Greene County lawmakers had much to be thankful for from 2023 legislative session

As legislators prepare to return to the Missouri Capitol in January, those representing Greene County reflect upon what they were thankful for during the previous legislative session, while also looking ahead to their hopes for the 2024 legislative session.

Rep. Bishop Davidson, who represents the 130th District in the Missouri House of Representatives, is thankful for the friendships he has formed during his time in office. Davidson was elected in 2020.

“I'm thankful for the handful of friendships that I have been able to cultivate,” Davidson said. “It really makes the job so much more bearable when you have some friends that you can trust in a world that's naturally very distrusting.”

Davidson speculates that, while most people value the friendships formed in their lifetime, few of them are truly tested in the way that friendships formed in the political sphere can be.

“I can't imagine being like a wealthy individual, like a billionaire, where all these friendships are constantly being tested. And I wonder how many of our friendships would exist under those pressures?” Davidson said. “But I have the fortune of knowing I've got a couple that do exist in that environment, and that means that they’re really solid.”

Sen. Curtis Trent echoes Davidson’s thankfulness for the relationships he’s formed while in office. The 2023 legislative session was Trent’s first year serving as a state senator.

“I was really thankful for all the staff and particularly my chief of staff, Bruce DeGroot, and all the Senate staff there for the ease of which they made the transition, the help that they provided with the process and just the mechanics of setting up a new office,” Trent said. “There's always lots to do there, and they went out of their way to make that a very pleasant experience.”

Wins for welfare recipients, postpartum mothers on Medicaid

Both House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, District 132, and Rep. Betsy Fogle, District 135, expressed thankfulness for the passage of legislation that extended postpartum Medicaid coverage to new mothers for a year after they’ve given birth. Previous coverage only lasted 60 days after delivery.

“I am extremely thankful that we were able to get postpartum health care coverage for new moms extended in our state,” Quade said. “That's a piece of legislation we've been working on bipartisanly for a very long time.”

“That's something that myself and a lot of Springfield area legislators have been working on across the aisle, so it's really great to get that done,” Fogle said.

In Missouri, the average pregnancy-related mortality ratio was 32 deaths per 100,000 live births from 2018-2020, but among Black mothers, it was three times higher, at 71 out of 100,000, than among white mothers, at 23 out of 100,000.

For those on Medicaid, the ratio of pregnancy-related deaths was 2.5 times higher than those with other health care coverage. Medicaid is health care coverage provided by the state to low-income Missouri residents.

Quade and Fogle, as well as Rep. Alex Riley, District 134, were very thankful to see a piece of legislation co-sponsored by Riley pass into law this year. Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, will now be eligible for transitional benefits that enable them to earn more without fear of losing all their benefits.

With a new sliding scale of eligibility, as people earn income that would put them over full-benefit eligibility, their benefits will be decreased proportionally, rather than entirely lost.

“So the idea there is we're trying to restructure our system from one that keeps people trapped in poverty to one that encourages people to work and to work their way up the income ladder and ultimately to become self-sufficient,” Riley said.

Riley aims to address a problem plaguing SNAP and TANF beneficiaries across the state.

“They wouldn't accept raises, they wouldn't keep working their way up the income ladder because they would lose their benefits,” Riley said. “That certainly makes economic sense why someone would make that choice, but unfortunately that results in people being stuck in low-income jobs, stuck in poverty, and never really able to work their way out.”

This legislation brought Springfield-area legislators and organizations together to enact the change.

“We started in 2017. We have had Evangel students working on that. We’ve had members of the Drew Lewis Foundation and several nonprofits throughout Springfield come and testify,” Quade said. “I really feel like that piece of legislation was something that came from the heart of Springfield.”

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First responders gain support, education programs funded, Springfield sees budget victories

Sen. Lincoln Hough, chair of the appropriation committee, is thankful for the educational wins benefiting all levels of the learning process. Although some proposals meant to address the state’s teacher shortage were unsuccessful, lawmakers did guarantee public school teachers make at least $38,000 annually.

