Forget seersucker suits, more propeller beanies are needed in Jefferson City. The colossal waste of time continues.

Today’s hearing schedule for the House Judiciary Committee:

97th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session

Hearing Schedule

Hearing Date Wednesday, April 30, 2014

[….]

Committee: Judiciary

Chair: Cox, Stanley – (Rep-52)

Vice Chair: Elmer, Kevin-(Rep-139)

Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Time: 12:00 PM or 15 Minutes Following Morning Recess

Location: House Hearing Room 1

Note:

Executive session may be held on any matter referred to the committee.

Public Hearings will be conducted for the following bills:

HR 380 — ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT

Sponsor: Marshall, Nick A (Rep-013)

Co-Sponsor: Brattin, Rick (Rep-055)

Adopts Articles of Impeachment for Governor Jay Nixon for the issuance of Executive Order 13-14 regarding the filing of a Missouri state combined income tax return by certain same-sex couples

HR 476 — ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT

Sponsor: Moon, Mike Michael (Rep-157)

Co-Sponsor: Brattin, Rick (Rep-055)

Adopts articles of impeachment against Governor Nixon for failure to issue writs of election to fill vacancies in the General Assembly without delay as required by state law

HR 923 — NOTITLE

Sponsor: Brattin, Rick (Rep-055)

Co-Sponsor: Marshall, Nick A (Rep-013)

Adopts articles of impeachment for the Governor based on his failure to discipline or dismiss executive branch employees responsivle for the released of concealed carry endorsement information

[….]

They can’t help themselves, it’s in their nature.

Previously:

HR 380: impeaching Governor Jay Nixon (D) because of teh gay thing (February 6, 2014)

HR 476: keeping their eyes on the bouncing rubber ball (February 13, 2014)

HR 923: the ultimate in right wingnut – guns and impeachment (March 11, 2014)

Wait, wait, don’t tell me (November 18, 2013)

Impeaching Nixon? (November 17, 2013)

They really want to go there (April 21, 2014)

The Missouri GOP, Evel Knievel and political stuntsmanship (April 24, 2014)

Previously:

HR 380: impeaching Governor Jay Nixon (D) because of teh gay thing (February 6, 2014)

The latest impeachment bill aimed at Governor Jay Nixon, filed today:

SECOND REGULAR SESSION

House Resolution No. 476

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES MOON (Sponsor), BRATTIN, MUNTZEL, WILSON, POGUE, MARSHALL, HURST, BAHR AND NEELY (Co-sponsors).

5835L.01I

           WHEREAS, when the Second Regular Session of the Ninety-seventh General Assembly convened on January 8, 2014, there were three vacancies in the House of Representatives, and one vacancy in the Senate; and

           WHEREAS, as a result of those four vacancies, approximately 285,000 Missourians are without representation in the Missouri House or Senate; and

           WHEREAS, the 120th House District seat has been vacant since June 5, 2013, with an election date to fill this vacancy recently being called for August 5, 2014. At the time of this election, the 120th House District seat will have been vacant for 430 days; and

           WHEREAS, the 67th House District seat has been vacant since December 2, 2013, with an election date to fill this vacancy recently being called for August 5, 2014. At the time of this election, the 67th House District seat will have been vacant for 246 days; and

           WHEREAS, the 151st House District seat has been vacant since December 18, 2013, with an election date to fill this vacancy recently being called for August 5, 2014. At the time of this election, the 151st House District seat will have been vacant for 230 days; and

           WHEREAS, the 22nd Senate District seat has been vacant since December 18, 2013, with no special election date having been called to fill this vacancy; and

          WHEREAS, on January 2, 2014, a lawsuit was filed in Cole County on behalf of ten people from various House and Senate Districts, stating that Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon has been remiss in his duties as Governor by not setting dates for special elections to fill the four vacant seats; and

           WHEREAS, Article I, Sections 1 and 2 of the Missouri Constitution state foundational principles of Missouri’s form of government:

“Section 1. That all political power is vested in and derived from the people; that all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.”

