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MISSOURI SENATE COMMUNICATIONS
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 1 of 48
Shields predicts successes in last two weeks
JEFFERSON CITY NEWS TRIBUNE
By Bob Watson
Although the legislative session is over in two weeks, state Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St.
Joseph, said that‘s plenty of time to pass major legislation. ―You know, two weeks in the legislative process is an
eternity,‖ he said last week. ―There‘s a big education bill out there that we‘re working on. I think we‘ll get that
done. ―To get the budget done on time, that will be a big task (and) the bill that contains all the federal stimulus
money.‖ The Constitution requires lawmakers to finish the state budget by 6 p.m. Friday.
House Bill 1, the bill taking care of the state‘s debt, already has cleared both houses and is ready for the
governor to consider.
But the conference committee last week still was working on the other dozen bills that make up the operating
budget for the state business year that starts July 1.
Once they agree on the budget language in those bills, both the chambers must endorse the compromises.
―I think we‘ll get the budget done without using any extreme measures,‖ Shields predicted.
In some ways, Shields said, the budget debate has been complicated by the federal stimulus package
Congress approved in February, and the extra money it provides to various state programs.
Still waiting for a solution is the economic development/jobs bill that Gov. Jay Nixon and legislative leaders
have said is a priority this year.
Nixon regularly urges lawmakers to pass a jobs bill, noting Missouri now has more than a quarter-million
people out of work.
Nixon‘s plan builds on the Quality Jobs Act championed several years ago by his Republican predecessor,
Matt Blunt.
But the Senate remains locked up in a debate over including tax credit reforms.
Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, wants the Legislature to make state tax credits be subject to
appropriations, allowing lawmakers to control how much money is spent each year on the credits.
Other senators want those credits to have mandatory spending limits and/or sunsets where the General
Assembly could kill or continue them.
And still others want no limits at all — especially on historic preservation credits they say have helped revive
many communities in the state.
―My goal would be to leave as many options open as possible‖ for the final weeks of negotiation, Shields told
colleagues Thursday during a brief debate over the status of several bills that, ultimately, could be the final
measure sent to the governor.
On the Web : www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 2 of 48
St. Louis Could Become Air Cargo Hub For China
VIPs From China Visited St. Louis This Weekend
by Teresa Woodard
May 3, 2009
ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com)
The answer to St. Louis's economic crisis could, potentially, lie in international hands. A serious push is
underway to turn St. Louis into an air cargo hub for China, which would mean jobs and money for the city.
Missouri's governor made a sales pitch to a delegation of VIPs from China Sunday.
"We think there's a lot of positives for St. Louis, Missouri, and America," says Governor Jay Nixon. "I think it
could really happen.
About 55 government and business leaders from China spent the weekend in St. Louis. Nixon met with them
Sunday afternoon, at a luncheon at Express Scripts in North St. Louis County. There is a reason the delegation
saw the Express Scripts facility, and the Danforth Plant Science Center.
"They have a huge problem with the cost of drugs in their country," says the governor. "The company here has
done a wonderful job bringing those costs down. The Danforth Plant Center they visited this morning is literally
the place in the world where research is being done to make a difference for the future.."
The delegation ate lunch in the Express Scripts lunchroom, listening on headphones as a translator explained
the reasons their country should build an air cargo hub in St. Louis, and the reasons their businesses should
build their American headquarters here too.
Through a translator the leader of the delegation told the governor and others she feels enthusiasm and
hospitality in St. Louis. It's her second visit to the city, and this time she brought individual business leaders with
her. Just that fact says something to the governor.
"It begins to cement the relationship so we can take our products, technology, the opportunities we provide the
world and literally have a world export for them," says Nixon, "and hopefully to get travel direct back and forth
between us and their country."
Missouri and China signed a memorandum of understanding last year, and Nixon says he hopes this visit builds
on that relationship. It is not a done deal, though. The delegation is also considering Washington, DC and
Chicago as headquarters.
On the Web : www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 3 of 48
Carnahan claims thousands to be
disenfranchised from voting
Dennis Sharkey, Richmond Daily News Editor
05-04-2009
Secretary of State Robin Carnahan says a resolution passed by two House committees could disenfranchise up
to 230,000 Missouri voters.
Carnahan released a statement on Tuesday that outlined a study her office conducted on House Joint
Resolution 9 that would ask voters to approve an amendment to the constitution requiring photo identification to
vote. The resolution is sponsored by Rep. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia and co-sponsored by Rep. Bob Nance, R-
Excelsior Springs.
To compile the list of voters, the Missouri Centralized Voter Registration Database was compared with the Driver
and Non-Driver License information maintained by the Department of Revenue according to the statement. The
list includes any registered voters who lack state-issued photo identification or had one that had expired prior to
2009.
According to Carnahan‘s figures, 479 voters in Ray County could be affected.The amendment would provide
free government issued photo ID cards to voters, but Carnahan says the documents needed to obtain the ID can
be hard or expensive to obtain.
In the statement Carnahan refers to a 25-year-old man from Jefferson City, Greg Butler, as a perfect example of
someone who would be denied the right to vote.
―I have my Illinois birth certificate, but I was turned away because it doesn‘t have a raised seal,‖ Butler said in the
statement released by Carnahan. ―I‘m trying to get a new copy from Illinois, but the process is complicated. If this
passed, I‘m worried that I wouldn‘t be able to vote in Missouri.‖
Carnahan said her office also did a random manually checked sample of 500 voters that revealed the list had an
error rate of approximately 4 percent, due to name changes, misspelled names, or nickname usage.
―It‘s my job to protect the rights of all Missouri voters,‖ Carnahan said. ―This proposal would make it difficult or
impossible for thousands of eligible Missourians to cast a ballot. I hope our legislators will take a closer look at
this list and see that there are people in communities all over the state who risk being disenfranchised by this
proposal.‖
Nance said yesterday that in 2006 voter ID was approved by the voters but was declared unconstitutional.
Nance said the state was going to go out in vans to remote areas, nursing homes and senior centers to get
identification to the voters.
Furthermore, Nance said there are provisions in the amendment that would include military people and their
families.
―It‘s got safeguards in it,‖ Nance said. ―Anybody that wants to vote can sign up to vote.‖
Carnahan is serving in her second term as Secretary of State and recently announced her intentions to seek the
Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that is being vacated by Sen. Kit Bond in 2010.
The resolution still faces a full House vote.
On the Web : www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 4 of 48
Today could be Metro's big day -- or not
Michael Calhoun Reporting
ST. LOUIS (KMOX News) -- Metro, the regional transit authority, might get $20 million in emergency funding
from Jefferson City this week. It might only get $12 million.
Or it might get nothing.
Speaker of the House Ron Richard tells KMOX it all depends on budget negotiations.
The last attempt for emergency funding, he says, failed for reasons not related to the St. Louis transit agency.
But that's not to say the so-called bail-out doesn't face an up-hill climb.
"Sometimes you get what you deserve, which is if the vote if no then it ought to be no," Richard said, explaining
the opposition. "Then others, like myself, know there's a number of people having trouble getting to work, getting
to shop, getting to healthcare, that we ought to prove some support."
