(From Rep. Ingrid Burnett, D-Kansas City)We’re hearing that there won’t be any veto overrides this week in the annual Veto Session on Wednesday, September 16, at noon.
Parson, a Republican, vetoed House Bill 1854, an omnibus local government measure, because it was loaded up with 37 different subjects on the last day of regular session in violation of the state constitutional prohibition on bills with multiple subjects.
He also rejected an omnibus military affairs bill, Senate Bill 718, because of a provision that sought to create a new state Department of Military Forces, which cannot be done without first amending the Missouri Constitution to authorize another state department.
The governor’s 196 line-item budget vetoes eliminate roughly $11 million in authorized spending for the FY 2021 state operating budget.
The governor’s 196 line-item budget vetoes eliminate roughly $11 million in authorized spending for the FY 2021 state operating budget.
The most significant items deleted $5 million for maintenance and repair of low-volume highways, $1.1 million for improvements at an airport owned by the University of Central Missouri, $1 million for the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and $500,000 for a U.S. Route 61 bypass study.
The other line item vetoes eliminate a planned 6-cent increase in the state’s mileage reimbursement for employee travel.
Once the veto session business is complete in the House, we will be called back into our never ending special session that began on July 27, in an attempt to create a tough-on-crime image for Governor Parson ahead of his Nov. 3 bid for a full term in office.
Once the veto session business is complete in the House, we will be called back into our never ending special session that began on July 27, in an attempt to create a tough-on-crime image for Governor Parson ahead of his Nov. 3 bid for a full term in office.
Parson had wanted lawmakers to finish within a few days, but the session is now inching closer to the constitutionally mandated adjournment date of Sept. 25.
Three bills still await final action in the Republican-controlled House, the most controversial of which is House Bill 2.
When originally passed by the House, the bill just sought to expand the admissibility of witness testimony. However, the Senate added an unrelated provision to limit the independent prosecutorial discretion of the St. Louis circuit attorney, an office currently held by a political target of the governor.
Since House leadership refused to even consider a stand-alone bill on that subject, it is unclear if HB 2 will win final passage with the prosecutor provision attached. The two other measures awaiting final House approval are House Bill 11, which expands what constitutes endangering the welfare of child, and House Bill 16, which would make it a felony for someone to give a firearm to a child for the purpose of avoiding arrest.
With November elections on the horizon, it is likely that we will not see another special session at least until we know who won.
No comments:
Post a Comment