Nance: Reflections Upon Overriding Governor's Veto

Last week was extremely busy with the budget being passed by the May 6^th deadline. There is only one week left in the regular session for 2011. I will forward some points of interest on the budget tomorrow.

House Bills Truly Agreed and Finally Passed

• HBs1-13, which make up the approximately $23.2 billion FY2012 Operating Budget.
• HBs 17, 18, 21 & 22, which would appropriate money for various capital improvement projects.
• HB 190 would authorize divisions within the Department of Natural Resources to receive funds to be placed in a revolving fund for the purpose of cash transactions involving the sale of items made by the divisions.
• HB 315, which would combine and modify the provisions of the Revised Statutes of Missouri that have been enacted in more than one bill so that there is only one version of a statute.
• HB 83, which would specify that an agreement to operate or share an automated teller machine cannot prohibit the owner or operator of the machine from imposing an access fee or surcharge on foreign bank transactions.
• HB 109, which would repeal the provisions allowing the State Treasurer to invest in any linked deposit for specified purposes only for certain time periods
• SB 101 which was a duplicate of my House bill, creates requirements for contractors who perform home exterior and roof work after a storm and when insurance is involved.
• The House also voted to override the governor’s veto of HB 193, which would change the composition of Congressional districts based on the 2010 census.
  
  After much consternation and yes prayer, I voted to override the governor’s veto of the legislature’s redistricting plan. My decision was a difficult one. I fought the redistricting maps throughout the entire process. I do, however, recognize it is the General Assembly’s job to pass redistricting and I believe that turning the process over to the courts would have resulted in an outcome that would not favor any of rural Missouri.
  
  While the Senate had enough Republican members to override the Governor’s veto without Democrats, the House relied on bi-partisan support of the legislative plan to overcome the Governor’s veto.
  
  Ray County has been a democratic stronghold for over a century and the committee responsible for the map would not put it in a republican district regardless of my argument for rural versus urban differences. The courts are not accountable to anyone. I seriously doubt that relinquishing our responsibility would have resulted in a different outcome with the voting history of the rural areas affected and had a real potential to hurt the state overall.

Dates of interest

May 13-Session ends
July 14-Deadline for the governor to sign bills
September 14-Veto session begins