JEFFERSON CITY, MO: What an honor it was January 7th, 2015 to be sworn in as a member of the 98th General Assembly of the Missouri House of Representatives. Preparing for this office really began in December when new Freshmen Legislators convened in Jefferson City for several days of legislative training. We then had the opportunity to travel for two weeks across the state of Missouri to learn first-hand about Missouri issues and resources through talking with experts in Missouri business and industry, education and technical fields, health facilities, state agencies, energy plants, veteran services, and more. As we traveled from Joplin to Kansas City, we drove right through our District 126 on I-49 highway. I was delighted to introduce our area to new Legislators via the bus microphone and panoramic bus windows describing our agricultural products, businesses, schools, & communities, as well as District 126’s needs and challenges.
This week my appointments for the 2014-2015 term of the Missouri House of Representatives were announced: Regular Standing Committees on Agriculture; Veterans; Appropriations – General Administration and Government Efficiency. I will be networking with other legislators and keeping up on the legislation being addressed in areas related to our district as the bills are being processed.
Officials from the Missouri Department of Transportation officially confirmed this week that our state has a serious funding problem in regard to our transportation infrastructure. Limited upgrades and maintenance on our roads and bridges will unfortunately affect our state and district in the coming months per MoDOT’s declining revenue issues.
I met with County Commissioners in Vernon and Bates counties recently to discuss this issue and provided a listing of MoDOT’s “Critical Condition Bridges” that are located in each county. There are currently thirteen bridges on state highways across our District 126 that have been identified by MoDOT and are being monitored. MoDOT has indicated that their budget funds at this point will limit repairs and replacement for these bridges. The Missouri Legislature will be looking at funding options for our transportation system this session. I will pass on more information as I receive it.
Citizens are encouraged to contact me anytime at patricia.pike@house.mo.gov or call 573-751-5388 for assistance on state issues or to receive a more indepth CAPITOL REPORT by e-mail. Our District 126 Legislative Assistant is Beth Rohrbach and her email is beth.rohrbach@house.mo.gov.
Capitol Report from Representative Patricia Pike
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