Capitol News:
House Members Prepare for Annual Veto Session
As mandated by the
Missouri Constitution, the General Assembly will meet Wednesday, September 16
to consider bills that were passed by the House and Senate but vetoed by the
governor. The annual Veto Session gives legislators a final opportunity to
enact their ideas into law despite the governor’s objections. In both chambers,
a two-thirds vote is required to override a veto. In the House that amounts to
109 votes. Twenty-three votes are needed in the Senate to successfully complete
an override motion.
In 2015 the governor
vetoed 12 House Bills, six Senate Bills, and had one line-item veto in an
appropriations bill. While the legislature was still in session, the House and
Senate overrode the governor’s veto of legislation (SB 24) designed to reform
Missouri’s system of welfare so that it does a better job of moving folks out
of poverty and toward self-sufficiency. The House also approved a veto override
motion for legislation meant to reform Missouri’s system of unemployment, but
the Senate failed to act before the clock ran out on the session.
The House and Senate will now consider the remaining
bills with the override process starting in the House for House Bills, and in
the Senate for Senate bills. For some historical perspective, the General
Assembly overrode the governor’s vetoes on 10 bills and 47 budget line-items
during last year’s Veto Session. These totals, plus the veto override completed
during the 2015 session, push the total override count in state history to 93
with 44 of the overrides coming on vetoes of non-appropriations bills and 49 on
budget line-items. Interestingly, 71 of the overrides have occurred during the
current governor’s time in office.
Legislature to Continue
Veto Override Attempt on Unemployment Reform Legislation (HB 150)
During the 2015 Veto
Session, the House took action to override the governor’s veto of legislation
meant to reform the state’s system of unemployment. The bill is designed to
strike a balance to ensure Missourians have access to unemployment benefits
when they are out of work while also protecting Missouri’s job creators from
excessive taxes and fees. The House then sent the bill to the Senate to complete
the override motion, but the Senate was shut down by a filibuster in the final
weeks and no action was taken. Now, leaders in both chambers believe the Senate
can take up and approve this motion during the Veto Session.
The legislation is
designed to make sure the state has enough money in its unemployment trust fund
so that businesses don’t have to pay a penalty. Specifically, it would increase
the minimum amount of money in the fund before employers’ contribution rates
decrease.
The bill also ties
unemployment benefits to the average unemployment rate so that more benefits
are available when unemployment is high. If the state were in a position of
high unemployment (9 percent or higher) benefits would be available for 20
weeks. In periods of low unemployment (lower than 6 percent) benefits would be
available for 13 weeks.
Legislature Could
Consider Right to Work Veto Override (HB 116)
The House and Senate
also could consider an override motion on a piece of legislation commonly
referred to as Right to Work.
In effect, the bill
gives workers in Missouri the right to decide whether to join a union.
Specifically, it prohibits an employer from requiring a person to become a
member of a labor organization as a condition or continuation of employment.
Supporters of the bill
say it is meant to make Missouri a more attractive location for new and
existing job creators. They say it preserves the rights and freedoms of the
individual to choose whether to join a union. Opponents say it is an attack on
organized labor and a move that would lead to lower wages for workers.
The House needs 109
votes to override the governor’s veto. The Senate needs 23. The bill passed
during the legislative session with 92 votes in the House and 21 in the Senate.
Legislature May Not
Consider Override of Veto on Education Reform Legislation (HB 42)
After the 2015 session,
the governor vetoed a bill that was hailed by supporters as a way to help young
people in struggling school districts. While some in the legislature would like
to override the governor’s veto, the bill’s sponsor has indicated he does not
plan to make the motion even though he is disappointed that the governor undid
the hard work a bipartisan group had done to craft the solution.
Proponents said the
bill’s system of accreditation for individual schools rather than entire
districts would have alleviated some of the transfer issues and allowed kids to
stay closer to home. The bill also would have given students new educational
opportunities by allowing for more charter schools and providing a virtual
school option.
In objecting to the
bill, the governor sided with opponents who took issue with the expansion of
charter and virtual schools, which he referred to as a voucher scheme.
Opponents also criticized the bill for failing to provide real solutions for
the failing districts that have strained financially to pay the tuition of
transferring students. Those opposed to the bill also said the virtual school
option failed to provide the necessary oversight and accountability for student
performance.
General Assembly to
Consider Several Other Vetoed Bills for Potential Overrides
The legislature will
likely move to override the governor’s veto of SB 224, which was approved by
the House and Senate in an effort to ensure scholarship benefits through the
state’s A+ Schools Program are received only by young people who are legal
residents of the United States. The bill would require a student to be a United
States citizen or a permanent resident in order to receive benefits.
