Nance: Veto, Special sessions cause absence from Homecoming Parades

“Veto Session”, which is required by our constitution, began last Wednesday. The session ended quickly with no attempt to override any of the Governor's vetoes.

The Missouri General Assembly returned for a special session to pass a number of important bills, including a major job creation package that will help turn our state’s economy around. With nearly 9 percent of Missourians currently unemployed, it is the kind of innovative solution that our state needs.

In addition to the job creation initiative that the House and Senate have been working on for months, the House pass bills that will return control of the St. Louis Police Department to the City of St. Louis [HB1]; tax relief and funding for disaster affected areas, including Joplin [HB5]; and a change to the date of next year’s presidential primary [HB3].

On Thursday, House committees met and on Friday, the full House debated them on the floor. With overwhelming bipartisan agreement, the House passed bills that will do the following:

• Move the presidential primary from February to March to ensure compliance with national party rules. The move will ensure that Missouri will not lose delegates and representation at the national conventions next summer.
• End a 150-year policy of state control over the St. Louis Police Department. The bill will ensure more accountability by returning control of the department to elected officials accountable to voters instead of individuals appointed by the governor.
• Tap the Rainy Day Fund to provide funding for areas of the state affected by disasters. Not only will the fund, which was designed for this purpose, provide relief to disaster affected areas, but it will hopefully put an end to the governor’s unconstitutional practice of withholding funds from schools to pay for this recovery. [HB6]
• Provide property tax relief to businesses destroyed by disaster. State law currently requires businesses to pay full property tax even if they are ruined in disasters. The bill will allow those businesses destroyed by the storms to receive a tax reduction for those months that their businesses were destroyed.

In the District

On Saturday September 10, the Ray County Veterans were honored for their service. The event was held at the Ray County Museum.

I was honored to be the guest speaker for (Troop 4) Pack 309 as the celebrated their 90^th Anniversary at the Excelsior Springs Methodist Church. More than one hundred attended the festivity.

The 150^th Anniversary of the "Battle of Lexington" was celebrated Saturday and Sunday.

I regret that I will miss Lawson and Hardin Homecoming events, I will be in Jefferson City for Special Session this week.

Information

MERIL and Access II are offering a workshop entitled, “Understanding ADA,” which will address many issues such as accessible parking lots, entrances, rest rooms, kitchens and more. This workshop will be offered on Thursday, September 22 from 9am to 4pm at the Riverside Church, 1014 Riverside Road, St. Joseph. The cost is $35.00 which includes a meal and materials. This workshop will benefit anyone interested in learning more about the ADA especially landlords, contractors, designers, housing managers, and people with disabilities. For more information, please check out the website at www.meril.org or call Carla Rickabaugh at 816.279.8558 or1.800.MERIL4U (1.800.637.4548).