Nance: Veto Session, Randolph Audited, In The District

At left: Ribbon Cutting at Bridge on "N" Highway

"Our Veto Session began and ended today with one attempt to override the Governor's veto of HB 1903 which passed in session by a 151-3 vote. This bill creates the Federal Budget Stabilization Extension Fund to receive moneys from any legislation enacted by the 111th United States Congress to assist states in budget stabilization or that extends the temporary increase in the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage. I voted for the override because this bill would have made sure that all monies are spent in a transparent manner. To override the veto it would have taken a two-thirds majority. The bill failed with 65 dissenting."

Two years ago I had an amendment to a bill to require cities that receive more than 35% of their revenue off of state highways to forward anything over that amount to the Department of Revenue (The previous cap was 45%). Many call these cities "speed traps". Randolph is a city between I-435 and Ameristar Casino.  Police are for public safety issues and cities should not use state highways to generate funds.

Update: City of Randolph Audited:

Since the city and the municipal division do not track the amount of fines and costs collected on tickets issued on state and federal highways, we reviewed the Missouri Vehicle Stops Annual Report prepared by the Police Department and filed with the Missouri Attorney General's Office for 2009. This report indicated 83 percent of tickets issued by the city were for violations on a state or federal highway within the city. We also selected 265 tickets processed by the municipal division during 2009 and determined that 194 of these tickets (73 percent) were issued on state or federal highways. The fines and costs collected on those 194 tickets accounted for 75 percent of the total amount collected on the 265 tickets.

Based on the city's 2009 end of year report, 35 percent of the city's 2009 annual general revenue ($270,043) was $94,515. Based on the above data, the amount received from fines and court costs for traffic violations on state or federal highways would likely be between $134,090 (75 percent) and $148,393 (83 percent), based on $178,787 in total court fines and costs, and the excess monies to be turned over to the DOR would be between $39,575 and $53,878. That extra money must be turned over to the Missouri Department of Revenue and then distributed to schools.

In the District:

Boy Scout Pack 309 was the recipient of a trailer donated by A T & T Communications on Monday the 13th.

On September 1st, I was a guest speaker at the Ray County Retired Teachers meeting in Lawson.

On September 4th, I attended the Ray County Museum Veteran's Appreciation Day.

On September 8th, I toured the new Liberty North High School with Governor Nixon. Liberty received special bonding through the Recovery Act.

MoDOT has opened 5 bridges in the district after their replacement or repair recently. Excelsior residents will see the opening of the 10 Highway Bridge over 69 Highway in a couple of weeks.

Excelsior Estates has been awarded a Community Development Block Grant for street and drainage improvements in the amount of $400,000.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development has approved training assistance for three businesses in our district.