Facing a $50 million budget shortfall, Metro laid off hundreds of workers and slashed bus and train service
earlier this year. The deadline for the legislature to pass a budget is Friday night at 6 o'clock.
"I suspect if I can get anything for Metro, it'd be appreciated," Richard said.
On the Web : www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 5 of 48
Phone fee changes hung up in Mo.
Senate
Monday, May 4, 2009
By DAVID A. LIEB ~ The Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Think your telephone bill is too high? Your phone company might agree.
For every minute on many long-distance calls you make, your phone company is paying another phone
company for your privilege to chat. Some telecommunications companies think they are being charged too much
by their rivals.
The debate over telephone "access fees" has become hung up in the Missouri Legislature this year. Lawmakers
representing the interests of their local phone service providers such as AT&T, CenturyTel and Embarq have
been unable to agree on a plan to adjust the rates that companies charge each other.
"The whole issue is kind of an inside baseball issue. It's difficult for the average consumer to grasp how this
would really impact their day-to-day life," said Rick Telthorst, president of the Missouri Telecommunications
Industry Association.
"But in a general sense, yes, it would," he added. "Anything that creates pressure on prices or generates savings
to certain [telephone] carriers could have consequences for customers -- good and bad consequences."
That's the main reason the bill ran into a Senate filibuster last week.
Some senators believe the legislation, which would force a gradual reduction in Missouri's intrastate phone
access fees, could benefit customers of AT&T and wireless providers such as Verizon Communications Inc. and
Sprint Nextel Corp. They fear it could cost the customers of other local phone service providers such as
CenturyTel Inc. and Embarq Corp.
"The impact of it is my constituent's phone bill is going to be raised," said Sen. Delbert Scott, R-Lowry City, one
of the filibustering senators whose western Missouri district is served partly by CenturyTel and Embarq.
Telephone access fees vary by company.
For example, AT&T charges 3 cents a minute to connect a Missouri caller served by another company to one of
its AT&T Missouri customers, according to information from the Missouri Public Service Commission. CenturyTel
and Embarq each charge 9 cents a minute, according to the PSC.
Some smaller phone companies charge even more. The PSC said the highest intrastate access rate is 21 cents
a minute, levied by the Miller Telephone Co. to reach one of its 950 phone lines in rural southwest Missouri.
Missouri's access fees for in-state phone calls are among the highest in the nation. They also are considerably
higher than the federally set rate of about one-half cent a minute charged by the biggest telephone companies
for calls made from one state to another.
Legislation by Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, would have required Missouri's predominant local phone service
providers -- AT&T, CenturyTel, Embarq and Windstream Corp. -- to gradually lower their intrastate access
charges over five years to the rates already in place for interstate calls.
But Lager's bill got hung up in an early April debate.
So last week, Sen. John Griesheimer, R-Washington, put forth an attempted compromise requiring a gradual
five-year rate reduction that would have closed half the gap between Missouri's in-state access fees and the
national interstate access charges.
On the Web : www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 6 of 48
But that version also got hung up, and senators again set aside the legislation without voting.
Griesheimer said about two-thirds of his eastern Missouri district is served by AT&T and the rest by smaller
companies.
"For those of us in the urban areas, we're subsidizing a lot of these rural phone companies," he said. "It's not
right."
One reason why the company-to-company access fees are high in rural Missouri is because the rates charged to
customers for their basic local phone service generally are low.
The PSC originally set those fees at a time when all local telephone companies were monopolies, as a means of
partially covering a company's costs without shifting them directly to customers.
But company-to-company access charges still indirectly affect customer service or bills.
If lawmakers were to force an access fee reduction, some phone companies would have fewer costs, potentially
allowing them to reduce customer rates. But other phone companies would receive less revenue, potentially
forcing them to raise customer rates, drop certain perks from bundled service packages or cut back on their
infrastructure investment for high-speed Internet.
The fight between competing company and customer interests might be done for the current legislative session,
which ends May 15. AT&T confirmed Friday that it is no longer urging lawmakers to bring up the legislation.
But if nothing passes this year, the access fee debate may very well be back in 2010.
On the Web : www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 7 of 48
Proposal to regulate pre-paid funerals
bogs down
BY VIRGINIA YOUNG
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/04/2009
JEFFERSON CITY — Legislation to strengthen government oversight of the prepaid funeral business zipped
through the Missouri Senate in February, but the bill has been moribund in the House ever since.
The sticking point is an amendment sought by a group of about 80 funeral home owners who have lost millions
of dollars from the collapse of Clayton-based National Prearranged Services.
The group, called Consumer Funeral Assurance, is lobbying to give funeral home owners the power to handpick
the funeral directors who sit on the board that regulates the industry.
Sen. Delbert Scott, the bill's sponsor, opposes the amendment. He said it is designed to lead to a public bailout
of funeral homes' losses from the NPS debacle.
The group pushing for the amendment represents less than one-fourth of the state's roughly 350 funeral homes
but includes some of the homes that lost the most.
"There's no reason the rest of the funeral homes and the people of Missouri should have to make up losses of
people who made bad business decisions," said Scott, R-Lowry City.
Under the proposed amendment, funeral home owners would select three nominees in each of the state's nine
congressional districts. The governor would appoint one person from each slate to the Board of Embalmers and
Funeral Directors. The governor would tap a 10th person unrelated to the industry to represent the public.
J. Scott Lindley, a Chillicothe, Mo., funeral home owner, leads the group pushing for the amendment. He said
funeral directors have the most at stake in prepaid plans because funeral homes must provide the contracted
services, even if the money set aside falls short. In other words, the owners have an incentive to make sure
prepaid plans are fully funded.
But key legislators who have worked on the bill for several years oppose the amendment, which is being
sponsored by Rep. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield. The amendment's critics said it would kill the legislation, derailing
consumer protections such as provisions for random audits.
"It seems like the ones behind it are the ones who lost a lot of money with NPS," said the House bill handler,
Rep. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa. "I have complete sympathy for them, but I can't make this bill about them."
The House is expected to take up the bill early this week. Only two weeks remain in the legislative session, and
any differences in the House and Senate versions would have to be reconciled before the bill is sent to the
governor.
Bills beefing up oversight of prepaid funeral contracts have been filed for years, but they have always gotten
sidelined. Some legislators thought this year would be different because the NPS saga brought the problems
front and center.
Nearly $100 million in prepaid funerals are sold every year in Missouri. Basically, buyers pay for a funeral in
advance. The seller can keep up to 20 percent of the money. The firm can invest the remaining proceeds in a
wide variety of financial products and keep the interest.
On the Web : www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 8 of 48
NPS sold prepaid funeral contracts backed by life insurance polices underwritten by two sister companies. That
empire fell apart last year, when a Texas court found the NPS companies were insolvent and ordered their
liquidation.
Funeral homes say they are still honoring the contracts. The Missouri Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Fund
is picking up part of the cost. The fund pays funeral homes the face value of the NPS contract — without any
accumulated interest that was intended to cover inflationary increases.
As of last month, the fund had paid 1,724 claims by Missouri funeral homes. The tab: $6.8 million. An additional
757 claims for $2.8 million were pending.
