Officials reflect on local legislative successes at Public Affairs Coffee

By Jazmine Knight

Area lawmakers came together Friday morning to discuss recent legislative progress while also looking ahead to goals for the next session.

Hosted by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, legislators attended the Public Affairs Coffee at Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center.

State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer and other Missouri representatives shared their progress regarding passed legislation during this legislative session.

While they didn’t pass as much as they hoped, many officials expressed excitement to make strides in the next legislative session.

“There were a lot of bills that we weren’t able to get passed this year, but for the state of Missouri and for St. Joseph, we met our constitutional deadline to pass the budget,” said state Rep. Brenda Shields, who represents part of Buchanan County. “We were able to get several budget items into the budget the governor still has today to veto that.”

Among the successes for this legislative session include $500,000 for the Children’s Discovery Center, $300,000 for Missouri Western State University and $2.5 million to turn Highway 36 into an interstate.

“The amount of state dollars that we’re able to bring in and into our city, grow our city, and that’s what’s really important,” Shields said. “Everything that we do, we really think about economic development.”

Additionally, the Missouri Legislature was able to allocate money to other important causes in St. Joseph.

“We got over $10 million for the 139th Airlift Wing for some upgrades at Rosecrans. That’s going to allow new J model airplanes,” Luetkemeyer said.

Overall, the total amount in the budget this year for Buchanan County alone is $205 million. Area legislators said this is huge for the community. It allows for significant change in the public school system, entertainment and more.

“These are all things that are really uplifting for the community that I think are going to make a big difference in St. Joe,” Luetkemeyer said.

Despite the legislative challenges, Luetkemeyer is very proud of the passing of Max’s Law. The law protects law enforcement canines, making it a felony to kill a police K-9 in the line of duty.

“These animals put their lives on the line to keep the public safe and the human partner safe,” Luetkemeyer said. “(It ensures) that we’re protecting those animals and the job that they do as well.”

Luetkemeyer said so far, Max’s Law has garnered a lot of community support, especially from Officer Lucas Winder. Winder was Max’s partner and handler when Max was killed in the line of duty in 2020.

“I actually got to talk to Officer Winder on the phone the day that the bill passed out of the house, and he was just elated,” Luetkemeyer said.

Luetkemeyer is also proud to sponsor Senate Bill 190, which allows counties to freeze property taxes for Missouri seniors to help those on fixed incomes.

For the next legislative session, budgeting is going to be a top priority.

“We’ve seen a record amount of revenue that the state has received for a whole host of different reasons … it’s unclear as to whether or not we’re going to have a lot of the revenue surplus that we’ve seen in prior years,” Luetkemeyer said.

Shields also wants to focus on filing another bill for child care tax credits to conquer parents’ growing need for reliable child care.

“It’s keeping them from being in the workforce if they so choose to be,” she said.

Shields will also be working toward passing a teacher externship bill and a social worker bill.