Here are the bills filed by Columbia area representatives at the General Assembly

Columbia-area state representatives and senators prefiled bills this month in preparation of the 2023 legislative session, which starts Wednesday.

Among those to file bills were District 44 State Rep. Cherie Toalson Reisch, R-Hallsville; District 46 State Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia; District 47 State Rep. Adrian Plank, D-Columbia; and District 19 State Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia.

District 45 State Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia; and District 50 State Rep. Doug Mann, D-Columbia, did not have prefiled bills ahead of the new session.

Here is a general overview of what was filed:

Cherie Toalson Reisch

Reisch filed House Bill 392, which relates to reemployment rights of Missouri Task Force 1 members.

There is a law protecting Missouri Task Force 1 members from being fired from either their public or private organization job if they have to miss work if the task force is activated.

Reisch's bill adds a provision to include federal Title 38 discrimination protections relating to veterans, as well as those in the Missouri's revised statutes and its amendments.

David Tyson Smith

Smith prefiled five bills, including one piece of gun control legislation.

House Bill 208 puts a minimum age requirement for buying or selling a semi-automatic or automatic firearm. Sellers cannot knowingly provide guns to those under 20 years old and buyers must be at least 20. It otherwise is considered an unlawful transfer of weapons, a class A misdemeanor. There are exceptions for police officers and those in the U.S. armed forces or national guard while performing official duties.

House Bill 209 matches Smith's House Bill 2101 from the 2022 legislative session. It relates to provisions regarding citizen review boards and police internal investigations. A law exists relating to department internal affairs investigations and their limitations. Smith's addition to the IA investigation limitations statute do not apply to citizen review boards, which are organized under a different state statute or via municipal ordinance.

Smith also has refiled a bill known as the Driver's Protection Act. House Bill 210 notes there must be valid reason for traffic violation stops. If a violation does not involve speeding, failure to register a vehicle, a crash or injury or violations assessed points by the Department of Revenue the traffic stop should not take place.

House Bill 211 limits a case to a single refiling by a prosecutor. This is allowed if the case previously was dismissed prior to a preliminary hearing. If a refiling happens, no arrest warrant will be issued, but the defendant may be issued a summons and will not be required to post bond.

House Bill 212 relates to recognizing the contributions of women veterans. It sets June 12 as Women Veterans Appreciation Day, and recognizing the growing number of women in the armed forces and national guard.

Adrian Plank

House Bill 193 filed by Plank matches the language of House Bill 2891 filed by State Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire, for the 2022 session.

It places campaign contribution and expenses limitations in the Missouri Constitution on nonprofit corporations, as well as the same in-kind expenditures reporting currently required by state law.

Caleb Rowden

Rowden filed four bills ahead of the new legislative session starting Wednesday, two of which have impacts related to the state constitution.

Senate Joint Resolution 5 raises the threshold over which constitutional amendments are approved by voters. Currently, it is a simple majority. Rowden's resolution increases the vote share to 60% for approval. If such a requirement was in place for the Nov. 8 ballot, measures related to state investments and recreational marijuana use would not have passed as they passed with roughly 54% and 53% of the vote, respectively.

Senate Joint Resolution 6 amends the constitution and creates a "Parent's Bill of Rights." The bill text requires school districts put information such as curriculum, academic performance, financial statements and contract negotiations in a searchable way on district websites. This is information available through sunshine law requests. It also allows parents to opt their children out of classroom instruction they disagree with or health measures not required by state law. Parents also can control how images of their children are used in district materials under the resolution. School districts generally already have photo policies in place.

Rowden has refiled a bill to create a new position of a Chief Data Officer within the state's Office of Administration. Senate Bill 7 allows this officer to take state electronic data and classify it into levels of sensitivity, among other policy-related responsibilities.

Candidates for office are required to make quarterly and some other pre- and post-election financial disclosures to the Missouri Ethics Commission. Senate Bill 378 could allow the commission's director to issue 48-hour deadline extensions in extraordinary circumstances.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri new legislative to start soon. Area reps file bills.