Assessments on life insurance companies provide the money, but in the end, the state pays the tab because the
companies deduct those assessments from their premium taxes.
Sen. Scott said Lindley's group has floated the idea of a surcharge on death certificates or a surcharge on
prepaid funeral plans to help offset the rest of the NPS contract costs. Scott said those ideas won't fly.
"These guys are hurting," Scott said. "I have a lot of sympathy for them. But I don't think the solution is to take it
from everybody else."
To ensure funeral plans are better run in the future, Scott's bill would give the state the power to do random
audits on sellers and to act quickly to discipline firms when problems turn up.
Legislators also want to require that at least 85 percent of the money paid for the contract be put in trust.
"This is a great compromise," said Rep. Tim Meadows, D-Imperial, who has pushed for several years for such
safeguards. "We need oversight and we need audits."
Lindley has been working the Capitol's halls on behalf of his amendment. His group hired prominent Jefferson
City lawyer Harvey Tettlebaum, who authored the current funeral home law 27 years ago, and lobbyists Fred
Dreiling and Richard Doherty.
Lindley said his argument is simple. By giving funeral home owners more say, "you've got the people who are
actually going to be harmed making sure this doesn't happen" again.
But not all funeral home owners agree with Lindley's approach.
Sue Heckart, who owns Heckart Funeral Home in Sedalia, Mo., served on the state regulatory board from 1987
to 1993. She said those seeking the amendment "made a bad business decision, so they're trying to make the
rest of us pay for their mistake. And ultimately, it's going to affect the consumer."
(The bill is SB1.)
On the Web : www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 9 of 48
Amtrak study still chugging along
ST. JOSEPH NEWS-PRESS by Alyson E. Raletz
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Missouri House raised eyebrows last week with a surprise rejection of a $336 million federal stimulus bill,
but hope remains for a chance at passenger rail service to St. Joseph.
The defeated stimulus bill would have included $328,169 for the construction of a solarium at a veterans home in
Cameron.
However, Northwest Missouri saw some attention in a smaller stimulus bill the House endorsed last week.
HB 21 uses about $2.4 million in federal money. The proposal slates $100,000 for a feasibility study of an
Amtrak line between Kansas City and Omaha, Neb. Missouri stops would include St. Joseph, Weston and
Parkville.
Rep. Dr. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, successfully amended a prior budget bill to include the Amtrak study money,
but that bill now is defunct. The new bill, HB 21, from House Budget Chairman Allen Icet, included the $100,000
as part of an $11 million item for the development of high-speed intercity rail projects.
Dr. Schaaf attempted to clear up some language and move the money to a different line item in case the specific
mention of the Omaha-Kansas City study precludes the Missouri Department of Transportation from being
eligible for the stimulus grant. But House members rejected his motions.
The bill moves to the Senate this week.
Weston woman on MWSU board of governors
As Missouri Western State University attempts a more regional pull, so will its board of governors.
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Gov. Jay Nixon‘s nomination of a Weston woman to the St. Joseph
university‘s governing board.
Former Gov. Matt Blunt in December recommended Diza Eskridge, a 67-year-old Democrat, to the seat, but the
Senate didn‘t confirm the nomination before the next administration. Mr. Nixon opted to stick with Mr. Blunt‘s
pick, a former Platte County commissioner.
―It‘s important we have representation from Platte County,‖ Sen. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, told senators
during her confirmation last week in the Capitol.
He said her presence would help in the university‘s overall goal to appeal to a broader student base.
After being defeated in a 2000 commissioner election, Ms. Eskridge worked for the city of Weston for three
years, focusing on economic development.
―As we try to make that connection between higher education and economic development, she‘ll be a
(tremendous) asset,‖ Mr. Shields said.
Ms. Eskridge said she earned a business degree from the University of Missouri, but she attended summer
teaching classes at Western in the 1970s, Her term ends Oct. 29, 2014.
On the Web : www.senate.mo.gov/sencom – Telephone : (573) 751-3824
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C o l l e c t e d / A r c h i v e d f o r M o n d a y , M a y 4 , 2 0 0 9 -- Page 10 of 48
Missouri legislators reach out to
constituents via YouTube
SPRINGFIELD NEWS-LEADER By Chad Livengood
Inside Missouri Politics blog
JEFFERSON CITY — Instead of writing weekly columns, some Missouri lawmakers have turned to YouTube to
distribute their weekly message to constituents.
Speaker Ron Richard
House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin,
http://www.house.mo.gov/pr/Video/Speaker/CapitolReport430.wmv">released the following video about the
House's 1/2-percent tax cut (which I converted to YouTube for easier viewing):
http://www.youtube.com/v/762glv_OFUM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca">http://www.youtub
e.com/v/762glv_OFUM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">
Rep. Steven Tilley
House Majority Leader Steven Tilley, R-Perryville, posted this video Thursday following the end of last week's
session:
http://www.youtube.com/v/SQXOstOvH7k&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca">http://www.youtub
e.com/v/SQXOstOvH7k&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-
flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">
Rep. Rob Schaaf
Rep. Rob Schaaf, a St. Joseph Republican, posted this video message on Thursday:
http://www.youtube.com/v/GxydixjycfQ&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca">http://www.youtube.c
om/v/GxydixjycfQ&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">
Rep. Eric Burlison
It appears that freshman state Rep. Eric Burlison started the trend halfway through the legislation session with
this YouTube video message:
http://www.youtube.com/v/puIVK_4vT84&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca">http://www.youtube
.com/v/puIVK_4vT84&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">
Burlison, R-Springfield, has more http://www.facebook.com/people/Eric-Burlison/544766512">video messages
posted on his Facebook page.
Rep. Bryan Pratt
House Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs, also has video reports on his
http://www.youtube.com/user/BryanPratt">YouTube and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bryan-
Pratt/53645988939">Facebook pages.
On March 26, Pratt posted his first two videos:
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http://www.youtube.com/v/byymdoEzUuQ&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca">http://www.youtub
e.com/v/byymdoEzUuQ&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-
flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">
http://www.youtube.com/v/k3H_JabQ1vY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca">http://www.youtub
e.com/v/k3H_JabQ1vY&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">
Of course, if you prefer to watch Missouri politicians answer questions from the Capitol press corps, statehouse
reporter Jason Rosenbaum has a http://www.youtube.com/user/jasonrosenbaum">vast collection of videos on
his YouTube site and http://jasonrosenbaum.typepad.com/">blog, Capitol Calling.
Are There More?
Communications staffers in the House and Senate said they weren't even aware that Tilley, Pratt, Schaaf and
Burlison were posting these videos on YouTube and Facebook.
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Justus takes bus to Iowa where same-
sex marriage is legal to marry partner
Missouri state Sen. Jolie Justus of Kansas City on Friday boarded a bus for Iowa where same-sex marriage is
legal to wed her partner of nearly two years, the Democratic senator said Sunday.
Justus said she married Shonda Garrison of mid-Missouri at a ceremony in Iowa City.
