Neth: Penultimate Week Of Session Summons Refresher Course

According to the Missouri Constitution, the state budget must be agreed upon and passed no later than the first Friday following the first Monday of the month of May. This year, we worked diligently to forge a compromise on the budget so we were not stressing out in the final hours of the Constitutional deadline. As of Wednesday afternoon, it looked like we may be crunched for time, but negotiations between the Senate and House went well that evening and we reached an acceptable agreement that we passed on Thursday. The total budget is about $23 Billion. Overall, the numbers were kept flat from the prior year. I plan on writing a more detailed summary of the budget next week.

The biggest news of the week was a historic veto override. The Governor vetoed the congressional redistricting map on Saturday. We went into session Wednesday morning with all hands on deck. The debate was short, the vote quick. We were able to get the 109 votes in the House to override, which consisted of all 105 Republicans and 4 Democrats. I want to convey to you, whatever your political stripes, how my respect goes out to those four Democrats. The pressure they were under from their own party was overwhelming and I would not want to be in their shoes.

It should also be noted that in the history of Missouri there have been only about 10 other Veto overrides. So the fact that we were able to pull it off is something that I will always remember and be honored to have been a part of.

We are headed into the last week of session which will last a full five days. I'm not sure exactly what we will end up working on as there will be limited time for debate. I'm sure it will be exciting no matter what.

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Spring!
Myron

SAVE THE DATE!!!

Town Hall Meeting - Legislative Wrap Up
June 2, 7:30-8:45 pm
Liberty Community Center - Red Room

I will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting where I will discuss the 2011 legislative session. You will have the opportunity to give me feedback, ask questions, and voice your concerns. I hope you will be able to make it and look forward to seeing you there.

Visitors to the Capitol

I had some special guests at the Capitol on Monday. The Giddings family won a charity auction for a special tour of the Capitol and Jefferson City at an event at Lewis & Clark Elementary. In addition to the Capitol tour, they went to the Governor's Mansion (where they met the Governor's wife), they were given a private tour of the Missouri Supreme Court, and then they went on a privileged trek to the top of the Capitol Dome. It was great being able to host them and being able to show them some of their state government.

Legislative Jargon

I threw out a question about some of the jargon we use in the General Assembly. I asked for anyone to tell me that the following stood for: CCS SS SCS HCS HB 193. One person replied with an answer. The answer is: Conference Committee Substitute for Senate Substitute for Senate Committee Substitute for House Committee Substitute for House Bill 193. To translate a little bit it means it originated as a House Bill, there was a substitute bill offered in the House committee and passed in the House, then the Senate Committee offered a substitute to the Senate which in turn did a substitute of its own then the whole bill went to a Conference Committee which came up with a version that was then passed by both chambers. Like I have said before, legislation gets a lot of eyes on it before it gets to the Governors desk. There are a lot of steps a bill must go through to become a law. If you remember school house rock, they did a skit that described the process for the federal government. If you are feeling nostalgic you can watch the school house rock video on youtube by clicking below.


Schoolhouse Rock- How a Bill Becomes a Law

Community Calendar

May 7 - Liberty Historic Walking Tour: Three Downtown Churches

May 7 - Farmers Market: Opening Day!

May 9 - City Council Meeting

June 2 - Town Hall Meeting With Myron Neth at the Liberty Community Center - Red Room at 7:30 pm.

June 4 - Downtown Liberty Arts Festival

Visit the Jesse James Bank Museum Monday - Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Survey Results

As those of you in District 34 know, I sent out a survey in January. I wrote an article that appeared in the Liberty Tribune a few weeks ago regarding those results. Click here to see the article.

It is an honor and privilege to serve the people of the 34th District and the State of Missouri. Let me know how I can better represent you.

For a better Missouri,
Myron