Engler: Welcoming Pat Jones to the Capitol

This week, I was pleased to welcome Pat Jones to the Capitol for the dedication of the Pat Jones Pedestrian/Bicycle Lane. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Pat Jones is the widow of Ted Jones, the son of the founder of Edward Jones, who served as the managing partner of the firm from 1968 to 1980. Together, Pat and Ted donated millions to support the development of the Katy Trail, the longest rails-to-trails project in the country.

The biking and walking lane was added onto the side of the northbound U.S. 54/63 bridge over the Missouri River. Legislation passed by the House and Senate and signed by the governor in 2010 officially designated the walking and biking lane as the Pat Jones Pedestrian/Bicycle Lane. It will connect the main part of Jefferson City with the Katy Trail State Park and will make it easier and safer for bicyclists to access Jefferson City from the Katy Trail. I also hosted representatives from Edward Jones offices throughout the state visiting the Capitol for the event.

In the Senate this week, we passed two supplemental spending bills. These bills fund state programs and services for the current fiscal year that were not passed or were not funded to the level of being sufficient for the whole year. House Bill 14 is the main supplemental bill and contains appropriations for a variety of programs.

House Bill 15 is an important bill for school funding because it allows the state to hold over $189.7 million in federal funding. This funding is available to schools through the Federal Education Jobs Fund and will make it possible to fund our K-12 classrooms at the same level as last year. While some lawmakers have expressed concerns with accepting these federal funds, I feel strongly that Missouri must accept the federal dollars or lose out to other states. Both supplemental bills were approved by both the House and Senate and now await the governor’s signature.

The Senate also gave initial approval to House Bills 1-13, the core budget for the 2012 fiscal year, which begins on July 1, 2011. If the House does not accept the Senate’s changes to the bills, they will go to a conference committee. The bills will then need final approval from both chambers before the budget deadline, which is May 6 this year.

Another interesting piece of legislation that was approved this week was Senate Joint Resolution 12. The resolution would, with the approval of the voters, increase term limits from eight years to 16 years total in any one chamber of the General Assembly. If approved, the measure would go into effect in 2022. I am for term limits, but I think the term limits in place now hurt the legislative process. As it is right now, you spend four years learning the process and then have only four years to accomplish your goals in the Legislature. The unintended effect is rushed legislation. This resolution would be a step in the right direction for our state.