The two were one of 17 couples mostly from the St. Louis area that took advantage of the recent Iowa Supreme
Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the Hawkeye State. Missouri does not recognize same-sex
marriages, meaning that the marriage carries no legal weight back home in Kansas City.
The couples boarded a bus early Friday morning to make the trek to Iowa. Also on the bus were clergy members
who came along to perform the ceremonies.
Justus, 38, said Friday was one of the best days of her life, but it also was bittersweet because of the marriage's
non-standing in Missouri.
"We felt, though, that it was important that we be able to make that commitment to each other," Justus said. "My
hope is that someday marriage will be recognized by Missouri and federally."
In 2004, Missouri passed a constitutional amendment that defines marraige as between a man and a woman.
Justus announced the union on her Facebook page. She said she had known Garrison, also 38, since their days
in elementary school in Branson. The two also attended junior and senior high together, but hadn't seen each
other for about 20 years until a couple of years ago.
Gay marriage is now recognized in three states, Justus said: Iowa, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Maine
and New Hampshire legislatures are considering measures that would legalize it.
Justus, a freshman senator, said she wasn't sure what the political response to her decision would be.
"I thought about it long and hard beofre making the decision to go ahead," she said. So far, she added, the level
of support has been overwhelming.
What happens down the road, though, is unclear.
"You never an tell what political fallout there will be," Justus said.
Submitted by Steve Kraske KC STAR PRIME BUZZ BLOG
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States consider 'Silver Alerts' for missing
adults
By STEPHANIE REITZ/The Associated Press
May 4, 2009 | 12:01 a.m. CDT
MONTVILLE, Conn. — Frail retiree Thomas Drew was 91 and suffering from dementia when, clad in a maroon
sweatshirt and jeans, he disappeared from his home in rural northwest Connecticut.
Drew hasn't been seen since that warm Saturday afternoon in July 2007, an example of the perils facing millions
of Americans living with dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other mental impairments.
Now, several states and Congress are considering alert systems to notify the public when a cognitively impaired
adult like Drew goes missing or wanders away. Called "Silver Alerts," they are modeled on the Amber Alerts
issued to prompt widespread publicity about missing children.
As baby boomers age and dementia diagnoses are skyrocketing, Missouri and 14 other states have adopted
Silver Alert systems. Lawmakers in several others — including New Hampshire, Tennessee and Wisconsin —
are considering them.
Connecticut's state Senate approved a bill Thursday to set up such a system, sending it to the state House for a
vote. On the same day, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed his state's Silver Alert program into law.
A measure to set up a national Silver Alert system also has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and
awaits Senate action.
How the system works
Supporters say the goal is simple: spreading the word as quickly and widely as possible when an impaired adult
wanders away so he or she can be returned to safety.
In many states, it involves flashing the person's face on electronic billboards; working with broadcasters to
spread his or her description; and posting messages on highway traffic-incident signs and state lottery ticket
terminals.
The Chicago-based Alzheimer's Association says 5.3 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's disease,
including 5.1 million of them ages 65 and older. And with baby boomers aging, , there's a new case about every
70 seconds, the association says.
About six of every 10 Alzheimer's and dementia patients will wander away from their caregivers at least once,
with only limited mental ability to explain their predicament to strangers or find their way home.
"The biggest thing is that to find somebody, it takes bodies, people — and there's not always enough law
enforcement to do that. This recruits so many extra sets of eyes," said Montville resident Herbert Hicks, who
testified before Connecticut lawmakers this year for the proposal.
Experiences of caretakers
For Hicks and millions of other caretakers nationwide, the issue goes beyond statistics.
Frontal lobe dementia transformed his wife, Betty, in less than three years from a savvy bank executive to a
restless woman who talked plaintively of wanting to "go home," though she was sitting at her own kitchen table.
Her attempts to wander away prompted Hicks to retire early from his firefighting career, hire caretakers and
install special locks on their doors to keep her inside until her death in April at age 68.
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Although they had what Hicks calls "a few interesting experiences in the yard" as she was caught and diverted
inside, others haven't been so lucky.
Drew was popular in his small town of Salisbury, where "missing/endangered person" signs featuring his face
and description still hang in some stores and the library.
Searchers returned to the region as recently as April 25, finding no sign of the retired fashion designer.
What if?
Police and his family often wonder whether Drew, who was so frail he could barely walk in church without
gripping each pew, may have been picked up by a stranger in a vehicle — a stranger who, if a Silver Alert had
been in effect, may have known that his passenger was the subject of a frantic search.
A few towns away, Litchfield still mourns the 1999 disappearance of James Garris, an 80-year-old Alzheimer's
patient who wandered away from a convalescent home on one of the year's hottest days. Like Drew, his body
has never been found.
Allison Drew, one of Thomas Drew's two daughters, said they are unsure whether they will ever have answers,
but that her experience leads her to fully support Silver Alerts.
"I don't know what happened to my father or how he came to be missing, but basically all we know for sure is
that he's not there," said Drew, a professor who lives in the United Kingdom community of York and frequently
returns to Connecticut.
"Any system that would provide information would be a great idea to help if someone who's a vulnerable person
is missing," she said. "Who's to know if it would have helped in my father's case, but I think it definitely would be
helpful in general."
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Probation, fine recommended for Lori
Drew in cyber-harassment case
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/04/2009
A presentence report recommends probation and a $5,000 fine for Lori Drew on three misdemeanors linked to
the online harassment of a teenage neighbor in Dardenne Prairie who committed suicide, court documents
show.
Drew's lawyer, H. Dean Steward, filed a brief Sunday that revealed the recommendation. Sentencing is
scheduled for May 18 in federal court in Los Angeles for Drew, convicted by a jury Nov. 26 of criminal violations
of the terms of service of the MySpace social networking site. The maximum penalty would be three years
behind bars.
The case is in California, where MySpace is based. The same jury rejected three felony counts and deadlocked
on a fourth, which prosecutors have asked be dismissed.
Officials said Megan Meier, 13, hanged herself at home in 2006 after a reading of a MySpace posting suggesting
that the world would be better off without her. The posting was by a boy that was an invention of Drew and
others, who were trying to learn what Megan was saying about Drew's daughter. The charges did not allege that
Drew was responsible for Megan's death.
Prosecutors can respond to Steward's filing, in which he urges that the convictions be dismissed and otherwise
tells District Judge George Wu:
— Probation is "reasonable" but the fine is not, given that Drew was forced to abandon her business and that her
family of four lives on her husband's income "which does not cover expenses each month."
— Megan's mother and family should be barred from testifying at Drew's sentencing since MySpace, not Megan,
was the victim of the crime.
— Drew did not know until after Megan's death that the teen had suffered from depression.
— Drew's employee, Ashley Grills, who was not charged and who testified for the prosecution, created the
fictional Josh Evans and Drew "later merely glanced at the first page of the profile..."
—Drew was subjected to "vicious and non-stop" harassment and vandalism that caused her to move from her
home in O'Fallon, Mo., several months ago.
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Truman Days refrain: Democrats want back
Missouri House
Missouri Democrats expressed one sentiment so often Saturday night that the words practically were echoing off
the walls at the downtown Hyatt by night's end.