“Section 2. That all constitutional government is intended to promote the general welfare of the people; that all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry; that all persons are created equal and are entitled to equal rights and opportunity under the law; that to give security to these things is the principal office of government, and that when government does not confer this security, it fails in its chief design.”; and

           WHEREAS, Article I, Section 25 of the Missouri Constitution expressly acknowledges that Missouri citizens have the right of suffrage:

“Section 25. That all elections shall be free and open; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.”; and

           WHEREAS, a representative voice in each house of the Missouri General Assembly is part and parcel of the constitutional right of suffrage. Any delay in securing the citizens’ right of representation in the state legislature should be subject to strict scrutiny by our courts; and

           WHEREAS, Article III, Section 14 of the Missouri Constitution requires the Governor, leaving no discretion with the Governor, to issue writs of election to fill vacancies in the Missouri General Assembly:

“Section 14. Writs of election to fill vacancies in either house of the general assembly shall be issued by the governor.”; and

           WHEREAS, Section 21.110, RSMo, also requires the Governor to issue writs of election:

“21.110. If the governor receives any resignation or notice of vacancy, or if he is satisfied of the death of any member of either house, during the recess, he shall, without delay, issue a writ of election to supply the vacancy.”; and

           WHEREAS, in addition to the April municipal general election, the August primary election, and the November general election, Section 115.123, RSMo, permits special elections to fill vacancies to be held on any Tuesday; and

           WHEREAS, since 2005, elections have been held in February, April, June, August, September, and November; and

           WHEREAS, Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon has refused to set elections to coincide with the earliest possible scheduled election after each vacancy occurred, thereby infringing on the constitutional rights held by not only the 285,000 Missouri citizens who reside in the affected districts, but all Missouri citizens who rely on full representation in the state legislature for all our citizens in order to fairly engage in the people’s business; and

          WHEREAS, the relevant constitutional and statutory provisions make it clear that a governor has no authority to deny or unreasonably interfere, as Governor Nixon has, with the citizens’ right to legislative representation; and

           WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution states:

“The governor shall take care that the laws are distributed and faithfully executed, and shall be a conservator of the peace throughout the state.”; and

           WHEREAS, in knowingly failing to issue writs of election “without delay” as required under Section 21.110, RSMo, when numerous election dates were possible, Governor Nixon has not only violated state statutory law, but has also violated the Missouri Constitution by not taking “care that laws are distributed and faithfully executed” as required under Article IV, Section 2; and

           WHEREAS, most importantly, Governor Nixon’s knowing failure to issue writs of election “without delay” unlawfully prolonged the period of time in which 285,000 Missourians will be deprived of one of their most basic rights as citizens, their right to have representation in their government; and

           WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution states:

“All elective executive officials of the state, and judges of the supreme court, courts of appeals and circuit courts shall be liable to impeachment for crimes, misconduct, habitual drunkenness, willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude or oppression in office.”; and

           WHEREAS, with blatant and knowing disregard for the basic right of the citizens of this state to be represented in their state legislature, Governor Nixon’s breach of his constitutional duties to faithfully execute the laws of this state by knowingly failing to issue writs of elections “without delay” as required by law when numerous election dates were possible is grounds for impeachment as willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office; and

           WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution vests the sole power of impeachment in the House of Representatives:

           NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Missouri House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh General Assembly, finds, charges, and presents that Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, while so acting as the Governor of the State of Missouri, failed to issue writs of election for four vacancies in the Missouri General Assembly “without delay” as required by law when numerous election dates were possible, constituting an act which is an impeachable act under Article VII, Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution, and that by doing such aforesaid act Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon was and is guilty of the commission of willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office; and

           BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Missouri House of Representatives adopts the following:

ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT

ARTICLE I

           That the Missouri House of Representatives under the authority of Article VII, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution does find, charge, and present that Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, while so acting as the Governor of the State of Missouri, contrary to the standards of conduct prescribed for an elected executive official of the state, committed an act impeachable under Article VII, Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution, in that, Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon knowingly failed to issue writs of election for four vacancies in the Missouri General Assembly “without delay” as required under Section 21.110, RSMo, when numerous election dates were possible.