Also, legislation loosened rules for retired teachers wanting to work as substitute teachers so that their requirement benefits are not at risk. Funding for the Career Ladder Program was doubled, allowing school districts to provide compensation to teachers who take on extra roles and responsibilities.

“We've seen pretty incredible investments in what I would say is the future of our education system around the state,” Hough said. “Investing in the students and the youth for tomorrow has always been a priority and something that I'm incredibly thankful for.”

Riley hopes to see additional legislative focus on advancing education in the state during the upcoming legislative session.

“I'm always interested in working on paying teachers more and providing more school choice options for parents,” Riley said. “I'm optimistic we can get a little bit done there as well.”

Hough is also thankful for the success of legislation aimed at supporting first responders and their mental health. The fund will help first responders, including firefighters, ambulance, workers, 911 operators and others working in the field.

“These frontline workers take care of our communities and neighbors, day in and day out,” Hough said. “It was time that the state wrapped our arms around them and said, ‘We're here for you, too.’”

Rep. Melanie Stinnett, District 133, was pleased to see legislation, a version of which she sponsored, that will advance access to health care for Missouri residents living with a disability. Eligibility for the Ticket to Work Health Assurance Program was adjusted to allow working adults with disabilities earn higher incomes and still qualify for Medicaid coverage.

“I was really thankful that we were able to get that done for a group of people that often feel like their voice isn't heard,” Stinnett said.

Rep. Bill Owen, District 131, was pleased to see that legislation adjusting pension benefits for state lawmakers and officials made its way to the governor’s desk.

“I'm thankful for any expansion of workforce retirement plans, which will help more people create wealth for themselves and their families,” Owen said.

A variety of budget wins were among the things that Reps. Stephanie Hein, District 136, and fellow Springfield Democrat Fogle were thankful for from the 2023 legislative session. Hein, who was a member of the House Budget Committee during the past session, highlights teamwork with Springfield legislators and community members as the reason many efforts were successful.

“We were able to bring home some really good things for Springfield, particularly in the budget,” Hein said. “That wasn't by happenstance. We all worked really well together to make sure that we had Springfield as a priority. The relationship that we have with our city leaders, county leaders and our community leaders is something that I value, and I hope people are proud of how we work together.”

Hein points to the rarity of such collaboration among Springfield-area lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, along with stakeholders and constituents living in the Greene County area.

“I don't know that people understand that that relationship is really unique because we don't hear that from our colleagues across the state,” Hein said.

The 2024 fiscal year budget approved by state lawmakers included funding for several Springfield area projects, landmarks and nonprofits, including repairs to Springfield's long-dormant Jefferson Avenue Footbridge, investment in Missouri State University and Ozark Technical Community College and funds for nonprofits focused on helping families living in poverty.

“I’m thankful for all the budget wins that we were able to bring home to our area,” Fogle said. “Having Sen. Hough serve as appropriations chair in the Senate has been good for Springfield and good for southwest Missouri. I've been really thankful to be a part of the budget negotiations.”

Rep. Riley and Sen. Trent both expressed hopes for a good economy and balanced budget in the upcoming legislative session.

“I think we'll be able to find a way to pass another strong budget that's fiscally responsible, but continues to meet our state's needs,” Riley said.

“Hopefully, we won't have too much downturn in the economy and so we'll still have plenty of resources to fulfill all the needs of the state,” Trent said. “I'm always kind of hopeful that we'll have a better than average session every year.”

Legislators share hopes for bills to address child care, health care, public safety

Quade, who is running for governor in 2024, and Hein are both hopeful to see movement on legislation addressing the shortage of child care in the state. Gov. Parson and the Missouri Chamber of Commerce have both expressed desires to see this issue addressed by lawmakers.

“Gov. Parson wanted to pass some legislation around child care, but we never really got that across the finish line,” Quade said. “That is something that I'm really looking forward to working on together with the (Missouri) Chamber of Commerce and a lot of other organizations. I'm hopeful that we'll get something done.”

