Amato for Jeffco

09/08/2026

My first year in the House I had an office so small that I want you to visualize the size of the smallest bathroom in your home. Now to further illustrate my reference, imagine removing the toilet and replacing it with a desk; now you get the picture.

Well, that first year at the capital, I got a visit from the Cattlemen. They were big burley guys wearing fancy belt buckles and rather large cowboy hats. A couple of them had to stand outside my office because these rather large men could not all fit into my little cubicle. I was honest when we first met and told them my knowledge of their issues and problems being cattle ranchers was very limited. I did let them know I understood that Missouri was the second state in the country with family-owned farms. The one man I remembered smiling let me know that was actually more knowledge than some at the capital. After we all laughed, I looked at their legislative agenda. I saw that Representative Dane Diehl was sponsoring most of their bills. Dane is a great young man and the two of us hit it off extremely well during the freshman bus tour. After reassuring the group of rather large men I would support their interests, I didn’t see them again the rest of the session. That summer, Dane Diehl called and said the Cattlemen asked him to pass on an invitation to that city-slicker friend from Arnold to attend their annual Cattlemen’s Dinner in Sedalia at the State Fair grounds. My response was to ask if chicken or fish was on the menu like most dinners I attend. Both of us laughed regarding my attempt at humor and Dane assured me that it would be the best steak I had ever eaten. My friend had been right, and the meal was exquisite with several hundred in attendance for a modest cost.

I have had rural Missouri’s back since I arrived at the capital and always support legislation that Representative Dane Diehl sponsors for farmers and cattle ranchers. I will however stop short of talking about any Cattleman’s endorsement for this upcoming election on a state computer. I will just end with a story concerning my best friend from the third grade who moved to Kansas in the 1970’s to take over the farm his grandfather owned after he got sick.

I have several stories I could share involving the city slicker going to the country but the first one that comes to mind was helping my friend with his chores that lasted until after dark. So, when I say after dark, I mean pitch black, because of not having lights from suburbia illuminating the farm. I could not see the hand in front of my face outside without a flashlight.

Completing that last chore, my friend took his tractor and filled the front bucket with hay to pitch over the fence for an enormous bull. My friend told me one bull serviced 30 cows which I did find interesting but a story for another time. Anyway, my job was to go into this small silo with grain all over the floor and gather up a five-gallon bucket worth and put it into the scoop on the front of the tractor outside the door on top of the hay. I did as he asked and then started to look for the door when I felt something rub across my leg in the dark. There were many things I thought might be the culprit and high on my list was a coyote, since it had been the topic of discussion the past couple of nights messing with their cattle. When sharing this story with my friend Rep. Dane Diehl he began to laugh already knowing how the story would end. As God is my witness thinking it had been a farm cat, who had rubbed up against my leg in the dark was probably about fifty down on my list of possibilities. My childhood friend saw me flying out of the silo and this made him laugh hysterically already seeing the cat jump into the silo and knowing I didn’t. Retelling the story, Dane laughed as my childhood friend had at my expense. Even a gorilla was higher on my list of possibilities than a farm cat.

I am grateful the Cattlemen have accepted me, even though I do not fully understand their way of life. I deeply respect the work they do to make Missouri a major agricultural state. Voting records matter, but relationships are what get things done at the State Capitol. I am tremendously grateful for the many friendships I have made, friendships that will last a lifetime. It is an honor and privilege to serve.

It is an honor and privilege to serve.

08/28/2026

I am really happy to announce that I have been endorsed by the Missouri Cattlemen's Association. Except for a dairy farm in the very southern part of the district, the only place anyone could find a cow for our area would be in the meat case at the grocery store..Now, with that being said,I obviously get along extremely well with the House representatives from the rural parts of Missouri. All of them have heard me stand up on the floor of the House and remind fellow legislators that Missouri's agricultural business is big. I have said more than once that Missouri is the second state in the country with family owned farms. The Cattlemen always invite me to their annual dinner in Sedalia at the State Fair grounds because of such comments, and I have attended the past 4 years. Because of my allegiance to our state's agricultural business, when I have a piece of legislation up for consideration in the House, most rural legislators reciprocate with a yes vote. The rural reps are a big reason my legislation passes the House most often with overwhelming numbers. Rural Missouri knows I have their backs and they in turn have mine. I so appreciate the Cattlemen's endorsement and it demonstrates once again why relationships in the House are so important for success.

08/21/2026

Back on my Feet
Well, this has been an interesting summer since the legislative session ended. I developed pancreatitis and was hospitalized needing a second operation from a gallstone that broke off after my gallbladder had been removed. The surgeon warned me to minimize my schedule this summer, allowing the body time to heal or I would be back in the hospital. That is the bad news, but the good news is I now weigh less than I did twenty years ago. I would, however, not recommend what I experienced as a weight loss program.