           That by the doing of the aforesaid act, Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon was and is guilty of willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office, an impeachable offense under Article VII, Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution, and that such act has shaken the faith and confidence of the citizens of the State of Missouri in their ability to have faith in their elected public officials, and has breached the public trust that the laws of this state will be faithfully executed.

ARTICLE II

           That the Missouri House of Representatives under the authority of Article VII, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution does find, charge, and present that Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, while so acting as the Governor of the State of Missouri, contrary to the standards of conduct prescribed for an elected executive official of the state, committed an act impeachable under Article VII, Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution, in that, Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, in knowingly failing to issue such writs of election, deprived approximately 285,000 Missouri citizens of their basic right to representation in their government.

           That by the doing of the aforesaid act, Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon was and is guilty of willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office, an impeachable offense under Article VII, Section 1 of the Missouri Constitution, and that such act has shaken the faith and confidence of the citizens of the State of Missouri in their ability to have faith in their elected public officials, and has breached the public trust that the laws of this state will be faithfully executed.”; and

           BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon impeachment by the House of Representatives, Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon shall stand trial before a special commission of seven eminent jurists to be elected by the Missouri Senate in accordance with Article VII, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution for willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office; and

           BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, the Missouri Supreme Court, and the Missouri Senate.

[emphasis in original]

Oh, please, do proceed.

If the special election to replace a gay member of the General Assembly who resigned and had also filed a joint state tax return was not quickly scheduled by the Governor would the two sets of articles of impeachment cancel out? Just asking.  

Previously:

Opening of the 2014 legislative session – photos (January 8, 2014)

House Democratic Caucus press conference – Jefferson City – January 8, 2014 (January 8, 2014)

“…Well, first of all, I don’t feel that we should be leveraging the children of this state on anything. They should be our number one priority…”

Yesterday afternoon the House Democratic Caucus held a press conference in the House Lounge after the opening of the legislative session in Jefferson City. After prepared remarks by Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D) and Assistant Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D) they took questions from the press.

The video:

The transcript:

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): Questions.

Question: There is not agreement between the Governor and, uh, legislature on a consensus revenue estimate, so a couple of questions there. Where does your party stand on how much money the state should, uh, plan on having next year? And does that play into where you hope to see money come to the foundation formula? Do you think there’s more money there that can be pumped into that, or where is that gonna come from?

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): Well, first of all, I haven’t seen the, uh, Governor’s budget proposal, but I assume that that is where his, uh, numbers are coming from. Uh, look, I think we know that the, the House is going to, the Governor is gonna start with his number and the House Budget Committee will start with their number. You know, if, if they want to go ahead and start cutting money from education, from fully funding the foundation formula, um, and not try to trust the Governor’s number then that’s up to them. Then they can be in the position to go ahead and cut things from education. So, do I know which number is the absolute correct answer? I don’t. And I don’t think, I don’t think that it’s fair to say that either one, either one party does, so.

Question: From a position of a minority with fifty-two members you can’t force much, um, in the House of Representatives. So, you’re gonna have to rely on public pressure in some ways to [inaudible] the Republicans. What do you intend to do that would be different from what happened last year on Medicaid that would, uh, create that pressure to [inaudible] move ahead on this bill?

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): Well, first of all, I think that there’s enough people within the majority party that would vote for Medicaid expansion if someone in the Speaker’s office had the courage to let it come to the floor for a vote. How are we going to know if no one will bring it up for a vote? The Chamber of Commerce in Missouri as well as numerous chambers of commerce across the state have come out more strongly in favor of this. You know, they realize that this is a huge, uh, job creation tool. Why is it that the majority only wants to listen to the business community when it suits their agenda? I don’t think it’s fair to say that they want to say that, okay, fine, we can’t expand jobs in the state unless we do this. They’ve come out and said they think this is gonna create twenty-four thousand jobs. I mean, they agree with us. We’re not always on the same page as the Chamber of Commerce.

Question: Yeah, but chances are that, you know, barring peasants with pitch forks coming up here and pushing the Speaker in to this, um, up to the dais, uh, to get a vote on that, how do you, how do you get that pressure on him?

