McGauthaSimoné McGauthaDr. Anne-Marie FoleyMissouri State SenateProgress Report 321 March 2013A. Two Week SummaryOver the past week, I have done a lot of the blogging for Senator Holsman and working on sending out his newsletters for the week. It was an extremely tedious job because I had to finish these blogs and newsletters before their spring break. The blog discussions focused on senate a bill that he was trying to get to the Senate floor before they recessed for break; which was what a lot of the Senators were trying to do as well. Now, is their spring break and I haven’t had to go to the Capitol. B. Professional Activities and Competencies One task that I didn’t see as important as it was is the filing system that Senator Holsman has on his desk in the Senate Chamber. This week I had to file the bills that were being brought up to session and since there were a lot of them, I was getting mixed up. I was putting some bills with the wrong bill summary. I was also rushing through it and not paying attention to the entire number, just the last couple of numbers. Luckily before session began, the Chief-Of-Staff, Dan, looked in the folders for something and caught my mistake. I was able to correct it before the folders went out on the desk. He explained to me how much of a stickler senator Holsman is about mistakes like that and that I needed to start paying more attention because he wouldn’t be so lenient. Humiliated was an understatement; and if it were 1McGauthapossible, my face probably would have turned so red. I now know the importance of taking my time no matter how insignificant the job may seem. Although it may not seem much to me, it could for the person I am working for and that is what matters. C. Processes of Government Until this week, I did not realize the importance of lobbyists. For some reason their jobdidn’t seem significant because all I saw them do was bring gifts to house reps and the senators. Senator Holsman and Senator Curls are both very passionate about Senate Bill 200. This act creates the Missouri Teen Dating Violence Prevention Education Act, to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and information to prevent and respond to teen dating violence. Lobbyist from The Community Foundation helped this bill get voted on by convincing senators around the Capitol to vote yes on the bill. They did this by going to the Senators and showing them videos of children wanting to kill themselves because of violence from their significant others and bullying. It touched the senators because a lot of them have young children, and imagining your children in that situation is heart breaking. I finally figured out the purpose of lobbyist and why they are so important. The job that a lobbyist has when summed up is to bring pressure against legislators to create change in laws for or against their cause. Their major job is to work for those matters that benefit their clients and against those that may harm them. By working with the government and trying to get change a good lobbyist understands the procedures of government and the correct way to persuade a government figure one way or another. It is because of them, senators across the board voted yes on SB 200. D. Public Policy and Missouri Issues and Challenges2McGauthaSB 205 is a bill that Senator Holsman and Senator Sater have been working together on for the last couple of months. Beginning July 1, 2014, children older than 15 years of age who are in the foster care system or the Division of Youth Services program within the Children's Division of the Department of Social Services have to receive a visit to a state university or community or technical college in Missouri before being adopted or “terminated by foster care or completing the division's custody or training. The visit shall include an entry application process, financial support application and availability, career options with academic or technical training, a campus tour, and other information and experience desired by the child.” The visit won’t be required if waived by the youth's family support or treatment team. Although this bill hasn’t been voted on yet, it has been up in discussion and it shows unity amongst the Democrats and Republicans. It shows that regardless of any political affiliation, some things will just make sense amongst people of both sides. This is honestly one of the first times I have seen two parties agree without other agendas. E. Reflections of LeadershipThe task of leadership I would like to highlight is under Gardner’s “explaining” task. Senator Holsman has exercised political judgment to perfection almost. According to Gardner,“’Explaining’ sounds too pedestrian to belong on a list of the tasks of leadership, but every leader will recognize it. People want to know what the problem is, why they were being askedto do certain things, how they related to the larger picture.” Senator Holsman has formed a great foundation with the constituents who have come to see him and got to know him. Because of this, they feel comfortable coming to him and asking him about certain bills he is working on. A lot of the phone calls we got this week were about SB 246. This act provides that any funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the Missouri Juneteenth Heritage 3McGauthaand Jazz Festival and Memorial shall be celebrated in Kansas City, St. Louis City or St. Louis County. The Missouri Juneteenth Heritage and Jazz Festival and Memorial Fund is created and money in the fund shall be used for such festival and memorial. For people who don’t understand the history of Juneteenth, it is hard for them to relate and understand the importance of the celebration. Because of this, they didn’t understand why Senator Holsman was in favor of this bill. He was in a tough situation because he represents two different socialand economic classes. However, it had no problem explaining this to the concerned constituents and through this action, I saw his leadership shine. F. Future GoalsI am eager to go back to work at the Capitol. This week they have been on Spring Break, I have honestly missed it and now that we are going on spring break, it’ll be an even longer time away. Another goal of mine is to simply apply what I have learned in my internship to every day life. Since I am not a political science major or have no previous background in politics, I some times find it hard to keep up with current events on
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