The legislative spring break (which began this week) is considered by many to be the halfway point in the legislative session.

We return from break on March 24.  Our last day to approve legislation will be Friday, May 16.

The first 10 weeks of this session has been the most intense of my political journey. There is no doubt the successes of this session are because of the cooperative efforts of the new Governor and the leadership in the House and the Senate.

Two comprehensive pieces of legislation sent to the Governor before adjourning for break was an energy bill to promote infrastructure development and a public safety measure targeting state oversight in St. Louis.  Both bills were Gov Kehoe’s top priority and so far are the only bills to get both the House and Senate approval.

Both Chambers continue to move legislation from one side of the building to the other. This last half of session will see more political maneuvering. A bill from the Senate will be traded for a bill from the House.

It will be a chess game played by the leadership.

The rank and file members of the legislature can gesture, promote, and campaign for their various bills, but when it comes down to it, the leadership will decide which bills will make it to the end.

Three issues of keen interest to me involve open enrollment and education reform, fixing Proposition A, and addressing Amendment 3 with some important right to life legislation. Emotions regarding these subjects and others run high in and out of the Capitol.

On Wednesday of this last week, the Missouri Humanities offered a premier screening of a film titled, “Not in Your Wildest Dreams.”

I was one of a handful of legislators to share the experience with the Missouri Supreme Court Justices.  The film documented the achievements of the seven women appointed to the high court of Missouri. Currently, the majority of justices on the bench of the Supreme Court are women.  Justice Kelly Broniec is from my district.

And finally to top of the week, on Friday I was visited by the third-grade students from the Hermann, Gasconade R-1 schools. I continue to be impressed by the quality of teachers and students from our rural schools. I love leading the tours, educating the students and telling them stories. The kids were some of the best.

Don’t ever hesitate to reach out to our office. You can email me at bruce.sassmann@house.mo.gov or call my legislative assistant Jill Ryals at 573-751-6668.