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): Well, what we have been doing is we’ve been going, in the interim, we went around the state for quite a while. Uh, we went to different areas of the state and we tried to inform the voters and the citizens that this is the right thing to do. And we’re gonna continue to do that. Um, and as you said, it’s up to public pressure to get these guys to do what they [inaudible], so.

Assistant Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D): Just a, a quick comment, too. I think as we start to see some of these hospitals start to close I think, uh, a lot of our counterparts are gonna have to rethink, uh, how they vote on this.

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): For the first time in history BJC has laid off employees. I mean, if that’s not an eye awakener I don’t know what is.

Question: Where would you like to see the minimum wage increase to? What is your, what, what’s your proposal  [inaudible]?

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): That’s Representative Roorda. Let’s let Representative Roorda  answer that, it’s his bill.

Representative Jeff Roorda (D): Thank  you, Jake. Uh, well, first of all, it’s great to be part of a team that is bringing common sense solutions to the table, uh, instead of what we heard in a very red meat speech from the Speaker today that, uh, I think folks notice that, uh, his own caucus was not excited about. We saw nothing but unenthused golf claps, uh, throughout the Speaker’s speech. And I think it’s because it’s an extreme speech, uh, that offers no bipartisan attempt to work with the Governor to pass important legislation. Uh, and I don’t think that’s reflective of the Speaker’s entire caucus, so.

To confirm what, uh, my friend and leader said, I think we’re gonna advance issues like minimum wage, House Bill 1098 was filed in early December. That seeks to raise minimum wage to eight dollars twenty-five cents per hour. Uh, for tipped employees it, it raises their percentage of minimum wage from fifty percent to sixty percent. It also, uh, doubles the damages, uh, for employees who were not, uh, paid properly under the minimum wage statutes. So, uh, it very closely mirrors the, uh, petition initiative, uh, that just fell few signatures short of getting on the ballot in November two thousand twelve. And it’s common sense legislation I think, uh, Missourians of every stripe can agree that it’s good for our state and good for our economy.

Question: Do you keep the COLA on?

Representative Jeff Roorda (D): Keep the COLA, yes.

Representative Jeff Roorda (D).

Question: Last year, uh, Representative Barnes, uh, worked on an alternate Medicaid proposal that would include, uh, a smaller increase with some, uh, market based reforms mixed in. And he’s been working on that over the, uh, since the last session ended. Is that something the House Democrats can get behind?

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): I, absolutely willing to sit down with Representative Barnes and, and discuss the proposal. I mean, the Speaker created special interim committees. So did the Senate. So tell me now why after we have been working on this the entire interim that all of a sudden they’re, it’s just not gonna be brought up. I mean, why did we waste all the taxpayers’ dollars having these interim committees if they weren’t going to do anything? And, you know, the Speaker said in his speech that he was tired of the Governor picking winners and lose, losers as he did in the Boeing proposal. Unless I’m mistaken, I could’ve swore the Speaker voted for that proposal. So, I’m confused on where he’s going with that.

Question: Question for some of your, uh, maybe for some of your members with the Education Committee. But, on the transfer issue if there comes up an opportunity to leverage that with some of the other issues that, uh, uh, Speaker Jones or the Republicans have been favorable for are there any that you can see working with or using as leverage?

Representative Genise Montecillo (D): Well, first of all, I don’t feel that we should be leveraging the children of this state on anything. They should be our number one priority. Educating our children in this state should be our number one issue that we’re addressing this session. Um, without that everything else falls by the wayside. So, no, I don’t believe that our children should be wagered. Uh, there were bills last year, I filed a bill, and, and several of us did and we were told that unless the Speaker’s legislation was moved ours wouldn’t see the light of day and it didn’t. That’s wrong. If we know something is gonna provide good education outcomes that should be a priority.

Representative Genise Montecillo (D).

Question: What would you like, do you have a proposal on the transfer law in terms of what changes you, your caucus supports on, on that law?

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): No, we don’t, we don’t have a, you know, we’ve looked at the proposal that being brought forward in the Senate. Um, we think there’s some good ground work there, think there’s some changes that probably need to be make, be made. But, um, and I’ll let Representative McNeil. She’s not here. [crosstalk] Well.

