By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
One week is left in a legislative session in Jefferson City which has been unlike any legislative session, ever.
COVID-19 precautions have kept legislators out of the Capitol for much of the session. They have returned these past few weeks to work on the state budget and other priority legislation.
State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer of Parkville has attached his anti-crime legislation to a House bill in an effort to get it through before the session adjourns Friday evening.
“Right now, frankly, in the Senate and in the House, we’re looking for bills that can get loaded up with other priorities, because we realize that there is a limited amount of time that we’re going to have to pass important legislation and passing individual bills with just one component on it is not going to be something that’s going to be possible this session due to the abbreviated nature that we find ourselves in right now,” Luetkemeyer tells St. Joseph Post.
Luetkemeyer’s bill would crack down on gangs, make using a firearm in a felony a more serious crime, limit which convicted felons can be placed on probation, and protect witnesses in criminal trials, among other provisions.
Luetkemeyer says lawmakers are scrambling during this final week of the session to revive priority legislation set aside when coronavirus concerns arose.
“We have a lot of priorities prior to COVID-19 here in the legislature and I think none of those priorities are any less pressing today than they were before,” according to Luetkemeyer.
Luetkemeyer guided Senate Bill 600 through the Senate prior to the coronavirus disruption. He has attached the provisions of the bill onto House Bill 1450 as an amendment in an effort to get it passed in these waning days of the session. The bill now is in conference committee as Senate and House negotiations attempt to work out differences.
“All the provisions that I crafted prior to COVID-19 are still every bit as important now as they were then,” Luetkemeyer says. “And so, I’m happy that we’re seeing those bills progress through the process, because we’re going to need that type of relief whenever we finish this session.”
Luetkemeyer says he feels confident the legislation can pass this last week of the session, primarily because legislators should be well aware of its provisions.
“In fact, most of the provisions that were in the omnibus bill that I created on (HB) 1450 had previously passed the entire chamber on a 27-to-2 vote before the COVID-19 pandemic. So, these are well-vetted ideas.”
The legislative session in Jefferson City ends at six o’clock Friday evening.