E-Advocates #6 

Advocacy Resource Round-Up
November 13, 2023 | By Christina Ingoglia 

There are several ways to stay on top of statewide legislative activity that begins in January (this article has key session dates at the end)! Through the legislative process providers like Emmaus are funded in partnership with federal funding to pay our Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). If you are new or need a refresher, we’ve gathered some resources for you to follow what’s going on!

Visit this blog often! EmmausHomes.org/advocacy. At this same link you can sign up for our action alerts and register for other Emmaus activities like Coffees for Change, Disability Rights Legislative Day, and Emmaus advocacy days in Jefferson City. An excellent, free news resource is the Missouri Independent. They cover happenings in Jefferson City and statewide politics for free!

To stay on top of bills that are filed that impact people with disabilities throughout the entire session, write to the Governor’s Council on Disabilities Senior Program Specialist Laura Mueth at Laura.Mueth@OA.MO.gov. Laura sends out a weekly tracking report of these bills and notes key highlights. Ask her to add your email to her list.

For some context of various challenges the state legislature may face to passing bills into law in the upcoming legislative session (which begins in January and ends May):

• Speaker of the House Dean Plocher is facing some turmoil
• Many current legislators will be running against each other for statewide offices in November 2024. Here’s one example.
• All members of the Missouri House, about a third of the MO Senate, and most statewide offices are up for election in November 2024. This means many of our legislators will have their focus divided between running election/reelection campaigns and governing.

Have some ideas or want to learn more? Reach out to me at Advocacy@EmmausHomes.org.