"We want the House back."
As in, the Missouri House of Representatives that's been in Republican hands since 2002.
Democrats need eight seats to regain the majority.
"If there's one present you all could give me here in the state this year, it'd be a speaker of the House," Gov. Jay
Nixon declared at Truman Days, the annual gala of the Jackson County Democratic Party.
Although Democrats have had success at the statewide level with U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, Nixon, Secretary
of State Robin Carnahan, Attorney General Chris Koster, state Treasurer Clint Zweifel and state Auditor
Susan Montee, they have struggled with the General Assembly. Republicans actually gained seats in the state
Senate last year.
While regaining the House is key for Democrats, the other popular sentiment Saturday night was Carnahan's
upcoming race for the U.S. Senate, a seat that could wind up padding what appears to be the Democrats'
filibuster-proof 60-vote edge.
"There's so much that needs to be done," Carnahan told the crowd.
McCaskill warned against overconfidence.
"There is a danger here," she said. "The danger here is we think it's going to be easy."
Once Carnahan wins, McCaskill added, "we will have done the hat trick," a reference to victories for both U.S.
Senate seats and governor.
Keynote speaker was two-term Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. She regaled the crowd with a story about
the livelier partying in the White House under President Obama compared to President Bush. Bush would
entertain with performers like Marvin Hamlisch. Obama's choice for music at a recent governors' function:
Earth, Wind and Fire.
"Change had come," Granholm said about that choice.
Oh, the Truman Days banquet crowd hit about 500, pretty healthy for a non-election year.
"This is not even an election year and look at this," Carnahan said as she gazed out into the crowd as she began
her talk.
Nixon, in a brief interview, said he think the Legislature can get its work done by May 15 and that a special
session won't be needed. And he said he's proud of the less partisan atmosphere in Jeff City this year.
He popped a quip about his four-term tenure as attorney general, calling himself "the eternal general."
Submitted by Steve Kraske KC STAR PRIME BUZZ BLOG
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4 new probable swine flu cases in Mo.
Monday, May 04, 2009
By BILL DRAPER
Associated Press Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouri health officials say four more probable cases of swine flu have been
discovered in the Kansas City metropolitan area, including three in northern Platte County linked to an in-home
day care center.
The Department of Health and Senior Services said Sunday the new cases were found during testing at the
state's Public Health Laboratory of specimens sent to the lab by doctors whose patients showed symptoms of
the illness. With the new cases, Missouri now has two confirmed to be swine flu and six that are probable.
Health department spokesman Kit Wagar said the Platte County cases are directly linked to the state's first
confirmed case, a woman in her 30s who lives in that county and is recovering well.
''They were all connected to the first case,'' Wagar said Sunday night. ''A Platte County woman was first. Two are
her children who go to the day care, and the third is another kid in the day care. Because it's an in-home day
care, fairly small ... it was closed to avoid exposing any other kids to the virus.''
The day care will remain closed for seven days, he said.
He said the fourth probable case in the Kansas City area is a child in eastern Jackson County, but the health
department doesn't believe there is any connection with the Platte County cases.
''As far as I know none of them were hospitalized,'' Wagar said. ''All have been treated and given viral
medication.''
On Saturday the CDC confirmed that a 19-year-old Kansas City resident tested for the H1N1 virus while
receiving medical care for a different condition in Nebraska. Because the man lives in Missouri, he is counted on
that state's list of cases even though he was diagnosed in Nebraska.
Two other probable cases involving a father and son were discovered Friday in Howard County in central
Missouri.
Health officials in Kansas said there were two new cases in Johnson County, one of which tested ''probable'' for
the virus and the other which was ''presumptively confirmed.'' Kansas officials were expected to release more
information on Monday about those cases.
Wagar said the term ''probable'' means there is a strong chance that the CDC will confirm the cases as swine flu.
But he was reluctant to assign a probability percentage to that term.
''When you talk to the lab director, he won't give percentages,'' Wagar said. ''The reason we can't confirm them
at this time is that there was no test until less than a month ago because the virus didn't exist, that we knew of.''
He said a new test developed by CDC is being shipped to Missouri, possibly this week, so cases can be
confirmed more quickly.
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Stimulus to fund area teen jobs
By AMYE BUCKLEY
Neosho Daily News
Sat May 02, 2009, 11:31 PM CDT
Joplin, Mo. - Stimulus money is headed for Newton County as part of Gov. Jay Nixon‘s Next-Generation Jobs
Team.
The program, announced Friday, will bring state-channeled funds from the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act to businesses and young people from 16 to 24 years old through a state-wide summer
internship program. In the southwest Missouri seven county region 450 such jobs will be funded by $900,000 in
stimulus money.
―Is it going to give them a skill they can put on their resume,‖ said Jasen Jones, executive director of the
Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri. ―I think that it‘s really important that they‘re getting verifiable
work experience, but it‘s also encouraging them to stay in school.‖
Mark Templeton, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, represented the governor‘s office by
announcing the program to local business leaders at the EaglePicher Technologies plant in Joplin.
―The governor and all of us in his administration believe that the key component of our state‘s job turnaround
rests with young Missourians, the next generation of nurses, engineers, construction workers, scientists and
other professionals,‖ Templeton said. ―These people need job training today so they can compete for the jobs of
tomorrow.‖
The program‘s plan is two pronged. First, it supplies short-term summer employment for young adults from May
1 to Sept. 30
Second, it links them with employers for internship experience learning skills that, Templeton said, will carry
them through their entire careers. Local companies can also enroll in the program.
Creed Jones, vice president of human resources for EaglePitcher said the company is pleased to have the
additional funding available for internships. The company primarily focuses on engineering and technology
internships and recruits heavily from Missouri universities.
―We have about 20 summer internship opportunities identified,‖ Jones said. ―There could be more, but given the
economic times obviously we have to assess everything and that‘s one of the low-hanging fruit we would look at
— can we really do an internship program this summer or not or do we need to cut it back.‖
Internships are often one of the first cuts as the company looks at its overall bottom line. Some summers
EaglePicher has scaled back its operations. He expects that the funds will partially subsidize some positions.
―We‘ve already identified a pool of candidates, what we didn‘t know was how many of them we‘d be able to tap
into,‖ Jones said. ―Now with the funds available it allows us to do more than we would have otherwise.‖
Templeton said the program leverages resources to help transform Missouri‘s economy
―Missouri has incredible resources,‖ he said. ―We have some of the brightest engineering talent in this state.‖
The program is focused on matching young people with cutting-edge employers.
―It‘s both money in their pockets right now from having these internships, and that money — having been a
young person myself — I know will get spent in the local economies,‖ Templeton said. ―So it‘s actually going to
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provide an economic boost as well. And it‘s an investment in the future both in terms of what the individual will
get out of it, plus just helping these companies themselves with their agenda.‖
Future-focused businesses interested in participating in the program or young adults 16 to 24-years-old can
apply for the summer program by visiting www.mo.gov/ and clicking on the Next-Generation Jobs Team icon or
by calling the Southwest Missouri Workforce Investment Board at 417-206-0022.
