Jefferson City, Missouri - Gov. Jay Nixon today signed eight bills passed by the General Assembly, including several bills related to energy and the environment. The Governor also vetoed four bills, including some that would create a broad new immunity for polluters and infringe on private property rights, and others that contained drafting errors.

The bills signed today include:

Senate Bill 601, which reauthorizes a deduction for energy-efficiency audits and projects through the end of 2020;

Senate Bill 642 and Senate Bill 664, which are omnibus natural resources bills that include, among their various provisions, an extension of the expiration date for the fee imposed on new tires sold in Missouri from 2015 to 2020;

Senate Bill 729, which reauthorizes the tax credit for wood energy producers until June 30, 2020, subject to appropriation;

House Bill 1459, which authorizes a revenue-neutral Innovation Campus Tax Credit;

House Bill 1506, which establishes a rural regional development grants program, subject to appropriation;

House Bill 1631, which addresses the development of emission standards by the Air Conservation Commission; and

House Bill 2141, which modifies measurement standards and tax rates for compressed and liquefied natural gas as a motor fuel.

The bills vetoed by the Governor today include:

Senate Bill 508, vetoed because the General Assembly failed to correct an incorrect reference to the law when it copied and pasted from the model act developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council. 

Senate Bill 731, vetoed because an amendment added on the Senate floor would infringe on private property rights by giving a broad new immunity for polluters creating environmental hazards and contamination that reduce nearby property values.

House Bill 1553, which includes an identical provision to that vetoed in Senate Bill 731.

House Bill 1707, vetoed because of a drafting error.

As a nation, it’s our responsibility to protect children, the most vulnerable members of our society.

Despite our best efforts, too many children in Missouri and nationwide still fall victim to abuse, often at the hands of adults they trusted. We must do everything we can to protect our children, and when they are harmed, deliver justice without inadvertently causing any further damage.

More than 20 years ago, Congress passed a landmark law, the “Victims of Child Abuse Act” (VOCAA), to partner with states in the funding of a network of innovative Children's Advocacy Centers – safe and comforting facilities that provide critical tools for our communities to coordinate the investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse cases. Since the law expired in 2005, the Obama Administration has reduced or zeroed out funding for these critical centers in its last three budget requests.

In December 2013, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (Del.) and I introduced a bipartisan bill to reauthorize VOCAA and in June 2014, it passed in the U.S. Senate. I’m now working to urge my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass this important legislation so that we can send it to President Barack Obama’s desk to be signed into law. Despite ideological differences in many issues facing our nation, we must come together and support this bill.

Children's Advocacy Centers bring everyone together under one roof – law enforcement, prosecutors and child-service professionals –to focus on what's best for the child. By consolidating services, these centers can save taxpayers across the country more than $1,000 per case in the process.

We're fortunate to have 22 Children's Advocacy Centers in Missouri that serve as a safe haven for approximately 7,000 of our state’s most vulnerable children each year. In February 2014, I visited several of these centers in Missouri and was very grateful for their commitment to ensuring abused children are given every resource and opportunity they need to overcome their traumatic experience. When I received the Missouri KidsFirst’s “Standing with Children” Award in April 2014, I promised I would continue working to make sure this bill becomes law.

We owe it to the victims of child abuse and their families to ensure our Children’s Advocacy Centers have the tools they need to treat patients and hold perpetrators accountable. It’s time for Congress to put our differences aside and work together to protect our nation’s most vulnerable members of society.

 

8th Congressional District, Missouri - Independence Day is marked with fireworks, BBQ and family gatherings. More often than not we forget about the significance of the day and the brave Americans who put their lives on the line to establish our nation.

Fifty six men signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The most famous, and largest signature belongs to John Hancock who served as President of the Continental Congress. The youngest signer was Edward Rutlege at the age of just 26. Benjamin Franklin, the oldest signer, was 70 years old. Future Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson also signed the Declaration.

Before our independence was declared in 1776, the American colonists were treated as British subjects. They paid taxes and had fines levied against them. Although the colonists paid taxes, they did not have representatives in the British Parliament in London. Soon, the battle cry across the thirteen colonies became “no taxation without representation.”

