January 20, 2018
January 22nd marks the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court Ruling that has left over 59 million and counting dead - Roe v. Wade. On January 27th, thousands of people around the country will participate in the March for Life to serve as a voice for those who weren’t given a choice to live. This year’s theme, The Power of One, is centered around the idea that one person can make a difference in the world, whether in the life of one or the life of many. I admire the conviction of all of the advocates who have journeyed far and wide to our nation’s Capital to stand up for the belief that I share that life begins at conception.
We are in a critical moment in our nation’s history where we have the opportunity to promote pro-life initiatives that are supported by millions of Americans. One of the reasons I supported President Trump during his run for the White House, and one of the reasons millions were overcome with emotion during his swearing in, was his commitment to lead in the fight for life and advancing policies that make America a place where unborn children and their mothers are treated with compassion and justice.
During my time in Congress I have never wavered from my firm belief that life is precious and must be supported. I share this belief with President Trump and look forward to working along-side him to advance some of the pro-life goals he has outlined.
One of our new President’s early acts will be nominating a justice to replace the conservative stalwart, the late Justice Antonin Scalia. I support President Trump’s commitment to nominating pro-life justices to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Having pro-life justices that recognize the danger of abortion to both women and their babies is critical. President Trump must use his power of nomination to put forth the name of a conservative justice who will honor the legacy and balance to the court that Justice Scalia brought so that we can fight to make the court a place where the life of the unborn is fully protected. I share in President Trump’s commitment to ending heinous late-term abortions nationwide through enactment of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. This will ensure that no innocent child has to suffer the excruciating pain from dismemberment abortion. I share President Trump’s commitment to ending taxpayer funding of the abortion industry. Taxpayers should not be footing the bill for places that kill over 320,000 babies every year. In addition, I have supported measures which ban abortions based on gender as well as supporting an American’s right to object to healthcare coverage that also covers abortion services.
Working with our new President, we can accomplish our goals to protect the sanctity of life that thousands of people around the country will be marching for on Friday. Although we cannot bring back the nearly 59 million innocent lives that have been tragically taken over the past 44 years, we can fight to ensure that all children have a chance at life. Every child is a miracle from God and I am hopeful that with the advancement of the pro-life movement each and every one of these miracles will have a chance to live the life God has planned for them.
Legislation Filed by Tila
HB165- Changes provisions relating to advanced practice registered nurses. This bill will work to address the current challenges Missourians face in accessing Healthcare. Currently in Missouri statute there is no definition of the scope of practice of Nurse Practitioners and no licensure process. There also remains in statute some archaic requirements. This bill will address the lacking definition and licensure process as well as bring requirements up to date with current technology and best practices.
HB174- Provides protections for alternatives-to-abortion agencies. This bill, when passed, will fully protect the rights of an alternatives-to-abortion agency and its officers, agents, employees, and volunteers to freely assemble and freely engage in religious practices and speech without government interference. This is very important as individual liberties and rights are protected in both our State and National Constitutions.
HB226- Changes the laws regarding the powers and duties of Regional EMS Medical Directors. This bill will allow for the administration of emergency medications for those with rare disorders. Currently there is some ambiguity about this issue in statute and what the liability and allowability is in the administration of these medications in emergency situations. The development of this bill has had great involvement with those who work in the EMS field as well as in the Emergency Rooms of our state.
HB227- Establishes the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact. This bill will put into place a framework a compact between the states that also have this in place, in which psychologist can work in the states involved in the compact. This will be a help in addressing the shortage of psychologists in Missouri, many in our state will benefit from more mental health providers.
HB404- Changes the laws regarding abortion. This bill is also known as Heartbeat Informed Consent
HB405- Specifies that the county coroner or medical examiner need not be notified and no investigation is necessary for a death that occurs under hospice care. This bill clarifies another area current statute is currently a little unclear. This will make certain that as long as the treating physician signs the death certificate for patients which pass outside a healthcare facility, no death investigation is required
HB537- Establishes the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act. This bill will ban the abortive procedure during which an unborn child’s body is torn apart.