On Friday at the time of the announcement, 5,761 young workers state-wide had signed up for the program and
876 employers.
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Missouri law let question of farm sludge
risk lie fallow
By KAREN DILLON
The Kansas City Star
Here‘s a question you hear a lot in northwest Missouri ever since a lawsuit claimed contaminated sludge was
spread for years on farmland:
Where had the government inspectors been?
Lost, it turns out, down a bureaucratic hole.
The lawsuit, filed recently, alleged that a St. Joseph tannery had allowed sludge containing a carcinogen to be
used as fertilizer on fields in four counties, causing brain tumors in at least two patients.
Because of a state law, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has not been sampling the contents of
the sludge — the waste from the tanning process. That is because the law allowed officials years ago to declare
the sludge a fertilizer.
As a result, that left most of the responsibility for regulating the sludge to the University of Missouri — but only as
a fertilizer, not as a hazardous waste.
Contacted Friday, state Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields said he planned to contact the Senate
general counsel to review the law. In the meantime, he is waiting for the results of several investigations into the
lawsuit‘s claims.
―Clearly, if we need to revise the statutes or work with the department in terms of how they regulate the material,
that is an appropriate discussion by all means,‖ said Shields, a St. Joseph Republican.
An author who has written about hazardous sludge and government policy said the northwest Missouri case
raised red flags about oversight.
The tannery that provided the sludge was allowed to ―just put it out of sight, out of mind on rural farm fields,‖ said
John Stauber of the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit that tries to expose corporate and government
spin.
DNR officials would not discuss the oversight process, citing an investigation into the sludge allegations.
But DNR records, reviewed by The Kansas City Star, showed the agency‘s environmental specialists have noted
that they have been restricted in their inspections of the sludge.
For example, an investigation in 2006 into complaints about possible water pollution from the sludge caused a
DNR environmental specialist to write in an e-mail: ―There is not a lot left to regulate unless the sludge (fertilizer)
‖ enters ‗waters of the state.‘
The sludge case came to light when National Beef Leathers, formerly Prime Tanning of St. Joseph, was sued in
Clinton County Circuit Court for allegedly putting sludge that contained hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen, on
farm fields for decades.
Prime Tanning, owner of the tannery until March 9, has said there was no basis for the allegations, but declined
to comment further. National Beef Leathers said that since it took over the tannery, it has used only trivalent
chromium, a non-carcinogen.
Getting a pass
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Under state law, sludge can be classified as fertilizer if it doesn‘t contain levels of hazardous waste that exceed
state standards.
In the case of the St. Joseph tannery, the DNR classified the sludge as fertilizer after the tannery in 1998
submitted a required report on whether hexavalent chromium was at acceptable levels, according to agency
records. According to a letter on file from the tannery, it was using only trivalent chromium.
Once the sludge received an exemption and was classified as a fertilizer, it was monitored by the University of
Missouri‘s agriculture fertilizer services for materials such as nitrogen and potassium, but not for hexavalent
chromium.
Still, the DNR required an annual report from the tannery that listed farms where the sludge was spread and the
total pounds of all chromium without delineating the type.
DNR officials would not discuss their file on the tannery or allow employees who wrote reports or e-mails in the
file to talk to a reporter.
As a result, it remains unclear when the DNR granted the exemption. Since the lawsuit was filed, a DNR
spokeswoman said, officials have been analyzing the reports and e-mails. Until the analysis is complete, officials
have no comment, said Susanne Medley, a DNR spokeswoman.
Environmental Protection Agency officials said that only the DNR can answer questions about the exemption.
The Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Missouri is responsible for enforcing the state‘s
fertilizer laws.
Joe Slater, director of fertilizer services, could not remember how long his agency had been monitoring the
tannery‘s sludge. He referred all other questions to the DNR.
It is not unusual for tanneries to offer sludge for fertilizer, which is cheaper than sending it to a landfill, and the
St. Joseph tannery was doing that even before receiving the exemption.
The tannery had its sludge analyzed — including for chromium — in the early 1980s. After providing that
evaluation to the DNR, the tannery received approval to deposit the sludge in a landfill, according to DNR
records.
By 1983, the tannery also began spreading the sludge on farmland, according to a tannery report in DNR files.
By the 1990s, the tannery had spread the sludge over 10,000 acres of farmland in the St. Joseph area, a tannery
document said. It was producing about 9,000 to 11,000 tons of sludge annually while processing about 2.5
million hides each year, the report said.
―Indeed it is Prime Tanning‘s policy to be an environmentally responsible member of the community and to
recycle as much of its by-product materials as is economically and environmentally feasible,‖ the document said.
Complaints filed
Over the years, DNR has received numerous complaints about the tannery sludge because of odors and
concerns about what it might contain. But it appears the DNR never sampled it for hazardous waste.
In 2004, a state trooper called DNR to report that trucks hauling the sludge were leaking it on roads. People had
complained they had been sprayed by the liquid, and the trooper was concerned that the sludge might contain
hazardous waste.
The trooper cited the trucking company, but wondered in a report to DNR whether the agency could do more.
The DNR scheduled an inspection of the tannery, according to agency e-mails, but a DNR manager said an
inspector would just ―eyeball‖ the materials in the tannery to try to ensure none were hazardous waste, according
to the e-mails.
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The inspector saw no hazardous waste.
Two years later, concerns were raised that sludge in a holding area near Maysville could spill over during a
rainstorm and end up in a farm pond. A caller complained that the sludge might contain mercury and lead.
Again, a DNR employee noted the sludge had been classified as fertilizer.
―Unless we see the sludge running into the lake I do not see anything that can be done at this time,‖ wrote
environmental specialist Joe Heafner.
Stauber of the Center for Media and Democracy said such muddles were not unusual.
Using tannery sludge as fertilizer has been a hard-fought battle in other parts of the U.S. and around the world
among government officials, the tanning industry and activists who believe the sludge should be put in landfills.
Because of lax regulations, federal and state regulators have given tanneries and municipalities a ―thumbs-up‖ to
spreading all kinds of waste on farmland, said Stauber, co-author of the book ―Toxic Sludge is Good for You!‖
―Letting the tannery do this is outrageous but not that unusual,‖ he said. ―This has become a very easy way for
these bureaucracies to save money, avoid doing work and allow industry to take who knows what where
because there is no effective monitoring.‖
Waldo Kallenberger, a leather chemist and an expert in the tanning industry, said today‘s tanners
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Chrysler Fenton Plants "may survive" --
says Russ Carnahan
Kevin Killeen Reporting
ST. LOUIS (KMOX Radio) -- Calling himself "stubbornly optimistic ," Missouri Congressman Russ Carnahan
says he's not giving up on reviving the Chrysler north and south assembly lines, despite reports they'll be
permanently closed.
Documents in Chrysler's bankruptcy case reveal the auto maker's plans to close several more plants by the end
of next year -- including the two Fenton plants.
But Carnahan believes there's a "good chance" of convincing Chrysler's new partner, Fiat, to keep the plants
humming.
"It has a half billion dollars in flexible manufacturing," Carnahan said, "They can build virtually any vehicle there.
