This week at the Capitol, two of my priority pieces of legislation have made significant advancements. My Senate bill relating to workers’ compensation insurance premiums for volunteer firefighters was third read and passed in the Senate, and my legislation regarding parole officer standards for violation reporting moved ahead in the House committee hearing process.
Senate Bill 613 would modify certain provisions of workers’ compensation agreements for volunteer firefighters across the state. This bill would allow departments to apply to the State Fire Marshal for funding grants to cover insurance premiums, giving our brave volunteer public safety servants the financial assistance and support they deserve. The men and women of Missouri’s many volunteer fire departments face grave physical danger every day as they protect our communities from life-threatening emergencies. Our state needs to be doing more to ensure these heroes are well supported should they ever come to harm during their duties.
I want to thank Representative Robert Ross, R-Yukon, for his help in furthering this legislation in the Missouri House, and senators Schaefer and Wasson for co-sponsoring SB 613 with me in the Senate. Your state legislators have an inherent responsibility to better the lives of the citizens they represent, and few members of the public require our gratitude and support more than volunteer firefighters. I am very pleased that I am able to help support the men and women of Missouri’s volunteer fire departments. I am confident that this legislation will be approved by the General Assembly and signed into law by the governor for the betterment of our selfless civil servants.
Senate Bill 681 is the second piece of legislation I would like to update you on this week. This bill would require a probation officer to notify the prosecutor if he or she has probable cause to believe a probationer has violated a condition of their probation. The purpose of this bill is simply to bring certain antiquated practices in the state’s probation system up to more modern standards. This issue was brought to my attention by Ozark County Sherriff Darrin Reed and Prosecuting Attorney Tom Kline, who both recognized a need for an efficiency update within the system.
By requiring officers to proactively notify prosecutors about violations, our probations and parole operations can run much more smoothly. In today’s world where we have instant access to records and documents through digital technologies, some more traditional methods of judiciary practice are becoming outmoded. Targeted reforms like this bill work together to improve the efficiency of the system as a whole. Senate Bill 681 will continue to work through the committee hearing process before returning to the Senate for debate and final passage.
Mike Cunningham is a Republican member of the Missouri State Senate, representing District 33. Contact him at 573-751-1882 or www.senate.mo.gov/cunningham