House Republicans Jam Through Sham Ethics Reform Bill
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Republicans today jammed a sham ethic reform bill through the House of Representatives with little debate. After loading up an unrelated measure, Senate Bill 844, with dozens of provisions - including some astoundingly bad ones - Republicans moved the measure through two committees and to a straight party-line House vote of 88-71 in a matter of hours.
House Democrats have championed meaningful and legitimate ethics reform for several years. A top priority for Democrats has been to reinstate campaign contribution limits, which Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved in 1994 but that Republican lawmakers repealed in 2008. SB 844 would create a nearly meaningless cap of $20,000 per donation for candidates for statewide office, judge or local office but the limit wouldn't apply to House or Senate candidates, who could still accept unlimited amounts.
"House Republicans have made a mockery of ethics reform," said House Minority Leader Paul LeVota, D-Independence. "Proposing a $20,000 contribution limit that doesn't even apply to lawmakers provides the mere pretense of limits, not the meaningful campaign finance reform Missourians want."
Some of the more onerous provisions of SB 844 would disenfranchise voters, interfere with union elections and require Missouri residents who attempt to contact lawmakers other than their own about legislation to register as lobbyists. The bill would also authorize Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder to pursue - at Missouri taxpayer expense -- a frivolous lawsuit he is launching against the federal government.
"House Republicans have turned what should have been a serious effort to improve government accountability into an exercise in bad government," said Assistant House Minority Leader J.C. Kuessner, D-Eminence. "It is just stunning that Republicans want to muzzle regular Missourians by forcing them to register as lobbyists if they want to talk to lawmakers."
House Democrats last week were forced to invoke their constitutional right to move the legitimate ethics reform bill, SB 577, to the House debate calendar after Republican leaders attempted to send the measure back to a committee so it could be gutted of meaningful provisions. House Minority Leader Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, has refused to bring that bill up for debate.
SB 844 originally was titled an act "relating to contracts for purchasing, printing, and services for statewide elected officials." The title of the House version was changed to an act "relating to ethical administration of public institutions and officials." The Missouri Constitution prohibits bills from being changed from their original purpose.
"If this bill becomes law, Steve Tilley has set it up for an easy court challenge by his wealthy donors, who oppose laws that would limit their influence over government," said House Minority Whip Jeff Roorda, D-Barnhart. "From the beginning, House Republicans have maneuvered ethics reform in a way to guarantee failure. Unfortunately for the people of Missouri, they succeeded."
Since the original Senate bill contained none of the House provisions, a final version of the measure would need to be negotiated and approved by both chambers for it to be sent to the governor.
Read the "Missouri House passes controversial ethics reform bill"
Springfield News-Leader Article
Read the "House passes wide-ranging ethics bill after raucus debate"
St. Louis Post Dispatch Article
Read the "Sham 'ethics' bill a new low for Missouri House Republicans"
Kansas City Star Article
House Flunks Education Rewrite
Written By Rachel Bringer (D-Palmyra) and Sara Lampe (D-Springfield)Missouri's statutory formula for distributing basic state funding to local school districts is a complex mechanism, and even minor tinkering with it can have major ramifications on how much state money each of our 523 school districts receives.
As a result, changes to the formula tend to be infrequent and occur after a long deliberative process by the General Assembly with substantial input from local school officials and education groups. Such was the case in 2005 when lawmakers enacted the current education formula after an entire legislative session of debate and consideration.
We (Democrats) opposed the 2005 formula because it shortchanges public schools, especially by taking seven years to fully implement. Under the formula, what the legislature deems to be full funding wouldn't occur until the 2012-2013 school year. In other words, children entering kindergarten in the fall of 2005 would be in seventh grade when the formula took full effect.
Now the House of Representatives wants to take a bad formula and make it worse by delaying full implementation another four years to the 2016-2017 school year. Under this plan, children who began school in 2005 would now be juniors in high school by the time full funding is achieved. And delaying implementation is just one of several major changes proposed to the formula that hold ramifications for our schools that aren't yet fully understood. Far being the result of a careful and deliberative process, this major formula rewrite was proposed as a floor amendment to House Bill 2245 with barely more than two weeks left in the 2010 legislative session and no input from educators.
The House approved the bill 82-67, with just the bare minimum votes needed to pass. Most Republicans supported the bill, which still must clear the Senate, while most Democrats opposed it. With mere days left before lawmakers adjourn for the year, the Senate should block the House's attempt to completely rewrite state education law on the fly.
Missourians Urged to Drink Tap Water
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MAY 3, 2010-In celebration of Drinking Water Week, May 2-8, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources is urging Missourians to forego bottled water and choose a more environmental friendly alternative - tap water.
The benefits of tap water are numerous:
- It's cheaper than bottled water; a gallon of tap water costs about a penny.
- It's better for the environment; most water bottles end up in a landfill.
- It's safe, and tested far more extensively than bottled water; in fact many brands of bottled water are straight-up tap water.
Each water system is responsible for monitoring conditions at individual water plants and is required to employ trained operators certified by the Department of Natural Resources.
Water systems in Missouri are required to regularly test drinking water for more than 100 different contaminants. A state-approved laboratory must analyze these samples and the results must be reported to the department. The majority of testing is done at the Department of Natural Resources' and the Department of Health and Senior Services' labs, at no cost to the systems, saving the consumers money.
For more information, visit dnr.mo.gov/env/wpp/dw-index.htm, or call the Department of Natural Resources' public Drinking Water Branch at 800-361-4827 or 573-526-1825.
If there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact my office. I enjoy serving my constituents as "their" voice in the Missouri State Capitol.
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