They can build to European specifications. And we have a workforce there ranked as one of the most
productive in the industry."
Carnahan thinks Fiat will also have some incentive to keep the Fenton plants open, because it will need to
increase production to pay back the government loans and increase its share of the new company.
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Congressman wants new name for Mo.
memorial
Friday, May 01, 2009
FULTON, Mo. (AP) Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer wants to recognize a Missouri museum where former British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill delivered his ''Iron Curtain'' speech as ''America's National Churchill Museum.''
Speaking at Westminster College in Fulton in 1946, Churchill said that an ''iron curtain'' had descended across
Europe and warned of Cold War threats.
In 1969, the private college opened a museum and memorial dedicated to Churchill in a 12th century church
brought from London. The campus refurbished and reopened the museum in 2006.
Other members of the U.S. House from Missouri have signed on to Luetkemeyer's resolution.
Several American presidents, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Polish President Lech (LEK) Walesa
and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev have spoken at the school.
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Nixon announces work force
development program
ST. JOSEPH NEWS-PRESS by Jennifer Hall
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Gov. Jay Nixon announced a program Friday that could get thousands of Missouri students introduced to more
high-tech, high-paying careers.
Missouri‘s Next-Generation Jobs Team is a summer employment program to help youths, ages 16 to 24, obtain
summer internships and work experience at cutting-edge employers across the state.
―We need skills today for jobs for the future,‖ Mr. Nixon said.
The governor said he has plans to get Missouri‘s job situation turned around. The program will be funded
through the U.S. Department of Labor, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Mr. Nixon spoke to community leaders and staff at Heartland Regional Medical Center and toured the Human
Motion Institute, one of the areas that might be impacted by the new youth program. Mentors with the Missouri
Department of Economic Development‘s local Workforce Investment Boards will help the students identify career
fields of interest and place them with the appropriate employers.
Heartland is one of St. Joseph‘s largest employers, with 3,300 workers.
―It is a constant challenge to fill that work force,‖ said Charlie Shields, president pro tem of the Missouri Senate.
Mr. Shields said the Next-Generation Jobs Team program is a great partner for the already existing Stepping
Stones program at Heartland.
―Bring in young students, introduce them to the Stepping Stones program to help pay for their college and then
bring them back on as an employee after graduation,‖ he said.
Mr. Nixon also visited Eagle Picher Technologies in Joplin, Mo. The company, which produces the lithium-ion
batteries used to power the International Space Station, has also signed up as an employer to participate in the
Next-Generation program. There are at least six other employers already joining the program.
―Our job is to build a new work force,‖ Mr. Nixon said. ―This is serious business we‘re in.‖
Individuals and employers interested in participating in Next-Generation can apply by visiting www.mo.gov.
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Mo. receives $156M payment from
tobacco settlement
Friday, May 01, 2009
By CHRIS BLANK
Associated Press Writer
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouri has received a $156 million payment as part of a nationwide settlement
with tobacco companies, raising its total share to $1.5 billion so far.
But there are legal questions both about the way Missouri is spending its settlement proceeds and whether it can
continue to receive the annual payments.
Missouri was one of 46 states that joined the 1998 tobacco settlement. The money was intended to cover
government costs of providing health care to people who have become sick because of tobacco use.
But many states, including Missouri, have plugged that money into other parts of their budgets. That has
prompted a lawsuit, pending before a Missouri appeals court, that seeks to force legislators to spend a greater
amount of the settlement funds on life science research.
There also is concern that Missouri could lose some of tobacco settlement money.
States that accepted the tobacco settlement also approved new laws to implement the agreement. One of those
provisions set up an escrow fund and required tobacco companies that didn't join the settlement to pay into it to
cover any future lawsuit judgments. The money from the escrow accounts would be returned after 25 years.
Besides covering the damages from potential lawsuits, the escrow is designed to prevent smaller tobacco
companies that didn't participate in the agreement from dropping prices to undercut those that did.
Missouri is facing national arbitration over whether it has diligently enforced its laws, and the attorney general's
office anticipates similar challenges annually. Attorney General Chris Koster said that unlike every other state,
Missouri has not passed additional laws to help enforce the escrow.
''The potential exists that Missouri could lose its share of tobacco-settlement dollars if the national panel finds
that Missouri failed to diligently enforce its laws,'' Koster said in a written statement. ''If this were to occur, it
would be one of the greatest wastes of public resources in recent history.''
A lawsuit challenging how Missouri uses the tobacco settlement money it does receive was filed in 2007 by
Kansas City residents Thomas and Margaret Redmond. They contend lawmakers have shortchanged a state life
sciences research fund that receives money from the tobacco settlement.
A 2003 law set up the Life Sciences Research Trust Fund, which was to use 25 percent of the annual tobacco
settlement payment to award research grants. But lawmakers have balked, sometimes budgeting none of the
tobacco settlement money and sometimes only a portion of the 25 percent.
Thomas Redmond, who has melanoma, and Margaret Redmond, who has peripheral neuropathy, argue that
they could benefit from the research that would have been funded from the trust fund.
Dick Miller, the Redmonds' attorney, said Friday it was clear that part of the tobacco settlement must go to life
science research even if lawmakers don't include it the state budget.
''The state has already taken over $200 million which under the statute was mandatorily required to be used for
medical research,'' Miller said. ''This money that the state has taken is trust fund money, and by taking this
money, the state has violated that trust.''
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Miller also is representing the Kansas City Symphony, which contends lawmakers have not followed a state law
requiring that the arts be supported by a portion of the taxes levied upon athletes and entertainers who travel to
Missouri.
Miller is appealing both cases after Cole County Judge Richard Callahan ruled that lawmakers have a
constitutional authority to appropriate state funds and that a state law earmarking money for certain purposes
can therefore be ignored.
Miller argued, during a hearing last summer over both the symphony and tobacco settlement cases, that
lawmakers wouldn't be accountable to anyone if the courts rule that statutory spending requirements do not bind
their budgetary decisions.
On the Net:
Koster: http://www.ago.mo.gov
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Friday, May 01, 2009
The Ayes Have It
HOW JEFF WORKS
This is just a tidbit about Jefferson City process -- that will be no news to lawmakers or the Capitol regulars. But
it just might just raise an eyebrow with Joe Public.
***
During one of the rolling debates this week on how best to use federal stimulus money, St. Louis Rep. Rachel
Storch introduced an amendment to take around $12 million dollars and plug it into the financially strapped
METRO system. The debate over the merits of that proposal is really beside the point. The procedure is what is
at issue here. After a hearty amount of inquiries from Republican lawmakers, a voice vote was called on the
Storch amendment. There were lots of loud "AYES" -- and just as many, or possibly even more "NOs." No
question it was close. But Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt called it for the AYES, without a flinch. No second-
guessing. No roll call. The "AYES" had it . . . or did they? You see, we'll never know. Because on this vote, there
was no way any one in the chamber could know for sure which side had more votes. But this, I was told, was
nothing new. It's common. "The Chair calls the vote however he wants it called -- no matter what the voice is,"
explained Rep. Sara Lampe. That's why lawmakers usually ask for "roll call" votes, to get people on the record
and to mark down an actual tally. Voice votes seem fine on non-controversial items, but this was not one of
them. Can you imagine if we elected our lawmakers via voice vote rather than a tally? Just show up at the
American Legion and your supporters can shout as loud as they can. The "Chair" calls it. That's the power of the
majority. As Lampe put it, "when you're in the majority, you can do anything you want."
