this is what we need. I don’t think we were going to leave until we got a commitment for that money,” Waller said. “It was important to our county and important to the state.”
Gannon said she worked with Senate leadership on the same issue.
“That was important to get into the budget,” she said.
Of the 62 bills approved by the General Assembly, only one was sponsored by a Jefferson County representative – Coleman’s legislation clarifying that a person can be charged with homicide if he or she had the premeditated intent to kill, even if the suspect targeted a random victim.
That, along with 50 other approved bills, await Gov. Mike Parson’s signature. He has until July 14 to sign them.
The freshman contingent said they were forewarned that a first-timer doesn’t usually see bills reach the governor’s desk.
“I was told going in that freshmen didn’t get bills passed, so I figured, ‘Why waste my time?’ I could spend it better by helping my constituents,” Waller said.
Bonacker also filed no legislation.
“I hope next session all of us freshmen are going in smarter, and we’ll do an even better job for the people of Jefferson County,” Amato said.
Reuter talked about the transition from her 12 years on the Jefferson County Council to life in Jefferson City.
“A state rep is pretty much gone for a half a year,” she said. “That’s quite a challenge. I’m trying to get more comfortable with that.”
Reuter conceded that the General Assembly approved what seems like a stingy amount of legislation in its session, which ran from Jan. 4 to May 12.
“But it seems to me better to not pass bad bills,” she said.
Casteel, noting that he was the youngest of the newcomers at 40 (39 when the session started) said he was impressed.
“The Capitol is full of amazing people,” he said. “With all of the state’s problems coming right there, it’s easy to lose focus and concentrate on all the things you’re not concerned with.”
Casteel, who is president of the Roofing and Siding Contractors Alliance, said he’s looking to make it easier for contractors to do business in the state, but also focused on repealing a bill that restricts Jefferson County 911 Dispatch from imposing a sales tax of more than .25 percent.
“Sen. Gannon carried the same bill in the Senate,” Casteel said. “We got it done as an amendment to another bill. I was told I was not going to get a bill passed the first time, but I feel very fortunate that I was able to get this done somehow.”
Reuter said a bill that she co-sponsored that didn’t make it to Parson’s desk will be a priority in next year’s session.
“It was for fallen heroes,” said Reuter of the bill that would require the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to foot the bill for the cost of memorial sign designations honoring deceased veterans on roads and bridges.
“It often falls upon the family to put up or raise the money for a sign, around $1,100,” she said. “That’s adding insult to injury.”
A bill Reuter sponsored ended up passing in a different form.
Her bill would allow counties to exempt people 65 or older from increases in real estate taxes.
“It ended up as Senate Bill 190, which was not exactly my bill, but I’ve learned that you can take what you can do.”
The Senate bill also would allow all Missouri residents to deduct all of their Social Security benefits. It, too, awaits Parson’s signature.
Reuter also predicted that better days are ahead for the county’s freshman contingent.
“As we get more experience, we’ll be able to push forward more bills. In the end, we all want to do the right thing,” she said.
Concerning the “Jeffco Mafia,” Waller said he and Reuter, who often clashed while Waller was county executive and Reuter was on the county council, have mended fences.
“It’s everybody’s perspective that Renee and I never got along,” Waller said. “We’ve actually become good friends in the past year.”
Experience shows
Buchheit-Courtway filed 15 bills, none of which made it to the governor’s desk as filed, but some as amendments to larger bills.
One, she said, is a provision that requires authorities to search for grandparents when a child is removed from his or her parents and give preference to grandparents to serve as foster parents.
Another that was approved as part of another bill modifies state law concerning laser surgery.
“A toxic chemical can be released, and this will require hospitals to put evacuation polices in place – not only for the staff, but for the patient,” Buchheit-Courtway said.
A priority bill for her next session, she said, would require that schools provide mental health awareness training for students in grades five through eight.
“This is so near and dear to my heart,” Buchheit-Courtway said. “It’s horrible that children can feel that suicide is their only option. Children need the tools in their toolbox. It did not pass this time, but it will be one of the first things I filed this year.”
Senate
Gannon said that while the debate was often contentious in the Senate this session, “it was constructive.”
Her big win was the passage of a bill that will extend the state’s assistance to low-income pregnant and new mothers from 60 days following the end of the pregnancy to one year.
“Right now, the state of Missouri has the sixth-highest maternal mortality rate. Many conditions, such as anxiety, depression, loss of hair and heart issues many times don’t come up until after five or six months after delivery,” she said.
While Parson has not yet signed it into law, Gannon noted it was a priority for him, so she doesn’t expect any problems.
Gannon said seven other of her sponsored bills met success as amendments to other legislation.
“The governor warned us that he was going to call us back if we didn’t pass a transgender bill,” she said.
Two bills were passed, one prohibiting minors and some adults from accessing puberty blockers, hormones and gender-related surgeries and another banning transgender children from playing on female sports teams, from kindergarten through college.
“I believe this helps to protect our children from gender-transition surgery,” she said of the first. “The other bill ensures a level playing field for young female athletes.
“We’re protecting our children,” she said. “The Legislature certainly made the correct decision there.”
Parson has signed both of those bills.
Event a success
Dan Govero, president of the Growth Association, said the organization has sponsored a legislative wrap-up forum for at least a dozen years. He said 81 people attended this year’s event.
“It’s a chance for our politicians to tell the public about what’s going on,” he said.
U.S. representatives Blaine Luetkemeyer and Jason Smith and U.S. senators Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt had people from their office speak at the event.
Waller lauded the county’s current state legislative contingent.
“I don’t want to throw any shade on anyone who’s come before,” he said, “but I believe this group of people we have now are the best Jefferson County has ever had. We know how to take care of our districts and the people.”