The Missouri House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held its first meeting to discuss vaccine mandates, including the recent executive order from President Biden directing regulators to develop rules mandating COVID-19 vaccines or regular testing for all employers with more than 100 employees. The testimony was for informational purposes only, as there is no legislation pending, although lawmakers discussed the possibility of taking legislative action to attempt to block the final federal rule.
Lobbyists for nursing homes and assisted living centers testified that a vaccine mandate would make it difficult for their facilities to recruit and retain staff during an already challenging labor shortage. The nursing home representatives stated that even allowing employees to receive regular COVID testing in lieu of taking a vaccine would cause their facilities to lose employees. Missouri currently has one of the lowest rates of vaccination among nursing home employees in the country.
Though no action was taken at the hearing, the committee is expected to hold further meetings as the federal mandate regulations are developed.
The Missouri General Assembly convened this week for the annual veto session. Veto session is an opportunity for the legislature to consider bills, or parts of bills, vetoed by the governor over the summer. During this week's veto session, the Missouri House voted to override two vetoes issued by the governor on specific line items in budget bills, but the Missouri Senate declined to take up the bills for an override vote. As a result, the veto session ended with no vetoes overridden.
The Missouri Senate is made up of 24 Republicans and 10 Democrats. The Republican caucus includes an 8-member "conservative caucus" which often clashes with the more mainstream Republican majority. Some members of the conservative caucus sought to follow the House's lead in overriding the governor's veto on one of the budget bills, but Senate leadership and the sponsor of the budget bill did not agree with the override effort. The result was a bitter dispute between members of the majority party, which doesn't bode well for Senate deliberations going forward. With legislative redistricting on the horizon at the beginning of next year's legislative session, it is anybody's guess as to how things will unfold in January.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals last month granted an en banc rehearing of its decision blocking provisions of Missouri's HB 126, also known as the Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act. This means that the original three-judge ruling will be reheard by the entire Eight Circuit Court of Appeals. The judges will reconsider whether HB 126's 8, 14, 18, and 20 week abortion bans, along with the law's ban on abortions based on race or Down syndrome diagnosis, are constitutional. The oral arguments in the case are set for Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at 10:00 A.M. The public may listen to the live audio portion of these arguments by dialing the following number and entering the following access code:
1-888-363-4749
Access Code: 4423562
We will continue to monitor this case and provide updates to our network as it progresses through the courts.
With Ernest Johnson's October 5 execution date drawing closer, the Missouri Catholic Conference has submitted a clemency application on his behalf to Governor Parson. The application was signed by civic and religious leaders, including the Catholic Bishops of Missouri, the leaders of the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the United Methodist Church and others. In the application, the signers stress that Mr. Johnson meets the state statutory and clinical standards to be diagnosed with an intellectual disability and, therefore, it is constitutionally and morally wrong for him to be executed. The signers, who oppose all executions, go on to say that the death penalty destroys human life and encourages violence as a solution to societal problems.
You can add your voice to those calling for clemency by contacting Governor Parson and letting him know that Ernest Johnson meets all standards of intellectual disability under Missouri law and should be ineligible for execution. You can call 573-751-3222 or contact him by email at https://governor.mo.gov/contact-us.
This summer's wildfires, floods and storms are a reminder that creation is groaning under the weight of changes in our climate and weather patterns becoming more evident over the last decade. Pope Francis has called for action to address these changes as a means of protecting the planet we each call home. The Mary Knoll Sisters are offering small grants to parishes and schools to "express their care for creation and take climate action." Groups can use the funds for small projects like building a greenhouse to grow flowers and vegetables or a modest composting facility to transform leftover food products into fertilizer. Small projects like these can help educate adults and youth alike on ways to care for the earth.
Continuing the state's bicentennial celebrations, Jefferson City will host the bicentennial parade this Saturday. The parade, which begins at 10 a.m., will feature Budweiser Clydesdales, University of Missouri Marching Mizzou, JC Penney's 1947 Cadillac, a float from the boyhood hometown of Walt Disney and more.
Following the day's festivities, the north Capitol lawn will transform into an outdoor ballroom to host the inaugural ball. The event, which usually occurs earlier in the year, was moved to September to coincide with the bicentennial events. The public is invited to attend the parade and events throughout the day. For more information, please read this News Tribune article.
