Summer recess, preparing for next session

By State Rep. Bruce Sassmann, Missouri’s 61st District
Posted 6/7/23

The interim, the period of time between sessions, for this Missouri legislator is my time for cleaning up from the past session and preparing to start over for the next.

The May 12 paper toss …

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Summer recess, preparing for next session

Posted

The interim, the period of time between sessions, for this Missouri legislator is my time for cleaning up from the past session and preparing to start over for the next.

The May 12 paper toss signaled the last day of regular session. Any unfinished work was tossed in the corner file and we will start all over next January. Unfortunately, we do not start where we left off. Every year we start from the beginning. Bills that almost made it across the finish line will have to be refiled, heard again in committee, debated once more on the floor, sent back to the Senate, and carried down the same path as the year(s) before.

Every time we carry a bill, the process gets a little easier, we avoid the potholes and the pitfalls, there are greater efficiencies and we will have a final product that is a little closer to perfection. I am looking forward to the next session and finishing what was started a year(s) earlier. The preparation for next session starts now. If you have an idea that might have a legislative solution, send me an email.

A technical session this past week brought many of us back to Jefferson City for special committee meetings, the signing of House and Senate bills, and the coordination of interim activities.

I have been asked by Speaker Dean Plocher to attend a legislative conference of the Council of State Governments. I will serve on the Committee on Energy and Environment. This will be the Southern District Conference promoting and strengthening intergovernmental cooperation among 15 states. The chair of the committee is Republican Senator Ken Yager from Tennessee. This is a five day conference in South Carolina.

I have committed to other interim activities that include a Farm Bureau Agri-Tourism conference in Excelsior Springs and an Agri-Business conference in St. Louis. We have our Republican Summer Caucus in August and Veto Session in September. In the interim,

I will continue to gather the tools to help make me a better legislator for you in Jefferson City.

If you have a chance to visit the Capitol this summer, please let me know. Weekdays offer the best opportunities for a tour. If we can get together on the weekend, a climb to the top of the dome for a view of the city is always a treat. My email is bruce.sassmann@house.mo or call Jill at 573-751-6668.