Being a little restless, one day, I decided to walk to the mailbox and retrieve the mail. The lady across the street had been out and waved asking if I was feeling better. I told her I was extremely thankful for not having a primary opponent, so I could fully recharge my batteries. As I turned around to open the mailbox, my pants started slipping down enough that my neighbor got a free shot when I proceeded to shoot her the moon. Except for that humbling and embarrassing moment I am feeling so much better. Never staying overnight in a hospital or being knocked out for an operation to now experiencing two operations and two hospital stays in the last couple of months has been new territory for me. I am extremely thankful for so many people being concerned and reaching out. I want to give a shout out to Speaker Dr. Jon Patterson, a surgeon by trade, who reached out several times to check on my condition even though he was busy running in a Senate primary. As I have stated more than once in my Capitol Reports just how lucky and appreciative I am for the relationships developed at the capital. I feel comfortable saying that there is nowhere in the state now if traveling and stopping at Dairy Queen for a hot fudge sundae, the area representative would not meet me when called.

Now, let’s talk about Amendments 4 and 5. My solution minimizing the need to change the state constitution and encouraging voters to use initiative petitions for statutory law changes was to introduce a piece of legislation HJR 118. This legislation proposed a new constitutional amendment prohibiting changes to a statutory initiative petition measure approved by the voters by the General Assembly except under certain conditions. This was the biggest complaint I would hear from voters about why instead of passing a law reform, changing the constitution had been preferred. This was simply because the Missouri legislature in the past had overturned or changed what was done at the ballot box by voters. Unfortunately, my legislation being introduced in the first year was not referred to a committee for consideration, so I will refile the Bill next year if reelected. So, my choice during this past session was voting to allow the people a chance at the ballot box to consider and decide both Amendment 4 and 5. In my mind, if I had voted no trying to block a public vote, there would have been some screaming their constitutional rights were violated because of not allowing the people to decide. I believe this means the system worked, and the legislature knows with the overwhelming no vote, the citizenry did not like the solution. Regarding Amendment 5, in defense of the governor, I believe he would be the first to tell anyone who asked that during his gubernatorial campaign there was a promise to eliminate the Missouri income tax. The reason the promise had been made was simply because the economy of the state is flat as well as the population. The problem obviously still exists but the solution is not acceptable to the voters.

Since we were in grade school, all of us learned to recite the pledge of allegiance. The one line we all say is …To the Republic for Which it Stands. My teacher in grade school explained the line meant our country was not a true democracy but a republic. Her explanation was simple. In a true democracy we would all vote for basically everything. In a republic we elect representatives who vote on our behalf.

I believe my job as a state representative is to give voters whenever possible a chance to cast a ballot for any issue. I voted to place 4 and 5 on the ballot for the voter’s consideration and the same can be said for Amendment 3 dealing with abortion in November. The state of Missouri went from the strictest abortion law in the country to the weakest. The new Amendment 3 is somewhat in the middle. I am anxious to find out where Missouri voters are at this point on such a divisive issue. Being the son of an Italian/Catholic father and a mother who went to a Pentecostal Church, my prolife beliefs come natural.

The one thing I will never do, however, as a representative is vote to undo what voters did at the ballot box without it going back for another vote. The voters overwhelmingly voted for a higher minimum wage and family leave a couple of years ago. I voted no to overturn what the voters did even though many felt there were unattended consequences because of the referendum. I supported returning the perceived error so voters could once again cast a ballot to see if they agreed.

I am disturbed that the internet is saying we in the legislature voted for Amendment 4 and 5. We in the Missouri legislature voted to put the two referendums on the ballot. The voters overwhelmingly voted both amendments down, and as I have already stated, this assures everyone that the system absolutely, without equivocation, works as intended.

It is an honor and privilege to serve.

07/04/2026

06/05/2026

06/05/2026

With interim upon us I thought I would share this segment from House Communications.

With the 2026 legislative session now concluded, attention turns to Governor Mike Kehoe’s desk as he reviews the legislation approved by the Missouri General Assembly during the regular session.

Bills that were passed by both chambers are formally signed in open session by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem of the Senate before being delivered to the governor for consideration. Because the legislature has adjourned for the year, the governor has 45 days to act on legislation sent to his office.

Under Missouri law, the governor has several options when reviewing legislation. He may sign a bill into law, veto it and return it to the General Assembly, allow it to become law without his signature by taking no action within the allotted timeframe, or, in the case of appropriations bills, issue line-item vetoes on specific spending provisions.

If a bill is vetoed, the Missouri House and Senate may attempt to override the veto during the annual September veto session. A two-thirds vote in both chambers is required to override a gubernatorial veto.

Most legislation passed during the regular session will take effect on August 28, 2026, unless the bill contains an emergency clause or a different effective date specified in the legislation. Bills carrying an emergency clause become effective immediately upon the governor’s signature.

Over the coming weeks, lawmakers, stakeholders, and Missourians across the state will continue monitoring which measures are signed into law as the legislative process moves into its final stages for the year.

It is an honor to serve, and I hope this capitol report answers your budgetary questions.