Representative Genise Montecillo (D): Representative McNeil does have, um, she’s working on legislation. She’s not present today.

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): I think there’s some common sense things that we can, we can start with. Like, I think that it’s, I think that it’s not out of the picture to say that the receiving districts can at least have some common sense way to set classroom sizes. Certainly I don’t think that they should be able to lower them they way some of them have below the number of students that they already actually have in class. Uh, but I think that there’s, there should be some reasonable expectations to, uh, take in mind classroom sizes in those proposals. And there’s some other things that we can work on, but, um, it’s a tough issue as everybody knows.

Representative Genise Montecillo (D): I think one other point to understand and, it’s worrisome to me that the Speaker said that the transfer issue doesn’t seem to be a priority for him.  Back in St. Louis we have students that already lost their teachers this year. They, when they return to school after the snow storm they are going to brand new schools. Their school has closed. I don’t, I cannot understand how that’s good, um educational policy for our children.

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): Any other questions? Okay. Thank you.

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D).

Previously: Opening of the 2014 legislative session – photos (January 8, 2014)

“…The speaker said that we need new, fresh ideas. None of those ideas were new. They were the same ones, over and over, again. All of the crazy stuff that was, uh, brought to the floor last year…”

This afternoon the House Democratic Caucus held a press conference in the House Lounge after the opening of the legislative session in Jefferson City. Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D) and Assistant Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D) started with prepared remarks.

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D).

The video:

The transcript:

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): Everybody, thank you, thank you all for being here today.  I appreciate, uh, everyone’s time.  Welcome back to, uh, session after a very brief break, um, in the news stories.  Uh, here to present our legislative priorities for this year on Elvis’ seventy-ninth birthday. Representative Mayfield wanted me to mention that in case anybody was curious.

Um, our number one issue, of course, is, is Medicaid. Uh, there’s no issue that’s before us that could be any more important. Uh, we came together in a bipartisan fashion, uh, to try and lure Boeing here, um, obviously without success. But, when you look at, at what we did, both sides of the aisle, to bring that issue to the forefront in a short time and try to create jobs in this state, it shows that we can do it.

We came together to try and create eighty-five hundred jobs in this state. We did it in record time. There is no reason whatsoever that we cannot create twenty-four thousand jobs in this state in the same manner. We’ve left twenty-four thousand jobs on the table last year. We cannot afford to do it again.

We support the Governor’s proposal to fully fund the foundation formula by twenty-seventeen. It’s been a long time coming and it’s something that we’ve needed across the state. We talk a lot about education reform in this state – it’s never about making sure that our schools and our high, higher education facilities are fully funded as they should be. That is one of our top goals for this year, is to support the Governor’s agenda.

We support a responsible fix to the school transfer issue. Uh, everyone knows that that is a, a huge problem. We think there are absolutely responsible ways that we can work together to get this issue fixed. What we don’t think is that we should be putting some of the majority’s extreme school reform issues tied to that legislation. We need to fix what’s going on right now and leave the crazy stuff to another day.

Um, we also support a raising of the Missouri minimum wage. We think that that is important to, as we talk about job creation to bring the people at the bottom of the social layer to create a living wage so that they can provide for their families to begin to crawl out of poverty. And when you talk about the problems in some of our schools what people never talk about is the problems at home. The problems of people trying to feed their families, to make sure that there’s a place for their kids to sleep at night, and get them to school on time. You can’t do that on minimum wage. Representative Roorda, um, has a bill that he’s working on to do that.

We are going to present a bill to found, uh, to, uh, implement the school transfer issue. Uh, Representative Carpenter is going to, has a bill that he’s been working on the entire interim, uh, to our tax proposal, not a tax proposal that will drive an eight hundred million dollar hole in the state budget and one that will create tax breaks for the wealthiest corporations, but one that will give tax relief to ninety-eight percent of Missourians and will be revenue neutral.

We think that all of these things can be accomplished in this session and there’s no reason that we can’t tackle these.