Ameren Missouri Asking for Another Electric Rate Increase; PSC Hosting Public Hearings to Hear Input
Jefferson City, Missouri - State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, is urging citizens to attend one of two open hearings of the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC), regarding an electric rate case filed by Ameren Missouri. The local public hearing schedule:
Tuesday, January 17, 2017 – Cape Girardeau - Osage Centre – Room 4AB, 1625 North Kingshighway - NOON
Tuesday, January 17, 2017 – Charleston - Charleston High School, Clara Drinkwater Newman Auditorium, 606 S. Thorn St. – 6PM
Each hearing will begin with a public information/question and answer session conducted by the PSC Staff, followed by the Commission receiving testimony from the public.
On July 1, 2016, Ameren Missouri filed an electric rate case with the Missouri Public Service Commission seeking to increase annual electric revenues by approximately $206.4 million. According to the filing, residential customers would pay approximately $99 more per year if the rate request is approved. Citizens will be given the opportunity to speak on the proposed rate increase.
“We have seen evidence in recent years that Ameren continues to earn more than it’s authorized as a monopoly utility. Yet, it still seeks to charge Missouri customers more, who have no other avenues to purchase utilities,” said Sen. Libla. “These increases jeopardize the ability of local businesses to operate, fall most heavily on the backs of struggling families, and frequently seem unnecessary. It’s important these cases are properly vetted, and that includes gathering sufficient public testimony. This rate increase would affect all of us. I strongly encourage all citizens in my district to attend this important meeting. Make your voices heard.”
If you are unable to attend a local public hearing and wish to make written comments or secure additional information, you may contact the Office of the Public Counsel, P.O. Box 2230, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102, telephone (866) 922-2959 email opcservice@ded.mo.gov or the Missouri Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 360, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102, telephone 1-800-392-4211, email pscinfo@psc.mo.gov.
Missouri Welcomes New State Leaders
Thousands of Missourians from across the state made their way to Jefferson City this week to join in the festivities as the state welcomed its new statewide officials. During the November elections Missourians elected Republicans to fill the statewide positions on the ballot. On Monday, Missourians saw Eric Greitens sworn in as the 56th governor of Missouri. Joining him as statewide office holders are Mike Parson, who was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor; Jay Ashcroft, who takes over as Secretary of State; Josh Hawley, who is Missouri’s new Attorney General; and Eric Schmitt, who will now serve as the State Treasurer. They join Nicole Galloway, who currently serves as State Auditor. Galloway is the only Democrat currently holding one of the six statewide posts in the executive branch, and was appointed to the position following the passing of Tom Schweich.
House members participated in events throughout the day including an interfaith prayer service and a ceremony to recognize Missouri’s heroes. Those in attendance for the salute to heroes heard from the mother of a Navy SEAL who was killed in Afghanistan. She talked about the heroism of veterans and the importance of patriotism. Greitens talked to the crowd about the importance of recognizing the efforts of the best representatives of the Missouri people.
After being sworn into office, Greitens delivered a short address where he talked about the need to work together to move Missouri forward. As he told a crowd of thousands, “For decades, Missourians have talked about change. Now it’s time to fight for that change.” He added, “Our state’s world famous motto, ‘Show me’, reminds us that Missourians don’t much value big talk. Our state’s great history reminds us that Missourians have always understood that big achievements demand hard work. ‘Show me’ doesn’t mean ‘Give me.’ It means ‘prove it can be done, and we will do it.’”
Greitens followed his speech by issuing an executive order banning lobbyist gifts for executive branch officials. The order also prohibits employees in the governor’s office from leaving their jobs to become lobbyists.
That evening, members joined the governor for the Inaugural Ball in the Capitol rotunda. Legislators and their families descended the staircase outside the governor’s office as they were formally introduced as members of the Missouri General Assembly. Governor Greitens and his wife then kicked off the ball by dancing to the Missouri Waltz. The festivities continued with a performance by country music recording artist, and Missouri native, Sara Evans.