The Missouri Chamber, in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, released a report in 2021 that showed the state loses out on $1.35 billion annually, with $280 million in annual lost tax revenue, due to the lack of child care options in the state.

“I am hopeful that we can work together to be able to get some meaningful legislation passed or even budgetary priorities passed that help ease some of the childcare issues that are impacting our city and our state,” Hein said. “It is an issue that does have some bipartisan support, which is great, and if we could get some of those issues addressed this session, I would consider that a win.”

Stinnett would like to see a continued focus on advancing legislation benefiting children living with disabilities and improving aspects of health care in Missouri.

“I'm really hopeful for several pieces of healthcare related legislation that I'm going to be championing surrounding general health issues and health care topics, but also children with disabilities, and just continuing to move the needle forward for our communities and health care access that we need,” Stinnett said.

Riley wants to see legislation improving public safety in Springfield and across the state.

“I think we'll be able to continue to do more on the public safety side, which is certainly one of the big problems that we're facing as a state regardless of where people are,” Riley said. “Our crime rates are not where we want them to be.”

Trent expects to see a handful of unsettled issues from last legislative session make their way back into the legislative spotlight in 2024.

“There's a lot of other policy issues that I expect will be coming up, everything from education to the election process initiative petition reform,” Trent said.

In the last legislative session, lawmakers proposed putting a measure on the ballot aimed at overhauling the initiative petition process by requiring more than 60% of votes in favor of an initiative to pass the measure. This is something Owen hopes will be discussed again.

“I’m hopeful that we can finally get initiative petition reform on the ballot,” Owen said.

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"Hope springs eternal" among legislators seeking compromise across the aisle

Most Greene County legislators who were asked what they were hopeful for in the upcoming legislative session gave a similar reply — a productive session bolstered by bipartisan communication and compromises.

“At the beginning of the legislative session, hope springs eternal, with all the good things we can potentially get done for the public,” Trent said.

“I am really looking forward to trying to figure out how to try to work with the other side of the aisle to deal with our child care crisis,” Quade said.

Hough pointed to a recent meeting between Gov. Parson and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly as part of the Disagree Better initiative, which aims to find areas of common ground while learning how to constructively frame areas of disagreement.

“I was hoping that we could build on that message, that camaraderie,” Hough said. “We’ve got different opinions, and we have different ideas, but we don't need to be disrespectful. We don't need to be mean-spirited.”

With the 2024 elections on the horizon, at every level from local school boards to the U.S. president, Hough knows that there are bound to be disagreements among candidates and lawmakers.

“My hope would be for everyone to just keep a respectful demeanor when we're engaging in debates and philosophical differences and different proposals,” Hough said. “We're all in this thing together, and we're better when we work together. We can disagree, but we can do it and be respectful.”

Hough is not alone in acknowledging the difficulties faced by lawmakers in such a busy election year.

“My hope is that we can, as a legislative body, continue to move priorities for Missouri along and not get caught up in what we know are going to be somewhat deconstructive political headwinds heading into campaign year,” Fogle said.

“It's not going to be necessarily an easy year,” Hein said. “So I'm hopeful we can come together where we see some mutual agreement, mutual understanding of a problem and address it in an effective way for our community.”

“I think this upcoming session is going to be one of the more challenging sessions we've seen, given the election year dynamics and so many state positions open that will have competitive elections,” Riley said. “That will pose a lot of challenges for getting a lot of things done, but I'm an eternal optimist, and I think that we'll find a way to get a few things done.”

Rep. Davidson has a more attainable hope in mind as he heads into a session he has heard many speak of with a general pessimism.

“I’d like to cultivate patience. I'd like to cultivate joy. I'd like to cultivate some virtues in myself,” Davidson said. “I always try to pay attention to my own character each session and see, ‘Where am I lacking? Where have I changed? Has this job changed me? What should I actively try and improve on this session?”

“I can tell you, ‘I hope this bill passes,’ but it would be hope and hope alone,” Davidson said. “At least if I'm hopeful that I can cultivate some patience, I have some very real control over that.”

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Greene County lawmakers give thanks, share hopes for 2024 legislature