Um, I do want to say that I was a little disappointed in the lack of bipartisan tone that came out of the Speaker’s, um, announcement today on the floor, on his priorities. Uh, we came together in December and look what we got done for the state. Maybe it didn’t work out, but that’s what the citizens of this state expect. They expect us to work past our differences and create jobs. The speaker said that we need new, fresh ideas. None of those ideas were new. They were the same ones, over and over, again. All of the crazy stuff that was, uh, brought to the floor last year – Sharia law, uh, drones – all that stuff’s been filed again. It’s nothing new. There’s no new ways to create jobs in this state. The Speaker wants to talk about right to work. It’s amazing then that Express Scripts is adding fifteen hundred jobs in St. Louis, that Boeing is adding several hundred jobs, Ford is adding, um, a thousand jobs, General Motors is adding jobs. We’ve created forty-four thousand new jobs from January twenty-thirteen to now. Forty-four thousand. Our unemployment rate, while at six point one percent is still unacceptable, it had been below the national average for, I think, fifty-one consecutive months. We’re doing something right. Right to work is not gonna help anybody in this state, except to lower wages for the people of Missouri.

So, my Assistant Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty has, uh, something to say and then we’ll take questions.

Assistant Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D): Good afternoon. So as we go into the two thousand -fourteen session two of our top priorities will be Medicaid expansion and the school transfer law.

The expansion of Medicaid represents the largest jobs creation bill that we have seen in generations, creating twenty-four thousand jobs in the health care industry alone. Our tax dollars are already going out to other states. It’s now time for us to bring our tax dollars back home.

School transfers are, are bankrupting school districts in the St. Louis area and the Kansas City School District is destined for that same fate. We must make, we must make common sense changes to our school transfer law. Our Missouri students are entitled to a quality education regardless where they live. We won’t improve our struggling districts by putting them in bankruptcy. We must be careful not to hurt the receiving districts. These districts should have the ability to set reasonable class limits to avoid overcrowding. We must act now. We cannot hold our children hostage to advance personal agendas. We have an obligation to Missourians to move forward without getting bogged down in unrelated issues in pushing personal agendas.

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D): And one more thing,  I did forget one of our proposals. I’m sorry, I got the page turned.  Um, Representative McManus is, uh, leading our effort on ethics reform this year. It is not the same bill that we proposed last year. It is a much stronger version, uh, one that we think is, is desperately needed in the state. And he will be, he will be filing that probably either this week or the beginning of next week.

Assistant Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D).

The second regular session of the 97th General Assembly commenced at noon today in Jefferson City.

Architectural detail in the Missouri capitol building.

Expectations for any legislative accomplishment or any significant bipartisan agreement during this session have already been low.

Representative Chris Kelly (D) – the first member on the floor before the start of the session.

Speaker Timothy Jones (r) partisan remarks to the House pretty much insured that there’s not going to be any progress on legislation on a number of issues. Medicaid anyone?  

Speaker Timothy Jones (r) addressing the House.

State Auditor Tom Schweich (r) watches the proceedings in the House from a side gallery.

Representative Jill Schupp (D).

Rep. Vicki Englund (D).

Representative Chris Kelly (D).

“The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law” – noble sentiment, rarely accomplished.

And definitely not in this session of the General Assembly.

The mood throughout the day could only be described as subdued.

A detail from the Thomas Hart Benton painting in the House Lounge.

A stairwell in the Capitol.

We traveled to Jefferson City early this morning and watched from a side gallery as the House was in session.

For the most part the republican majority moved a number of bills through (calling “the previous question”) including, a House joint resolution on “the right to farm”, HJR 17 on limits on state appropriations, SJR 16 on transportation funding, SB 222 on domestic violence, SB 256 on child abuse and neglect, SB 252 on the Department of Revenue (no cap on damages when suing the Department of Revenue? Seriously). The afternoon session included SB 236, on the Highway Patrol Fund – more on that later.

Representative Jill Schupp (D).

Representative Jeremy LaFaver (D).

Representative Genise Montecillo (D).

Representative Margo McNeil (D) (left).

Representative Jill Schupp (D).

Greeting guests in the side gallery.

Stained Glass in the House chamber above the press gallery.

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D).

Representative Chris Kelly (D) speaking to broadcast media in the corridor after the morning session.

