Historic vote on "Right to Work" legislation

By Rep. Patricia Pike

Missouri's 126 Congressional District

JEFFERSON CITY, MO: It was a busy week at the Capitol with District 126 guests visiting and several of my sponsored bills moving forward. Following is an update on current legislation:

Right-to-Work set to be signed into law (SB 19)

The Missouri House gave final approval this week to Senate legislation that would make Missouri the nation's 28th Right-to-Work state. Designed to spur job creation and economic development, the bill approved by the General Assembly, would ensure employees are able to decide whether to join a labor union as a condition of employment. The bill also includes a clause that will exempt existing union contracts. Specifically, it exempts any current agreement between an employer and labor organization from the restrictions in the bill. However, the provisions of the bill will apply to any current agreement that is later renewed, extended, amended, or modified. It is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Greitens, and the provisions in the bill will take effect Aug. 28 of this year.

House approves collateral source reform legislation (HB 95)

This week the Missouri House continued its work to improve the state's legal climate in an effort to make the court system fair to all litigants, and to attract more job creators. As part of its tort reform package, the House approved legislation commonly referred to as collateral source reform. Those who believe the collateral source rule needs to be reformed say the current system allows plaintiffs to make money by filing lawsuits for injuries that have already been covered by other sources. They say it allows individuals to recover damages or costs that were never incurred, while the intent of the law should be to make the plaintiff whole and create a more business-friendly environment. Gov. Greitens is expected to sign this year's version of the bill into law if it receives approval from both chambers.

Expert witness legislation receives House approval (HB 153)

Continuing with its tort reform efforts, the House also gave approval this week to legislation meant to improve the reliability of expert evidence that is presented to juries in Missouri state courts. The bill would implement an established standard for determining when expert-witness testimony is admissible as evidence at trial.

The proposed standard, which is commonly referred to as the Daubert standard after a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case, is used in federal courts and in more than two-thirds of the states. Under this standard, the trial judge acts as a gatekeeper to ensure that "expert" testimony is based on "sufficient facts or data" and is the product of "reliable principles and methods." Currently in Missouri, judges admit expert testimony if it is based on facts that are "reasonably relied upon by experts in the field."

Supporters of the change say the bill would ensure that testimony from someone designated by lawyers as an "expert" can be relied upon by citizen jurors. They say the state should ensure that evidence presented in court is trustworthy and not just a product of how much a party can afford to pay a so-called expert to say whatever supports the party's case. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Missouri set to issue assistant physician licenses

Members of the Missouri General Assembly passed legislation in 2014 to help address the health care needs of Missourians in medically underserved areas. Now, the state was able to take applications beginning Jan. 31 for the newly created assistant physician positions that are the first of their kind in the nation. The assistant physician position is open to medical school graduates who have passed the first two rounds of licensing exams, but have not completed a residency program. As assistant physicians, they will be able to provide primary care services while under the supervision of another physician. Assistant physicians are allowed to enter a collaborative practice arrangement with a licensed physician in a medically underserved area. The arrangement will allow the assistant physician to gain knowledge and experience while giving people in rural areas additional access to care.

As the sponsor of the bill noted, "many doctors can begin working instead of waiting on a residency, and several underserved areas will have access to an assistant physician." While the legislation was approved in 2014, it took more than two years for the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts to create rules and regulations for the position. The board officially began taking applications Tuesday, Jan. 31. Additional information is available online at http://pr.mo.gov/healingarts.asp.

It is an honor to serve on your behalf in the Missouri House of Representatives. Please contact my office anytime by email: patricia.pike@house.mo.gov or call 573-751-5388. My Legislative Assistant is Beth Rohrbach and we are always glad to assist you.