Right-to-Work Legislation Begins to Move through the House
House Speaker Todd Richardson made it clear in his Opening Day address that the Missouri House would move quickly to pass a Right-to-Work bill. In just the second week of the 2017 legislative session, the House Economic Development Committee met to discuss five similar legislative proposals, which supporters believe are vital to efforts to spur job creation and economic growth in Missouri.
The committee met Tuesday afternoon to take testimony on the bills that would prohibit employers from:
requiring employees to join or refrain from joining a labor organization;
requiring employees to pay any money to a labor organization; or
requiring employees to pay any charity or third party the equivalent of money required to be paid by members of a labor organization.
All five sponsors testified before the committee to detail the benefits of the proposals. They highlighted the importance of giving workers the freedom to decide whether to join a union, and the increased level of accountability that union members would see from their unions as a result. As one sponsor said, “The change is simple. The union will now have to provide a service worth paying for to their members. They are no longer guaranteed members regardless of service or value, so they will have to work for them just as the union member works for their paycheck.”
Supporters also focused on the economic benefits that other states have seen after implementing Right-to-Work. They echoed the comments of House Speaker Richardson, who said in his Opening Day Address that, “Since becoming a Right-to-Work State in 2012, Michigan has added 58,000 manufacturing jobs. While over the last two years Missouri has lost about 1,200 manufacturing jobs. And what’s more, Michigan’s average weekly wage isn’t declining; it is growing at almost twice the rate of Missouri’s.”
State Treasurer Eric Schmitt also spoke in support of the measures along with the state’s top business groups. Schmitt noted that Missouri is in fierce competition with other states for jobs and that the Show-Me State needs to use every tool in the arsenal to attract new businesses. He said he has met with site selectors and being a Right-to-Work state is at the top of the list of the things they consider when looking for a new location for their companies.
Those who oppose the idea of making Missouri a Right-to-Work state also showed up to make their voices heard. Opponents referred to the proposal as an overreach of government and an impediment to the rights of employers and employees. They said companies and their employees should be able to negotiate without government interference. Opponents also disputed the economic benefits generated by Right-to-Work. Furthermore, they said voters should be allowed to decide whether Missouri should become the nation’s 28th Right-to-Work state.
The House Economic Development Committee combined the five bills into a single measure and then approved the legislation by a vote of 8-4. The bill then received the approval of the House Rules – Legislative Oversight Committee Thursday afternoon. House members are set to discuss the proposal on the House floor next week.
House Gives Initial Approval to Gift Ban
A state House proposal aimed at banning gifts from lobbyists to elected officials received first round approval from the Missouri House of Representatives Thursday. HB 60 is nearly identical to a gift ban proposal filed in 2016, which was passed out of the House with 147 votes in favor.
House Bill 60 is meant to help restore the public’s trust in elected officials by limiting the influence of lobbyists. As the sponsor said about the bill, “We are trying to eliminate the undue influence of lobbyists on legislators in the building. That is the individually, personally consumable gifts from lobbyists to legislators. These are the one-on-one dinners; these are the press boxes at sporting events in the state. That’s what we’re trying to limit.”
In addition to the prohibitions on expenditures by lobbyists for elected officials, the bill would remove reporting requirements that would not be necessary with a ban in place. It would exempt from those prohibitions flowers and plants given as expressions of condolence or congratulations. It would also exempt items such as plaques given to lawmakers when they are recognized by an organization.
The bill would allow lobbyists to provide meals that are offered to all members of the House and Senate, as well as all statewide elected officials. The bill includes a requirement that an invitation to those elected officials be made in writing at least 72 hours before the event.
House Speaker Todd Richardson has said he wants the gift ban bill to be the first thing the House sends the Missouri Senate this session. As the Speaker told his colleagues during his Opening Day address, “Missourians want a government they can trust and believe in. Last year we passed the first meaningful ethics reform in modern Missouri history, and we must continue the job we started.”
