January 8th marked the beginning of the 103rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session of the Missouri Legislature. There are a total of 63 new members of the legislature this year – including two newly elected members of the Senate. Additionally, there are eight Senators who served in the House last session and who’ve moved to the upper chamber. So as you can see, we have lots of education ahead of us this coming spring. Outreach efforts began last summer, prior to the party primaries. And now, you can play a critical role in informing our new legislators on Article V, Convention of States Action (COSA) and our resolution.
Shortly after 12 p.m. noon the new class was sworn in and the House opened by electing the following leadership. I’ve included the general duties of the position; following the office holder's name:
Speaker of the House – Jon Patterson (MO-30) – Presiding officer over the House, appoints Committee Chairs and membership, refers bills to committee.
Speaker Pro Tem – Chad Perkins (MO-40) – Presides over the House when in session and the Speaker is unavailable.
Majority Floor Leader – Alex Riley (MO-134) – Manages all floor activity; determines which bills are brought up for debate and what amendments are offered.
Assistant Majority Floor Leader - Lane Roberts (MO-161) – Substitutes for the Majority Floor Leader in their absence.
Majority Whip – Hardy Billington (MO-152) – Ensures the members of the majority party understand caucus priorities and coordinates voting for the caucus.
Minority Floor Leader – Ashley Aune (MO-14) – Leader of the minority party. Does not have any role in the operation of the House.
Assistant Minority Floor Leader – Marlon Anderson (MO-76) – Second in line of minority party leadership.
Minority Whip – Aaron Crossley (MO-29) - Ensures the members of the minority party understand caucus priorities and coordinates voting for the caucus.
The Speaker referred several bills to committee last week. Coming up this week will be discussion and passage of the House Rules package which will govern the operation of the House of Representatives.
The process was substantially the same in the Senate. But, there was an historic development. Senator Cindy O’Laughlin was elected by the Senate to serve as President Pro Tempore. Senator O’Laughlin is the first woman to serve in this position! The Senate is an assembly of 34 different personalities, each with the ability to bring Senate floor action to a halt. So, it will be interesting to see how things progress in the Senate this year – after a tumultuous last session with several members running for statewide office.
The Senate elected the following leadership with their general duties listed after the office holder:
President Pro Tem – Cindy O’Laughlin (MO-18) – Presides over the Senate in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor; appoints Committee Chairs and committee members; assigns bills to committees, leader of the Senate.
Majority Floor Leader – Tony Luetkemeyer (MO-34) - Manages all floor activity, determines which bills are brought up for debate.
Assistant Majority Floor Leader – Curtis Trent (MO-20) - Substitutes for the Majority Floor Leader in their absence.
Majority Caucus Chair – Ben Brown (MO-26) – Works with Senate Leadership to develop caucus priorities and presides over caucus meetings.
Majority Caucus Secretary – Jill Carter (MO-32) – Keeps the minutes of Majority caucus meetings.
Majority Caucus Whip – Sandy Crawford (MO-28) - Ensures the members of the majority party understand caucus priorities and coordinates voting for the caucus.
Minority Floor Leader – Doug Beck (MO-1) - Leader of the minority party. Does not have any role in the operation of the Senate.
Assistant Minority Floor Leader – Steven Roberts (MO-5) - Second in line of minority party leadership.
Minority Caucus Chair – Angela Mosley (MO-13) - Works with Minority Party Leadership to develop caucus priorities and presides over caucus meetings.
Minority Whip – Brian Williams (MO-14) - Ensures the members of the minority party understand caucus priorities and coordinates voting for the caucus.
For this year’s session, passing our Commissioner Selection Bill is the primary legislative objective of the Convention of States Missouri Team. This bill establishes the process the Missouri Legislature will use to select commissioners to represent Missouri at any Article V convention of states meeting. Senator Curtis Trent is our Bill Sponsor in the Senate. Representative Jamie Ray Gragg is our Bill Sponsor in the House. You can track the progress of House Bill 166 using this link and Senate Bill 437 at this link. This is an opportunity for Missouri to lead in re-establishing the US Constitution. This also keeps Convention of States Action at the top of mind with our elected officials.
Most special-interest groups employ lobbyists to advocate for their agenda. Convention of States Action is the lobbying group for grassroots citizens like you. You can have a direct impact on our success by getting involved. This is also a great way to progress in your journey to be a self-governing citizen.
E-mail me at brett.sterley@cosaction.com if you are interested in saving our republic. We will plug you in with our awesome COSA team!
In liberty,
Brett
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