The General Assembly
also is likely to consider an override motion on HB 722, which was approved by
the legislature to ensure Missourians continue to have the choice of paper or
plastic bags at the grocery store. The bill specified that all merchants,
itinerant vendors, and peddlers doing business in this state must have the
option to provide customers with a paper or plastic bag for any item or good
purchased. The bill also made it clear that a political subdivision cannot
impose any ban, fee, or tax upon the use of paper or plastic bags. In addition,
the bill contained language to prohibit municipalities from mandating a “living
wage” above the state minimum wage and other rules related to employee
benefits.
The other vetoed bills that
could be considered during Veto Session include:
· HB 63 - Exempts certain political races from
provisions specifying how candidates must be nominated.
· HB 326 - Specifies that each defined benefit
pension plan must establish a board member education program.
· HB 618 - Changes the laws regarding the
disposition of human remains.
· HB 629 - Changes the laws regarding public
retirement systems.
· HB 799 - Moves the 12th Division of the 16th
Judicial Circuit Court from the City of Kansas City to the City of
Independence.
· HB 878 - Specifies that the Department of Public
Safety must have the authority to commission corporate security advisors and
establishes procedures to do so.
· HB 1022 - Authorizes a return of premiums paid
by insureds.
· HB 1098 - Changes the laws regarding trust
companies.
· SB 20 - Creates a sales and use tax exemption
for materials and utilities used by commercial laundries.
· SB 67 - Authorizes certain court surcharges,
Buchanan County to establish a county municipal court, certain circuits with a
SORTS facility to appoint a court marshal, requires certain reporting regarding
municipal courts and modifies procedure in landlord tenant cases.
· SB 142 - Requires the Department of Natural
Resources to take certain actions when submitting plans the Environmental
Protection Agency.
· SB 345 - Increases fees imposed by the Director
of the Division of Finance.
Legislative Committees Continue
Investigation into Planned Parenthood Allegations
Committees in both the House and Senate have
continued to ask questions regarding the allegations that Planned Parenthood
has sold fetal tissues for profit. In the Missouri House, the Ways and Means Committee
worked with the Children and Families Committee to take a close look at the
actions of Planned Parenthood in Missouri in an effort to ensure illegal
activities are not taking place in the Show-Me State.
The public outcry against Planned Parenthood began
after an anti-abortion group released video showing a Planned Parenthood
executive discuss how the organization disposes of the tissues and organs from
aborted fetuses. Pro-life activists claim the video proves that Planned
Parenthood is selling the tissues for profit, which is illegal. Planned
Parenthood claims the allegations are not true and any costs associated with
the tissues are there to cover related expenses.
During the hearing in the House, committee
members were disappointed by the lack of information provided by the director
of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Representatives asked
numerous questions of Director Vasterling and several felt her responses failed
to shed additional light on the practices of Planned Parenthood in Missouri.
Both committee chairs said they plan to continue moving forward with the
investigation as they seek answers regarding whether Planned Parenthood has
broken the law, or if there are any loopholes in state statute that the
organization can exploit. The committees plan to hold another hearing in the
coming weeks.
Budget Committee Takes
Closer Look at Medicaid Enrollment
The House Budget Committee
met recently to take a closer look at a recent spike in Medicaid enrollment in
Missouri. Members of the committee questioned representatives from the social
services department regarding the state’s Medicaid system hitting a high point
of 918,000 cases in May. That number is up by more than 55,000 cases from
January, and is nearly 100,000 cases more than the system handled in May of
2014.
Officials learned the spike
is the result of a combination of factors including a new enrollment system
that was put in place in January, and new policies put in place through the
federal Affordable Care Act. Department officials testified that the new
enrollment system had its share of problems that led to a backlog of pending
applications. The delays caused enrollment to drop sharply and then spike as
employees created workarounds to process applications more efficiently.
The state has since
terminated its contract with the vendor originally hired to develop the new
enrollment system. Officials are optimistic the contract with a new vendor will
lead to the successful development of a more efficient process. Department
officials also believe things will stabilize as they fully adjust to Affordable
Care Act processing and review guidelines.
Several members of the
committee raised concerns about the impact these inefficiencies have had on
some of the most vulnerable citizens in the state. They noted that the
department had claimed the new system would be more efficient and provide
adequately for all Medicaid recipients, but that the delivered product fell far
short of expectations. They also questioned how much additional cost the state
will incur now that a second vendor had to be contracted with to finish the
system.
The Budget Committee plans
to continue taking a closer look at the state’s Medicaid system when it meets
again on September 15.
