Halfway Point by Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal

The First Regular Session of the 97th General Assembly is at the halfway point. At the beginning of session I listed my 2013 legislative agenda, which is mostly geared towards helping those most vulnerable. Lawmakers in Jefferson City know our main objectives should be to balance the budget, put Missourians back to work and emphasize education; however, we have seen yet again, a different agenda brought forth by the majority party.

So far this year, the majority party has made it a priority to take away rights from public employees, lower taxes for corporations, block any attempt to expand MO HealthNet under provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and decrease tax credit programs which help those who need affordable housing.

While it has not been easy, most of my efforts this year have been focused on taking bad bills and attempting to make them less harmful to the citizens of Missouri. A perfect example of this is my amendment to Senate Bill 26, a measure approved by the Senate that would modify laws regarding taxation. The bill, among other provisions, lowers taxes and more importantly corporate income taxes. This is a move repeated by the majority party over the last decade in an effort to bring more business to the state. However, lowering corporate taxes also takes away hundreds of millions of dollars from our state's general revenue fund which pays for education, social services, transportation and other vital needs of the state.

I was successful at adding language to the bill that helps families with a gross adjusted income of less than $20,000 a year. Currently, there is a personal exemption amount of $2,100 for personal income taxes. My amendment would increase this exemption by $2,000. It does not sound like much, but we should always keep the people, not special interests, in mind when developing strong, common-sense tax policy. The measure was approved in the Senate on a 23-11 vote and is in the House for similar consideration.

A bright spot this session for me is a bit of bi-partisanship on a bill I am co-sponsoring with a member of the majority party. The measure is aimed at reducing instances of fraud and abuse for those who use public assistance funds. Senate Bill 251 would prohibit TANF recipients from using electronic benefit (EBT) funds in any liquor store, casino or other gaming establishment. We received a lot of positive feedback regarding this bill. We presented the legislation to the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and are patiently waiting to debate the measure on the Senate floor.

Now let's talk about guns. We have a serious problem in this country – we are obsessed with guns. This year, in the House and the Senate, there are numerous bills regarding firearms, firearms training and education and pointless legislation affirming Missourian's Second Amendment rights, which is a waste of valuable time. I have filed dozens of bills during my service as an elected official; however, few are as close to my heart as Senate Bill 124. This bill would create a crime for failing to prevent illegal firearm possession, create the offense of negligent storage of a firearm, and require a parent or guardian enrolling a child in school to notify the school district or the governing body of a private or charter school that the parent or guardian owns a firearm. This is an accountability proposal which is strongly needed in our urban communities.

The measure has been referred to the Senate General Laws Committee; however, it is has not been scheduled for a public hearing. Most of the time, this is how a bill dies or is prevented from moving forward, but I think the issue deserves a few minutes of the committee's time. Let's pray for the committee chairman, and maybe he will have a change of heart on the matter. My priority must be about making our communities safe for all Missouri families. While the nation still grieves for the loss of so many innocent lives lost to gun violence in Newtown, Aurora, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Atlanta and other communities, random acts of gun violence in the St. Louis area have become a disturbing fact of life. Just this week, a six-month-old baby and her father were shot while he was changing her diaper. This same baby's mother was also a victim of gun violence; she was shot in the leg when she was eight months pregnant. I will continue my efforts of reaching out to our law enforcement agencies, schools and neighborhoods to help solve this problem.

This session I have filed more than 20 bills. These measures include legislation that would encourage long-term care facilities to foster more familial involvement, allowing schools to teach the dangers and prevention of domestic violence, and a transparency measure regarding certain financial information from school districts to be included on the ballot. You can read the full list of legislation I am sponsoring this year by visiting my Senate website, then click on the Legislation tab, then on the "Sponsored Bills" link in the drop down menu.

