Davis: Redistricting Override To Shape Next Generation Of Missourians

At left: My intern from MSSU Tristan Routledge and his family. Tristan was such a help all year. I will miss him next session.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” Dr. Seuss

It was a historic week at the capitol. Only 8 times in our state’s history has the general assembly over rode a gubernatorial veto. It was great to be part of something that will shape the future of Missouri for the next generation. It was an important vote that protected the people of our great state.

What happened this week

Passage of Vetoed House Bills

Although the following bill was vetoed by the Governor on May 2, 2011, the Missouri House and Senate voted, in a bipartisan fashion, to override the Governor’s veto on May 4, 2011.

CCS SS HCS HB 193, Missouri’s Congressional redistricting bill was passed by a majority veto override vote in the House and the Senate and was delivered to the Secretary of State. The representative will of the people drew and passed the new Congressional Districts map and then overrode the Governor’s veto. The courts will not draw the district lines, the elected representatives of the people have done so, as is our constitutional duty.

Third Reading & Final House Passage

The following bills were given final approval by the House and sent to the Senate for further consideration. For more information regarding any specific bill, please visit www.house.mo.gov

HCS#2 SJR 2, sponsored by Rep. Stanley Cox (R-118), has been third read and finally passed in the House. This resolution proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to require a person to provide valid, government issued, photo identification, in order to vote in Missouri. Our history is full of Americans who spent their entire lives trying to gain this very basic and precious right. The fight to gain voting rights continued for many years. I want to be the first to tell you, this fight is over. You may not have heard it yet, but yes, it is true, all Americans aged 18 or over are allowed to cast ONE ballot in each election. So now that this fight is over, it is time to make sure we guarantee the integrity of the voting system by making sure this precious right is not abused.

HCS SS#2 SCS SB 8, would provide protection against co-employee liability lawsuits in cases involving workers’ compensation. This bill passed with a House Committee Substitute and was sent back to the Senate. Currently, the Senate has refused to concur and has requested a conference to address their concerns.

HCS SS SCS SB 58, sponsored by Rep. Charlie Denison (R-135), was third read and finally passed. This bill addresses a variety of issues related to transportation.

HCS SS SB 135, which I am in full support and sponsored in the House, would modify provisions pertaining to the storage and dispensing of motor fuel and extends the expiration date for the environmental laws relating to dry-cleaning facilities to August 28, 2017.

HCS#2 SB 3 is another bill related to elections and the requirements for advanced voting and the providing of photo identification.

HCS SCS SB 163 deals with the changes in composition of the MU Board of Curators due to the loss of a Congressional district. This bill is the same as HB 174.

HCS SB 173 passed the House with a committee substitute and was sent back to the Senate. The Senate has refused to concur and has called for either a conference to address their concerns, or for the house to recede from its position. As it is, this bill would require the Joint Committee on Missouri's Promise to develop long-term strategies and plans for developing a modern infrastructure and transportation system.

HCS SCS SB 219 deals with the fees that can be charged by owners of ATM’s for out of country account transactions.

HCS SB 282 has a number of effects related to elections and public contracts. In particular, it moves the presidential primary from February to March.

Truly Agreed To and Finally Passed

This legislation has been passed by both the House and the Senate and is now headed to the Governor’s desk for consideration. For more information regarding any specific piece of legislation, please visit www.house.mo.gov.

SS SB 101 states that contractors, who perform roof or other residential exterior work, will not be allowed to offer monetary payment of a homeowner's insurance deductible as incentive to hire the contractor.

SS SB 55 classifies sawmills and planing mills as agricultural and horticultural property instead of commercial property for the purpose of relieving excessive taxation on the industry.

SS SB 306, SB 83, SB 165, were also truly agreed to and finally passed.

Congressional Redistricting Update

The historic vote over ride vote this week. You could hear a pin drop!

Most importantly this week, the House and the Senate finally agreed to a final compromise map to complete the constitutional duty of the State Legislature in drafting eight new Congressional Districts for our State. As many of you are aware, it is the duty of the General Assembly to complete the task of Congressional Redistricting, every ten years, following the national census. After weeks of stalemate and tense negotiations, a valuable compromise was finally reached as both Chambers passed a final proposed map with overwhelming majorities of support. This bill was vetoed by the Governor. Since the Governor decided not to heed the work of the Legislature, in order to prevent this issue from going to the Courts and being decided by unelected judges, the House and Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto. This is a serious matter that affects every single person in the State, hundreds of hours went into the process and the final product is a fair, compact, contiguous map that is good for all of the citizens of our State.

Budget Update

I am extremely proud of the 96^th General Assembly and the work we accomplished in passing a balanced budget. The fiscal year 2012 budget heavily funds our state’s most important priorities without increasing the tax burden on our already economically strapped citizens. This required an enormous bipartisan effort and was a huge accomplishment. The most impressive aspect about the development of the 2012 budget was our ability to hold the funding for K-12 at 2011 levels while increasing transportation funding for school districts. As impressive as our work on the budget has been, an even more impressive effort will be required to prepare our state for future budget shortfalls as the struggle to recover from our nation’s recession continues. In Missouri, smart, conservative budgeting has proven to provide the type of stability necessary, not only to survive this economic recession, but to actually see some growth in revenue. Continuing this economic policy in the future will place Missouri in an enviable economic environment of growth.

Big Government Get Off My Back

Last week the House truly agreed to and finally passed SS SCS HCS HB 45. This bill changes the laws regarding the Big Government Get Off My Back Act and provides additional incentives for responsible businesses that provide health benefits to those new, full-time employees. In particular, a $10,000 tax incentive for each new full-time job created or a $20,000 incentive for each new full-time job created when the business offers health insurance and pays at least 50% of the premiums of all full-time employees. The bill also seeks to limit and reduce the amount of regulations that Government forces onto small businesses that simply cause them to spend time doing paperwork instead of growing their enterprise. This bill is a positive step in the direction of strengthening Missouri small businesses.

This is the last week of session. I look forward to meeting with you all during the interim and discussing ways to protect Missourians. If you have an event you would like for me to attend, please feel free to give me a call, I would love to come.

MoDOT Releases Plans to Restructure

For several years, leaders throughout the state have worked to “sound the alarm” that the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) would have a funding crisis starting in 2011. Today, we begin working under that new reality as the organization moves from designing and building new roads to a more maintenance-centered plan.

On Wednesday, May 4, 2011, MoDOT’s Director presented a “Bolder, Five-Year Direction” to the commission overseeing the agency. It will be the first major restructuring of the organization since maintenance shed boundaries were established in the 1930s.

This plan will put smaller government right in our backyards; this will affect every corner of our state and many, many Missouri families. Talk of stewardship is great, but hurts deeply when it comes this close to home. Under this new proposal, MoDOT will reduce 1,200 employees, 135 facilities and more than 740 pieces of equipment.

These changes include the proposed closure of facilities in the following communities in Southwest Missouri: The Joplin District Headquarters, the Carthage Resident Engineer Office and the Maintenance and Traffic facilities in Seneca and Sarcoxie.

Missourians realize with this agency’s construction program going from an average of $1.2 billion to about $600 million a year, many sacrifices will have to be made. This will also include a reorganization that will reduce middle-management positions, starting in Jefferson City.

Unfortunately, the current plan will have a significant impact on the area I represent, particularly the District 7 office in Joplin. The employees, families and the businesses and the communities they support are very real to me.