Declaring independence from the most powerful nation on the planet was no small task for early Americans. The 56 men who signed the Declaration put themselves and their families in great danger. It is important to remember that the colonists were considered British subjects and went to war with their own government. For signing the Declaration, some men were captured by the British and tortured. Some had their homes and businesses burned and still others died fighting in the Revolutionary War. Too often we take for granted the sacrifices made by the colonial revolutionists who established the United States of America.

Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, many more patriots have come forward to defend our democracy. We should always recognize and honor the sacrifice our men and women in uniform make each day. Additionally, other Americans have served our nation at home as teachers, police and fire fighters, church and community volunteers. Our nation’s greatest strength has always been the character of its citizens.

This Independence Day, let us remember the sacrifices made by the signers of the Declaration of Independence. As Americans, we live in the greatest nation on the planet as a result of their determination. It remains the challenge of each new generation of Americans to renew our commitment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Happy Fourth of July!
 

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8th Congressional District - Nothing kills jobs and hurts our economy in rural Missouri more than regulations from bureaucrats in Washington. With each passing day federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Labor create more and more rules that are forced on individuals, small business owners and farmers who are struggling to make ends meet. At a time when our economy needs to grow, regulations are holding back innovation and the American entrepreneurial spirit.

Too much burdensome and invasive regulation means higher prices, lower wages, and fewer jobs for hardworking Americans, as well as less American economic growth. Federal regulations now impose an estimated burden of $1.86 trillion. That equals roughly $15,000 per U.S. household and 11.5% of America’s 2012 GDP. It is more than $300 billion higher than combined individual and corporate federal income taxes and equivalent to 85 percent of U.S. corporate profits in 2013. As of the end of 2013, the Code of Federal Regulations contained a massive 175,000 pages of regulations in 235 volumes. Surely, many of these regulations can be repealed to lower costs to American workers and American job creators. 

This week I filed legislation to fight the intrusive federal regulations that are holding back private sector job creation and economic growth. My bill, the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome Act of 2014, or SCRUB Act, is designed to identify and eliminate outdated and ineffective regulations. The legislation put a bipartisan, commission in place to review regulations and make recommendations for repeal. The commission would have a goal of reducing at least 15% in cumulative costs of all federal regulations. I am happy to report that the SCRUB Act was voted out of the House Judiciary Committee this week and I am now working to get the legislation on the House floor for a final vote.

Our Eighth Congressional District and all of rural America are under a regulatory attack from Washington bureaucrats. The EPA, Department of Labor and other beltway bureaucrats are trying to regulate everything from how we generate power, to kids helping out on the family farm. News reports always talk about the divide between Republicans and Democrats but there is an equal divide in Washington between rural and urban interests. The SCRUB Act will help protect rural America from intrusive regulations that are hurting our rural way of life and holding back private sector job growth.

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This past week we celebrated a significant day in American history, Flag Day. It was first celebrated in 1885 in the Fredonia, Wisconsin public school system. They had originally called it “Flag Birthday.” They celebrated it on June 14th, because it was the 105th anniversary of the official adoption of the US Flag. The State Board of Education in New York was the first organization to recognize Flag Day as an official holiday.  On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration and then in 1892 the New York Sons of the American Revolution celebrated Flag Day.

Schools and local governments celebrated Flag Day by displaying flags and giving children flags to learn the importance of the flag. It didn’t become an official holiday until 2 centuries later when President Truman signed an Act of Congress declaring June 14th as the day Flag Day would be celebrated.

The 13 red and white alternating stripes on the American Flag stand for the 13 British colonies that declared independence from the British colonies. The first flag was adopted in 1777 and had 13 white stars on a blue background representing the 13 colonies. This flag was flown for the first time on August 3, 1777.

The current flag of the United States was ordered by President Eisenhower on August 21, 1959. The flag has been altered 27 times since 1777. The flag of the United States has documented every new state that we have added and has endured all the changes we have, even having to change the flag every time we have a new state added.

As always, it is an honor to serve you in the Missouri House. If you would like to discuss any issue, please call 573-751-3629. You can also email me at kent.hampton@house.mo.gov . I look forward to hearing from you.