The bill now requires one more successful vote in the House before moving to the Senate.
House Committees to Look at Missouri’s Regulatory Framework
Two state House committees are preparing to dive into the state’s framework of regulations and licensing requirements in an effort to make it easier to own and operate a business in Missouri.
House Speaker Todd Richardson announced in his Opening Day address that he has instructed the House Committee on Government Efficiency and the House Committee on Professional Registration & Licensing to review those requirements. Richardson said Missouri regulations have slowed the success in Missouri of ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft and lodging companies such as HomeAway and AirBnB. As he said in his Opening Day speech, “It is past time that Missouri had statewide frameworks for disruptive technologies and allowed private enterprise to function in a free market.”
The chairman of the House Committee on Professional Registration & Licensing said tempering business regulations is a balancing act. As he said, “We have a responsibility to protect the individuals across the State of Missouri, but yet when the scale moves too far the other direction – when regulations become burdensome to business, that aren’t really effectively serving that purpose of protecting the public; it’s our responsibility to step in and pare those back to where we effectively meet the needs of protecting the public while, however, not being overly burdensome to businesses across the state.”
The chairman of the House Committee on Government Efficiency said it could be a multi-year process to vet all the regulations and requirements that are in place. He said, “Having these committees working hand-in-hand is going to be an asset for every person that’s either trying to get a job or to create a business that creates jobs in the state.”
Also this week, Governor Eric Greitens signed an executive order to put a freeze on new government regulations that could hurt businesses and families. The executive order bans state agencies from creating new regulations through the end of February. Any new proposed regulation would need to get the approval of the governor before taking effect. Additionally, the governor’s executive order calls for a review of all current regulations.
More Than a Speech - Friday, January 13, 2017
The most important speech for the future of this country wasn’t the one President Obama gave this past week, a speech which looked back at eight years of failures, but instead will be the speech about our future Donald J Trump will deliver from the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Friday. He will speak about this country in a way which promotes individual liberties, accountability, freedoms and personal choice. It will be a speech not about ‘hope’ and ‘change’, but instead about the concrete actions he will immediately begin taking to help put American’s back to work, bring down the soaring costs of healthcare, reduce the tax burden and get government off the back of farmers, families, and small businesses.
Our country has seen some profound inaugural speeches throughout our history that have defined generations. The greatest inaugural addresses in American history all have one thing in common - they were delivered at critical moments in our nation’s history. Whether impending war, secession, economic calamity or world crisis, these speeches all managed to balance that moment of peril and fright with one of prosperity and the American will to overcome.
Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address was delivered at a time when the country was deeply divided between the north and the south during the Civil War. In only 701 words, Lincoln sought to unify using divine intervention stating that both sides: "read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes his aid against the other." His words spoken that day in 1865 are some of the most powerful spoken in American history. Lincoln closed wishing no ill will towards those which looked to divide the Union, but instead with words of compassion, charity and optimism towards a mended State: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. “
Faced with a nation engulfed in depression and panicked by a banking crisis, Franklin Delano Roosevelt opened his inaugural speech in 1933 with the assertion that everyone knows today: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” John F. Kennedy’s phrase he delivered during his inaugural speech in 1961: “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” still inspires generations of Americans over 50 years later.
The fact that Americans still reference these memorable inaugural speeches of the past is a testament to how impactful they actually are. We are at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history; we have the opportunity to get off our current path of big government control and a ‘Washington knows best’ way of thinking. Just as some of the greatest inauguration speeches were given during critical times in American history, so will the inaugural address of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States on Friday. After placing his right hand on the bible and swearing before God and the American people to serve this great country as President, Donald J. Trump will deliver his inaugural address with a message to get to work for the American people. So listen to what he says, pay attention for those few words or phrases which will come to define the first 100 days of this presidency and the new direction of our country – you never know what lines will live on forever in history.
