As the days pass until day 1 (January 7th) of the 2009 session of the General Assembly.. it’s time to peek at some of the bills already proposed..
HB26 (Joe Smith): Restricting use of cellphones while driving on public property.
HB31 (David Sater): Tax credits if you buy a hybrid.
HB46 (Cynthia Davis): ‘Informed’ consent for Abortions
HB49 (Michael Frame): Early voting!
HB56 (Ed Wildberger): No Call List for Cellphones
HB66 (Scott Lipke): ‘God Bless America’ license plate
HB93 (Mike Thomson): Exempting tractors from various regulations if they’re participating in a parade.
HB110 (Walt Bivins): No more local sales tax for eyeglasses.
More?
HJR1 (Will Kraus): limiting the General Assembly to 137 members
HJR2 (Rachel Storch): Nonpartisan state demographer, redistricting without regard for political factors
HJR3 (JC Kuessner): Increasing signature requirements for initiatives?
HJR4 (JC Kuessner): requiring 60% approval of amendments to the Missouri Constitution.
Meanwhile in the Senate
SB2 (Delbert Scott) prohibits use of beer bongs, jello shots, and Mardi Gras beads on Missouri rivers.
SB14 (Gary Nodler) bars felons from holding public office in Missouri.
SB17 (Joan Bray) eliminates the Death Penalty.
SB83 (Yvonne Wilson) bars civil use of tasers/stun guns.
SJR1 (Matt Bartle) creates the Missouri Savings Account. SJR2 (Matt Bartle) allows for MODOT to construct toll roads. SJR3 (Jason Crowell) allows for laws against sex offenders to be applied retroactively. SJR4 (Jane Cunningham) limits increases in property value due to reassessment and some other things that someone else can explain better.
The prefiled list for the Senate is here. The House list is here.
HJR1 is part of the long standing effort to reduce the size of the General Assembly. Giving more constituents to a legislator these days is probably a bit of a bad idea. Especially since the US Congress is in need of expansion (The House has been at 435 members for almost 100 years and can expand itself to reduce the load on each member)
HJR2 is tempting, but we can name all the groups who would not want such an idea. I’d need to check into the bill to see how close it is to the Iowa system of redistricting.
HJR4 is also tempting. Although I think the only recent constitutional amendment that would have been blocked by it would be the “Unlimited Casino Gambling for the Kids” amendment (removing loss limits).
SB2 tells me that Delbert Scott’s last trip to the Lake was probably not entirely pleasant for himself.
the same on current near Blue Spring, as well as regulation prohibitting nudity, including “flashing”, and the solictitation thereof. I am a big paddler and some of the best stretches of Missouri streams are filled with drunks May to September. A float is no longer a family event if you have to go commercial.
It limits the reassessment for property value from being increased by more than 2% (or by the CPI, if it’s lower) until after it’s sold.
Question – what if you had put a lot of time, sweat and money into your house, and needed a loan? Would you be stuck with the previous assessment? What about before you sell it? Would it still be assessed at a below-market price?
It seems to privilege exurban and rural communities in that it mandates 1 satellite voting location for every 50,000 residents of the election authority, but limits it to 6 satellites total for an election authority. So KC and suburbs and STL City and County will have fewer satellite locations per capita than places like Cape Girardeau and Springfield.
Maybe this is a sop to Republicans who would ordinarily want to block a bill that increases turnout in St. Louis and KC.