Nodler: Term limits killed heath bill

Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, blamed term limits for the defeat of a health bill which was approved by the Senate, but failed in the House:

Dozens of House members elected in 2002 will be turned out of office after next year, and many are jockeying for position to run for soon-to-be vacant Senate seats. It helped create an atmosphere that was more partisan than ever.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, described the situation this way: Five or six House members might live in a state Senate district where a Senate seat is becoming vacant.

“That has the inevitable effect that members move more toward their ideologically pure party position in pursuit of the nomination for that state Senate seat,” Nodler said. “That results in having a more partisan environment in the House of Representatives because of this pressure to establish your credentials for your Senate run.

“And I think in that sense it’s destructive,” he added.

Nodler did not identify how this affected individuals. But he said the House vote on a funding bill that included Gov. Jay Nixon’s plan to add 35,000 poor adults to the state’s Medicaid health care system provided an example of term limits’ affect on policy.