Representative Mike McGirl's Capital Report

Our community once again experienced a thrilling athletic achievement last week. The Kingston Cougars Boys Basketball team won the district championship, the first of any sport in the school’s history. Congratulations to Coach Paul Hamilton and all the Cougars for their incredible success.

The proposed constitutional amendment now moves to the Senate.

Providing Direct Access to Physical Therapy (HB 1555)

Missourians would have their access to important health care services expanded under legislation approved this week by the Missouri House of Representatives. Lawmakers approved HB 1555 to give Missourians direct access to physical therapy without the need for a referral from a doctor.

The sponsor of the bill told his colleagues, “Right now we have to receive a prescription, or a referral, from a doctor before we can get physical therapy, and unfortunately that takes a lot of time, costs a lot of money. It could be weeks before we get in to our physician to get a referral. So what this bill does is it eliminates that requirement and provides direct access to health care that is both efficient and affordable.”

Under the bill, physical therapists would no longer need a prescription or referral from a doctor in order to evaluate and initiate treatment on a patient, as long as the physical therapist has a doctorate of physical therapy degree or has five years of clinical practice as a physical therapist.

The bill would require a physical therapist to refer any patient who doesn’t demonstrate measurable improvement after 10 visits or 21 business days to a health care provider. The bill also requires a physical therapist to consult with an approved health care provider before continuing therapy if after 10 visits or 21 business days the patient has demonstrated measurable or functional improvement from the physical therapy and the physical therapist believes that continuation of physical therapy is necessary.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Helping New Physical

Therapists Work Sooner
(HB 2149)

Members of the Missouri House took action this week to help new physical therapists get to work sooner. The House approved HB 2149 to allow physical therapy students to sit for their board exams before they graduate.

Under current law, anyone applying to be a licensed physical therapist must provide evidence of completion of a program of physical therapy education approved by the Board of Healing Arts.

The sponsor told her colleagues, “This means students who graduate in Missouri with a physical therapy degree in May cannot sit for their boards until July, and by the time they get their test results back, they cannot start practicing physical therapy until September. This is a long wait for students who possibly have a lot of student loan debt.” She added, “But there is an alternative that 39 other states in the United States are using, including the eight states that surround Missouri. In this scenario, students are allowed to sit for their board exams 90 days before they graduate while they’re working on their residencies.”

HB 2149 would allow an individual applying to be licensed as a physical therapist to sit for their board exams by providing evidence of eligibility to graduate from a reputable physical therapy program within 90 days.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

House Passes Bill to Support the Creation of New Businesses and New Jobs (HB 1590)

House members have approved legislation meant to support the development of new businesses and promote economic growth in Missouri. The House gave strong bipartisan support to HB 1590, which creates the Right-to-Start Act and provides tax cuts to new businesses.

Under HB 1590, the Right-to-Start Act would require the Office of Administration to compile a report each year that would detail key information on new businesses in the state. The report would be provided to the General Assembly, which would utilize it for guidance in creating new policy to encourage business and job growth.

The bill also provides tax cuts to new businesses that are meant to allow these businesses to keep more money in their pockets so they can continue to grow. For limited liability companies (LLCs), the bill would reduce the tax burden on their first $100,000 in income by 20% in each of their first three years in operation. For corporations, the bill would also reduce the tax burden for corporations during their first three years in business. They would see the corporate income tax reduced by 1% on their first $100,000 in income in each of their first three years.

“We’re trying to provide an opportunity for startups in our state to have a policy standard in our state that encourages entrepreneurship, encourages the growth of new companies, encourages risk taking in our state,” said the bill’s sponsor. He added, “Over the last four or five decades all net new jobs have come from new businesses. What we want to do in our state is have a policy agenda that says we encourage you to start a business, to take that risk, to go out and fulfill your dreams, take care of your families and communities by starting a business and hiring new people.”

The bill would also create the Office of Entrepreneurship within the Department of Economic Development. The office would work to promote policies and initiatives to support the growth of entrepreneurship in the state. The office would work with stakeholders and communities to provide information and technical support to entrepreneurs, and support and advise the Office of Administration with preparing the report making recommendations on improving access and resources for new Missouri businesses. The bill’s sponsor said the office would provide a much-needed voice for entrepreneurs.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

I welcome your ideas, questions and concerns. You may contact me at the State Capitol as follows: (573) 751-2398 or by email: mike.mcgirl@house.mo.gov or by writing to Rep. Mike McGirl, 201 W. Capitol Ave., Room 201-A, Jefferson City, Mo. 65101.