Jefferson City, Mo. – State Representative Bennie Cook has been appointed by the Missouri House Speaker to serve on two workgroups that will examine issues of vital importance in Missouri.
Speaker Dean Plocher, R-St. Louis, asked Rep. Cook to be a part of the Work Group on Healthcare and the Work Group on Law Enforcement Retention and Recruitment, which will meet to evaluate policies and develop legislation to increase law enforcement retention in Missouri and improve the healthcare system of the Show-Me State.
“I appreciate that we have a Speaker who recognizes the great needs Missouri has in both of these policy areas, and I am anxious to craft some meaningful solutions that can help improve the quality of life for Missourians,” said Cook, R-Houston. “We have to continue to reduce healthcare costs and increase access to healthcare across the state. We have to recruit and retain law enforcement professionals and ensure they have the tools necessary to serve and protect their communities. I know that together, we will find ways to work on these issues.”
When choosing Cook to serve on these groups, Speaker Plocher noted Cook’s background in both areas of policy. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee, and sits on the Special Committee on Homeland Security and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety, Corrections, Transportation and Revenue. Rep. Cook has worked on Truth in Sentencing legislation to ensure violent offenders are serving longer prison sentences.
Cook’s service in law enforcement will also be useful to the committee’s work, as he has served with police departments in Belle and Columbia and the Texas County Sheriff’s Department, and currently serves as a Texas County and Wright County commissioned Deputy Sheriff.
Rep. Cook has also served for three years on the committees on Health and Mental Health, and on Professional Registration. He has sponsored legislation on licensure of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) licensure, and has offered amendments on nursing issues, and his legislation to reduce regulations on pharmacists and increase access to healthcare in rural areas has become law.
