Huge Week in the Missouri Senate

It was a HUGE week in Jefferson City and I'm excited to report that many important bills made significant advances.

On Tuesday I was able to add my childcare subsidy bill (SB 94) and my foster care education bill of rights (SB96) as amendments on a House bill that was before the Senate. While the foster care bill has passed the Senate twice already this year, this is the first time that the childcare subsidy bill has received a yes vote in either legislative chamber.

Then on Wednesday we had two more major victories, when the Senate passed two of my housing bills, one of which I've been working on for three years. These bills would increase the money in the Missouri Housing Trust Fund and provide protection for tenants who are renting a property that is sold due to foreclosure.

All four of these bills have been my top priorities and I'm going to continue to fight to ensure they make it to the Governor's desk. Most of these bills still face significant hurdles, with stops in Fiscal Oversight and conference committees. Over the next week, I will highlight each bill on this blog, so you can learn more about the legislation and find out how YOU can help move the bills over the finish line if you are so inclined.

Many of you know that this session I have been providing real-time updates of all the action in the Missouri Senate, via Twitter. I've been using it as a micro-blog of sorts. Through Twitter, and it's link to my Facebook page, I'm able to communicate instantly with thousands of constituents who can then provide me with their comments and questions.

One unintended consequence of my "tweeting," however, is that I have allowed it to supplant my longer blog posts. Although we are heading into the busiest part of the session, I am going to make a concerted effort to generate more posts on this blog. These posts will be for those who are interested in more info than I can relay in a 140-character tweet.

If you are interested in receiving the Twitter updates, you can subscribe here.

Finally, if you want to kick it old school and just hear a verbal update of everything that's happening in Jefferson City, you can meet me Friday mornings at 9AM at Coffee Break, 5400 Troost Avenue.