Thank you for taking time to read my newsletter every week. I enjoy many of your comments, emails and phone calls my office receives. Thank you for visiting my town hall forums and community events as well. While it is frustrating, at times, to be a member of the minority this year, I still believe we can all work together to help move this state forward without jeopardizing what has been fought for in the past. As my colleagues and I return from spring recess, I will continue to fight the good fight for the people of the 14th District and for all Missourians who believe in our state motto, “The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law.”

Please join me on Saturday, April 20, 2013, for my "Earth Day Forum" featuring lawmakers, environmentalists, and officials from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The event is free and open to the public, and I would encourage you to do or learn something about protecting our precious Earth, even if you cannot attend my event.

My goal is to continue the conversation within our communities and throughout the world about how important it is for us to be good stewards of our environment. I hope to see you there and please mark your calendars. The event will be held at Clayton High School in the Stuber Gym. If you have any questions regarding the event, please feel free to contact my Capitol office.

 Community News

Sen. Chappelle-Nadal's 2013 Online Legislative Survey

MoDOT Public Hearing on Roadway Improvements to Route 115/Natural Bridge Road

Celebrating the Launch of Lifelong Learning at UMSL

St. Louis County Library Announces Teen Tech Month

Seat Belts and Safety on the Roads and Highways

Tax Tips from the Missouri Department of Revenue

Maria in the News 

Mo. Senator Rolls Out New Tax Overhaul Proposal (KMBC-TV)

University City Sen. Takes on Welfare Misuse (KMOX)

Mo. Senators Outline Plan to Curb Food Stamp Fraud (Associated Press)

Food Stamp Fraud Law Proposal in Missouri Senate (KSDK TV-5)

Maria Chappelle-Nadal at UMSL (MU News Bureau)

Citizen Comments 

"Thank you for continuing to look out for the most vulnerable." - Donna

"Thank you Sen. Nadal! This is a great piece of legislation. In order to protect the future distibution of EBT funds, we definitely need procedural safeguards that ensure fair use. Those whom are transfered the funds should only us them for food or other personal necessities."
- Joshua

"Thank you for forwarding the information about Senate Bill 199, approved by the Senate, and would promote family involvement.  I have worked at both Delmar Gardens North and Creve Coeur Manor in St. Louis in 2012 and have been fired at both places.  I have had to call the senior abuse hotline on both elderly and disability facilities.  Creve Coeur Manor was the worst, unfortunately, they don't have as much support from family involvement, so it could be the reason there is more abuse there.  At both facilities I have seen aids throwing people in bed when I have asked for their assistance, so I would not have to throw them in bed. At Creve Coeur Manor, I have seen patients dragged out of bed on the floor and screamed at while they were on the floor.  I had intervened when I saw this inhumane treatment of others.  I was fired at Creve Coeur Manor because I did not listen to the night nurse to stop passing out water,she wanted me to pass out water at the end of my shift; however, I am so busy getting patients up and dressed that I don't have time to make rounds to give people water.  When I was making rounds with water, I was thanked by the patients for bringing them water.  It is sad what I have seen in nursing homes.  The aids don't have to rush with the patients, but they prefer to sit or stand around and talk with one another and also watch television.  Thank you for this step in the right direction to improve the quality of life for our seniors." - Rose

"I enjoy your newsletter." - Hank

"Great report, thanks again for working with me this week. Congratulations on your bill." - Sen. Will Kraus

"I like the action on welfare fraud. As a good liberal, I hate to think that conservatives are right about welfare bums—and I think usually they are not – but there surely is some abuse, and you seem to have found a way to tighten restrictions very sensibly and effectively. On the nursing homes, are you basically just requiring that homes provide periodic open meeting times at which family members can gather and discuss concerns with administration? One would hope homes would have some kind of open door policy, but I’m sure they do not all do so. It certainly would help to require this. It is not an onerous requirement—and something they should be happy to do." - George

"Thanks for the birthday wishes." - Joyce

 Deuce of the Week

 Dr. Grayling Tobias, Superintendent of the Hazelwood School District
and one of his students during their visit to the Capitol.
This photo was taken in the Pershing Gallery just outside of the Missouri Senate Chamber.