During each General Session in our State Capitol, we consider a very large number of legislative proposals, most of which are changes or additions to our statutes. You have heard me say before that those changes to statutes are relatively easy to modify or change again in future sessions whenever necessary. In our current session, we have collectively proposed 1,297 House bills suggesting legislative changes and in addition, we have introduced 41 House Joint Resolutions (HJR). I always get more concerned with the HJR’s because the ones which become effective make changes to our State Constitution and that’s a serious matter. The good news is that not many HJR’s make it through the entire process, which requires a vote of the people, in addition to our actions taken in the General Assembly.
My concern is, although there is a short time remaining, we can move things rapidly through the process. At this point in time we have taken final action, in the House, on only six of the 41 HJR’s. We have passed five of those onto the Senate for their consideration and we somewhat surprisingly, defeated HCS HJR 49 on a final vote of 69 aye and 83 no this week. HCS HJR 49 was an attempt to make significant changes to Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan, which has become a nationally-accepted method for selecting future judges based on merit rather than political connections.
Sometimes it is said even the "Missouri Plan" is not good enough, but apparently it’s one of the best state plans in the nation. My surprise was that House Leadership does not usually bring these issues to a vote unless they have done "straw polling" of members and are pretty sure that it will pass. Earlier, House action included HCS HJR 41, which would prohibit state courts from levying or imposing taxes or fees without specific approval from the legislature or appropriate voter groups; HCS HJR 43 that proposes a constitutional amendment altering the rollback requirements concerning certain property tax issues; HCS HJR 70 proposing a constitutional amendment prohibiting appropriations in any fiscal year from exceeding certain limits; along with HCS HJR 55, further guaranteeing citizens’ First Amendment right to pray on public property and reaffirms the right to any religion or in fact, to choose "no religion". All of those are now in the Senate for their consideration.
One of the most difficult decisions for many of us was considering HCS HJR 71 and that action also took place this week. This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the Constitution authorizing a one-eighth cent sales tax for funding Missouri veterans’ homes, services and programs. It would also constitutionally establish the Missouri Veterans Commission. I think that all of us have complete respect and admiration for our veterans and a few of us, who serve in the House, are veterans ourselves. We want to do all we can to support and, when necessary, provide care for each and every one who has already given all that was asked, and then some, on behalf of us and our country. During debate, some correctly pointed out that veteran care should be a federal government obligation. Problem is, they are not adequately doing it, even today, and believe me, the heaviest load is yet to come. Some said, "This is a tax increase", we cannot increase taxes. Actually, HJR 71 is a proposal to go before all voters in the state, it is not truly a tax increase. It is "enabling legislation", which could result in a majority of voters deciding to "increase taxes". There was quite a bit of good solid debate, along with some comments that would have been better unsaid. In the end, the floor leader moved "previous question" to end debate and a final vote was taken of 106 aye and 39 no. If the Senate concurs with our position, you will hear a lot more information concerning the issue. I wanted to share with you now, the difficulty in choosing to do all we can for veterans, even though it places a burden on each of you to decide "for or against" another increase in sales taxes.
Please share your thoughts on these or any other legislative issues that are of importance to you. You can contact me at jim.whorton@house.mo.gov or 573-751-1649 or my district office at 660-359-3988.
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