It was another busy week at the Capitol. There were some great bills filed, some great pro-life bills heard in committee, and terrific interaction between the members of our legislative team and members of the Missouri General Assembly.
Sex Trafficking/Pornography
We are excited to announce that Sen. Ed Emery (R-District 31) has filed the Safer Internet for Children Act (SB382) in the Senate and Rep. Ken Wilson (R-District 12) has filed the Safer Internet for Children Act (HB885) in the House. This act will mandate that any Internet Provider Service that wants to do business in Missouri must provide a filter that blocks pornography. The subscriber will be able to create a password so any adults in the home will have access to blocked sites but minors in the home will not be able to find it or have porn find them via the internet.
We are looking forward to working with these two members of the Missouri General Assembly on this important issue. The pornification of the culture has so many ramifications – sex trafficking, child on child sex abuse, promiscuity and breakup of marriages. We must curb this horrific plague of pornography starting now!
Pro-life
Hearings on the two Pain Capable bills and the Heartbeat bill were held in the Children and Families Committee on Tuesday morning. The hearing room was packed. The pro-life presence was strong and positive as the sponsors of the bills presented and witnesses testified.
- You can access the Heartbeat bill, HB 126 sponsored by Rep. Nick Schroer (R-District 107) here.
- You can access the Pain Capable Bill, HB 339, sponsored by Rep. Adam Schnelting (R-District 104) here.
- You can access the Pain Capable Bill, HB 680, sponsored by Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-District 97) here.
Education
The Student Data Privacy Bill (HB 592) sponsored by Rep. Curtis Trent (R-District 133) was heard in the Special Committee for Career Readiness on Wednesday, February 13. There were some great testimonies by students and parents alike. The members of the committee were engaged with the witnesses. Please pray we have favor with leadership and that this bill will pass through the House quickly and make it over to the Senate quickly. There will be strong opposition from those companies such as Google which profit so very much off their data mining. You can access HB 592 here.
The Narcotics Control Act (Prescription Drug Monitoring Program)
The Narcotics Control Act, HB188, the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) sponsored by Rep. Holly Rehder (R-District 148) was passed by the House on Monday afternoon. It now goes to the Senate. One of our main reasons for opposing this bill is that PDMPs do not curtail the opioid epidemic like the proponents would want you to believe. Also, HB188 has obvious problems such as it does not require the doctor or pharmacist to check the database BEFORE prescribing or filling prescription, the bill covers all the drugs in Schedule II, II and IV which covers many more than opioids-stimulants such as Ritalyn, anti-depressants and sleep aids such as Ambian. We think the public doesn’t realize that many of them will be in such a database as they take a Schedule II, III or IV drug even if they don’t take pain killers. And the department may share data with public and private entities. You can access HB188 here.
Wednesday Breakfast Bible Study
While it’s not easy to be in the Capitol at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesdays with hot breakfast for the Wednesday Breakfast Bible study, we are blessed to do that for the fourteen to eighteen members of the MOGA who come at 7:00 a.m. to break open God’s Word.
Please pray for the members of our Legislative Team – Alissa Johnson, Vicki Leuther and Bev Ehlen. Please pray for them to have the energy to keep up with all that is going on at our State Capitol, for them to have favor with the members of the Missouri General Assembly (MOGA) and the leadership of the MOGA and our Governor. They would especially want you to pray for opportunities to share the Gospel one on one with any individual who is open to hearing it. As we stand for Truth on the issues of the day, sometimes it is perceived that we don’t care that we hurt some individuals. Salt hurts open wounds, and bright light hurts the eyes. We hope to be salt and light but in such a way that those who see and hear us see the love and compassion of Jesus.
Thank you.
Bev Ehlen
State Director
CWA of Missouri
director@missouri.cwfa.org