SB 236 is a result of the fallout from the purchase of an aircraft. The House truly agreed summary of the bill:

SB 236 — HIGHWAY PATROL VEHICLE FUND [pdf]

Currently, the Highway Patrol’s Motor Vehicle, Aircraft, and Watercraft Revolving Fund, which is administered by the Superintendent of the Highway Patrol, includes funds received and used for the purchase of Highway Patrol vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft.

This bill requires the fund to include money received and used for the purchase and maintenance of vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft. In addition, the bill requires the Highway Patrol to receive a specific appropriation from the General Assembly before obligating any funds for the purchase of an individual unit that costs more than $100,000.

Representative Diane Franklin (r), handling SB 236 on the Highway Patrol Fund.

Elizabeth Crisp ‏@elizabethcrisp

House is back. Taking up SB236 on the Hwy Patrol revolving fund. Legislation came about following purchase of $5.6M plane #MOleg

2:01 PM – 14 May 13

The debate included references to the previous aircraft purchase, with Representative Mike Colona (D) labeling the $100,000 limit without legislative approval a “temper tantrum” amendment.

Representative Mike Colona (D).

Minority Floor Leader Jacob Hummel (D).

Today, via twitter, on relief for Hurricane/Super Storm Sandy:

MrJM ‏@misterjayem

RT @ForecastFacts Every R in AZ, CO, GA, IA, ID, KS, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, NV, OR, SC, SD, TN, UT, WI, WY voted against #Sandy relief. 8:15 PM – 15 Jan 13

The vote in the U.S. House of Representatives:

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 23

     H R 152      YEA-AND-NAY      15-Jan-2013      7:25 PM

     QUESTION:  On Passage

     BILL TITLE: Making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes

               Yeas     Nays   NV

Republican 49      179      4

Democratic 192     1        7

—- YEAS    241 —

Clay

—- NAYS    180 —

Graves (MO)

Hartzler

Long

Luetkemeyer

Wagner

—- NOT VOTING    11 —

Cleaver

Emerson

[emphasis added]

In your backyard:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): What, no hot meals? (May 26, 2011)

….Homes and businesses in Sedalia, Missouri, in the 4th Congressional, were damaged in yesterday’s tornado outbreak. The 4th Congressional District is represented by freshman Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) who has been silent about House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (r) demand for budget offsets as a condition for the approval of disaster relief in Joplin, Missouri after Sunday’s devastating tornado.

Lo and behold, via Twitter:

@RepHartzler Rep. Vicky Hartzler

Just talked to Dave Clippart, Pettis Co.Emergency Mgmt. Dir. He confirmed substantial damage from today’s tornado & some injuries. 21 hours ago

@RepHartzler Rep. Vicky Hartzler

I have offered whatever help I can after the tornado. I stand ready to help. Will continue to pray for all Missouri storm victims. 21 hours ago

“…I have offered whatever help I can after the tornado. I stand ready to help…”

Does that include advocating for federal disaster relief? Or just a hot meal? Just asking.

Others are, too:

@Psyched55 Dr. Connie S.

@RepHartzler I hope your help includes votes that keep aide intact for those who are suffering rather then putting stipulations on such aide 20 hours ago

@aprillivings April Livings

@RepHartzler: Does that help include making sure that all aid is offset by spending cuts? Aid should not be held up by politics. 15 hours ago

Really, without the republican majority’s insistence on budgetary reductions in times of need we wouldn’t be able to protect those windfall tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. And that wouldn’t be fair at all, would it?

And, the representative from Joplin?:

A Foe Of Big Government Seeks Aid For Joplin

by Frank Morris

September 23, 2011 12:01 AM

Billy Long is a Tea Party stalwart who ran for Congress as a man fed up with Washington.

Long won in a landslide and now represents Joplin, Mo., where he fired up a Tea Party crowd in April pretending to auction off the national debt.

Five weeks later, Long was back in Joplin, this time in the dark and rain, surveying the aftermath of an apocalyptic tornado. And this time, the federal government was his friend….

….What followed, Long says, has been a superb relief effort.

