Senator Mike Bernskoetter

6th Senatorial District

For Immediate Release: 

May 23, 2025

Capitol Building, Room 416

Jefferson City, MO 65101

Contact Kenny Ross: 

 573-751-2076

The End of Session

Legislative session ended for the General Assembly last week. I was happy to see such a productive session and to have so much of the legislative agenda pass the General Assembly and head to the governor’s desk for his signature. It was the first legislative session with our new governor, and we accomplished much working together which I will talk about in the coming weeks. This week I want to tell you specifically about the passage of several bills that I filed.  

The main piece of legislation I worked on this year created a framework for the organization and training of ambulance district boards. This was an incredibly important bill because it overhauled and improved the organization, and thus the operations, of a key pillar of our first response teams. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are crucial for providing on-site care and transportation from emergencies to hospitals. Every community in our state relies on EMS and we ensured all ambulance districts are held to the highest of standards due to its critical importance. This legislation puts in place training and oversight from the Department of Health and Senior Services to ensure this standard is met.

I also worked on two pieces of legislation for the Lake of the Ozarks that the General Assembly passed. The first bill allows the Village of Sunrise Beach to put a public safety sales tax on the ballot for its local residents to vote on, allowing them to collect the revenue necessary to hire more police officers. We also passed legislation which allows Lake of the Ozarks to create an entertainment district. It would also allow the counties bordering the lake to create entertainment districts and in turn collect sales to tax for improvements to the district. Considering how many visitors the lake area gets every year I am happy to see the General Assembly pass legislation that would better allow them to protect and organize the flow of visitors.

Finally, on the last day of session, the Senate passed Senate Bill 105, which created the Invasive Plants Act. This bill requires all plant nurseries in Missouri to legally declare they are not knowingly selling invasive plants or seeds of certain invasive plants. This bill received much interest from the public and I believe with its passage we have taken a strong first step in protecting Missouri’s native ecosystem. This is important for many reasons, but as a farmer myself, I know the importance of maintaining a careful balance with Missouri’s natural environment.

I will speak more on each of these pieces of legislation in the coming weeks. If you have any questions please reach out to my office.

Please feel free to contact my office at 573-751-2076. For information about my committee assignments or sponsored legislation, please visit my official Missouri Senate website at senate.mo.gov/Bernskoetter.