In the sometimes frenetic Missouri legislature, policymakers often focus on immediate issues – rather than problems that may spring up far into the future.
But a bipartisan Missouri House caucus is hoping to focus on longer-term issues. During an episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, two members of the Missouri Future Caucus – state Reps. Colin Wellenkamp and Marty Joe Murray – explained how they're looking into bills to deal with things like the proliferation of artificial intelligence and disaster preparedness.
"I think it's important for us to be forward looking," said Murray, D-St. Louis. "Which is why I think it's great that we're starting now. Because we don't have those bills right in front of us. And we can spend a little bit more time to bring the subject matter experts in to have those deep dive public hearings."
Wellenkamp, R-St. Charles County, added that his hope is that the five-member caucus can ensure that what "eventually gets in front of the lawmaker to consider is a more informed piece of legislation that we've been able to digest." That includes having experts from other states and other countries provide insight into potential policies.
"Our mandate is to really look at the landscape of issues coming before the state, before they turn into legislation that the standing committees have to deal with," Wellenkamp said.
Disaster response is more top of mind after a deadly tornado ripped through the St. Louis area in May. That prompted lawmakers to allocate more than $100 million to help St. Louisans recover and rebuild.
Murray said that the state may need to prepare for the federal government to be less involved in responding to disasters, especially since President Donald Trump is openly talking about phasing out the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"I know overall, like at a national level, there's a push to say it's the state's responsibility," Murray said. "And I feel like we felt that. Whether that be the City of St. Louis having to step up with the Rams settlement funding or with the State of Missouri having to come into a special session to react to it. Moving into the future, if we have more of these natural disasters throughout the state, we'll have to just look in the mirror to see what we're going to do about it."
Wellenkamp, who is also the executive director of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiatives, said he's not opposed to the state taking a more direct role in responding to disasters. But he added "the resources need to fall behind it."
"FEMA plays a critical role in coordinating disaster relief disbursement, because it's multistate in nature," Wellenkamp said. "Rarely does a disaster confine itself to a state. There's usually more than one involved, and FEMA plays referee. And it works with and coordinates between multiple states in responding to events."
Gauging the AI landscape
Neither Murray nor Wellenkamp expect Missouri lawmakers to be passive observers as artificial intelligence expands throughout the country and the world.
Murray, for instance, disagrees with people like billionaire Mark Cuban who contend that governments should keep AI regulation to a minimum – especially since other countries are investing heavily in the technology.
"My first thought is a businessman is the one telling you that? So of course, they're going to say that the policymakers or lawmakers should stay out of the way – especially from a perspective of not inhibiting innovation," he said. "But I don't think that's enough to say that you should step back."
Wellenkamp said AI technologies are very exciting, especially when it comes to creating treatments for diseases.
"These are great things," Wellenkamp said. "However, like any wonderful tool, it can also be abused and misused and used for nefarious purposes. And that's where we, as protectors of the public interest, we have to step in and put guardrails in."
Wellenkamp said it's possible that the Future Caucus will expand. And he's expecting the current members to hold hearings on major issues soon.
To learn more about the Missouri House Future Caucus, listen to The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
"St. Louis on the Air" brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
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