“The president came in, he was great. [Homeland Security Secretary] Janet Napolitano came in, she’s been great,” he says. “[House Minority] Leader Pelosi came up to me on the floor, hugged me and said, ‘Billy, anything the people of Joplin need they’ll have.’ ”

And that’s just what they’ve gotten: FEMA has spent close to $100 million on the cleanup, and an additional $19 million plus on rent and home repairs….

It must depend on where your backyard is.

We’ve been covering the retail politics Gary Grigsby’s (D) 51st Legislative District campaign. Last night he advanced to the general election, garnering two thirds of the vote in his primary race.

Gary Grigsby (D) at the Johnson County Courthouse last night getting results by phone from the two other counties in the 51st Legislative District.

Via the Missouri Secretary of State:

Office / Candidate Name Votes % of Votes

State Representative – District 51 (22 of 22 Precincts Reported)

Gary L. Grigsby DEM 1,303 66.9%

Raymond F. Kinney DEM 646 33.1%

Dean A. Dohrman REP 2,588 100%

Bill Wayne LIB 26 100%

Total Votes 4,563

[emphasis added]

Previously:

Gary Grigsby (D) in the 51st Legislative District: retail politics (August 4, 2012)

Signs: Party, what party? (July 14, 2012)

Interview with Gary Grigsby (D), candidate in the 51st Legislative District (May 26, 2012)

Today is the next to last day of the legislative session. The House convened at 10:00 a.m. and we were there. We had the opportunity to speak with Representatives Jill Schupp (D), Mary Still (D), Jason Holsman (D), Jason Kander (D) (among several others) as well as Senators Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D) (yes, she knows Show Me Progress) and David Pearce (r).

The morning session in the House was spent loading up amendments in to Senate bills. Apparently, having twenty-five bills in conference (with the Senate and the House) in the final two days of the session is close to some kind of record.

The House.

Jason Kander ‏@JasonKander

This is how legislators seek recognition to offer amendments on House floor: http://ow.ly/i/DhYV 11:42 AM – 17 May 12

Synchronicity:

Representative Jill Schupp (D) waiting to be recognized.

Representative Mary Still (D).

Minority Floor Leader Mike Talboy (D).

Majority Floor Leader Timothy Jones (r) (at the microphone).

Minority Caucus Secretary Sara Lampe (D) (left) and Assistant Minority Floor Leader Tishaura Jones (D) (right).

Speaker Steve Tilley (r) (center).

Of course, when the General Assembly is in session there are always a number of school and other groups in the building to watch the sausage making and escalate the level of activity in the hallways.

Parents and other friends photographing their children seated on the interior entry steps to the Capitol.

We journeyed to Jefferson City this morning, checked in at the House Communications Office and then set up our still cameras in a side gallery. Over the course of the morning session we had conversations with Representatives Joe Aull (D), Jason Kander (D), Chris Kelly (D), Jill Schupp (D) and Mary Still (D). Representative Denny Hoskins (r) crossed the aisle and we had a lengthy conversation in the side gallery about redistricting and its aftermath, the budget, revenues, and HB 1229.  

Speaker Steve Tilley (r) at the dais.

Stained glass above the press gallery and dais in the House chamber.

Representative Jill Schupp (D-82).

Old media in the press gallery above the dais. There’s a lot of space up there, but not very many people occupying it anymore.

 One gets the feeling that the paradigm has been changing and it isn’t finished just yet.

Debate across the aisle.

Representative Stephen Webber (D-23).

Representative Mary Still (D-25).

Minority Floor Leader Mike Talboy (D-37)(left) and Speaker Steve Tilley (r)(right) in conversation at the back of the House chamber.

After the noon recess in the House we encountered American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Communications Workers of America (CWA) members with signs marching to the Capitol steps. After a few cheers the union members were instructed to leave their signs in a pile for collection before the went into the building. Later in the afternoon we encountered small groups in the halls  and offices speaking to individual members of the House.

Which side are you on? Which side are you on?

As the AFSCME, CWA and SEIU members gathered in front of the steps Representative Mark Parkinson (r) was exiting the building. We greeted each other and had a pleasant enough conversation. Apparently, Representative Parkinson believes public workers should be happier then they are.