Posted by David Catanese KY3-TV
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House advances permanent billion
dollar tax cut
Friday, May 1, 2009, 1:18 PM
MISSOURINET By Brent Martin
Not satisfied with a two-year tax cut, House Republicans have advanced a bill that would permanently cut the
state income tax by half a percentage point.
House Republican leadership initially proposed cutting the state income tax rate by half a percentage point; from
6% to 5.5%. The original proposal tied the cut to the money state government is receiving from the federal
government as part of the federal economic stimulus efforts. It would last two years, expiring when the federal
money ran out.
That proposal, by itself, created tension between Republicans who sought to return part of the federal economic
stimulus or budget stabilization funds to Missourians and Democrats who favored using the funds to keep from
cutting state programs and services, because revenue has fallen during the recession. The amendment to make
the tax cut in HCS HB 22 permanent took political tension between the two parties to another level.
House Minority Leader Paul LeVota (D-Independence) charges Republicans with pushing a political agenda by
pushing for the tax cut.
"Mr. Speaker, what you see here is the culmination of the circus that this session has become," LeVota tells
colleagues during House floor debate. "Here's the main event: the GOP Desperation Act of 2009."
LeVota notes House Republicans first considered rejecting the money, then put together a large capital
improvement bill, before scaling it back in favor of a billion dollar tax cut.
Republican Rep. Tim Jones (R-Eureka) has his own answer to criticism from Democrats.
"Americans and Missourians are tired of being taxed from cradle to grave," Jones responds during the debate.
"Mr. Speaker, Republicans in the majority party celebrate the 4th of July, the Democrats celebrate April 15th."
The bill now returns to a Senate that is said to be skeptical of the bill.
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Stimulus Funds on Hold After House
Defeat
COLUMBIA - Millions going to Ellis Fischel and other causes halted.
Less than 15 votes is all it took to stop millions from going to several organizations across the state.
"A coalition of democrats and republicans who got off on a political tangent for a lot of what I think of kind of
transient reasons," said Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia.
The block says Rep. Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, came from a group from St. Louis demanding more stimulus funds
to the larger regions of Missouri.
"It was not a partisan issue. It was an issue of regional representation," Hobbs said.
Hobbs says many who opposed it cited the issue of stimulus funds from tax payers.
"There's also a group of people that wants only tax cuts. They're concerned about their kids and grandchildren
paying for the money from Washington D.C.," Hobbs said.
After the vote Rep. J.C. Kuessner, D-Eminence, who opposed, said it was filled with pork. A statement Kelly and
Hobbs say they disagree with.
"The ambiguous pork! See I don't think fixing highway patrol and firefighter district and county sheriff and city
police department radios so they work together is pork. Nor do I think a state cancer hospital is pork, nor do I
think the plant sciences laboratory in Mexico is pork," said Kelly.
Both representatives say they expect the funding for the cancer center to pass eventually through other bills.
KOMU-TV Reported by: Matt Jefferies
Written by: Matt Jefferies
Posted by: Akiko Oda
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Project funding up in the air
Universities await Senate, voter action on bond proposal
ST. JOSEPH NEWS-PRESS by Alyson E. Raletz
Saturday, May 2, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Core funding for universities in Northwest Missouri is holding steady as lawmakers
enter the final laps of the state budget process. But some local higher education money has lost ground or
remains in question.
Still up in the air are a $27 million expansion of Potter Hall at Missouri Western State University and a $19.7
million building project at Northwest Missouri State University. The universities could see the funding under an
$800 million bonding proposal for higher education construction projects. The House already has backed HJR
32, a constitutional amendment that would go before voters. The full Senate has yet to debate it, however.
Missouri Western is looking to significantly expand and renovate its fine and performing arts building, while
Northwest aims to consolidate two academic buildings into one for energy conservation. The identified projects
won‘t be final until after voters approve the measure.
Regardless, university officials are relieved their general operating budgets didn‘t get hacked as expected this
session.
―Certainly a flat budget is better than the 15, 20, 25 percent (cutting) scenarios we were asked to prepare,‖ said
Beth Wheeler, Western‘s external relations director.
Gov. Jay Nixon kicked off his term this winter with a promise to community colleges and universities that he
wouldn‘t recommend any funding cuts for the 2009-2010 year as long as they pledged not to raise tuition for
students. Republicans initially postured at the Democrat‘s deal, but so far they‘ve helped him keep his word —
and then some.
House budget leaders originally recommended about $23.6 million for Missouri Western and $33.17 million for
Northwest. Both total budgets were nearly identical to their current budgets, but as with all state universities, the
House used federal budget stabilization money to offset dips in general revenue. The House slotted about $3.2
million in stabilization money for Northwest and about $2.82 million for Western.
If lawmakers tapped into the stimulus money, they couldn‘t lower higher education budgets, explained House
education appropriations chairman Rep. Mike Thomson, R-Maryville.
―(Gov. Nixon) isn‘t really the reason things stayed the way they did,‖ Mr. Thomson said. ―It was because of the
federal stimulus money.‖
If that stipulation hadn‘t existed, ―We would‘ve gone ahead and done what we had to do,‖ he said.
The budgets held up through the House, but then the Senate tacked on even more stabilization funds to go
specifically toward one-time maintenance needs. ―It‘s not very sexy stuff, but it surely is needed,‖ Ms. Wheeler
said.
The Senate added $1.74 million to Western, bringing the total to about $25.4 million. Western intends to use the
money for building tuckpointing, sidewalk improvements and swimming pool issues.
Senators added about $2.4 million to Northwest‘s budget, which increased its overall operating money to nearly
$35.62 million.
Northwest slotted the money specifically for campus energy conservation, such as changing out regular light
bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs, said Ray Courter, Northwest‘s vice president of finance.
While House and Senate appropriations leaders differ greatly on their philosophies regarding the federal
stimulus money, House Budget Chairman Allen Icet told the News-Press he wouldn‘t fight the Senate changes
during budget conferences, which began last week. State lawmakers must approve a final state budget by
Friday.
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Petition campaign to change non-
partisan court plan expected
Friday, May 1, 2009, 10:01 PM
MISSOURINET By Bob Priddy
The failure of the state senate to approve a proposal that could add more political influence to selection of high
court judges apparently leaves the field open to a petition campaign. The sponsor of the bill, Senator Jim
Lembke of St. Louis, has left no doubt one will be started.
But opposing Senator Matt Bartle of Lee's Summit thinks any campaign to change Missouri's non-partisan court
plan will cost somebody---or a lot of somebodies--a lot of money. In the end, though, he says proponents will
lose. He says one reason it will fail is because of "status quo lag," which he says
affects the tendency of people who do not understand an issue to vote know. "There's a three-to-five percent lag
on that," he says.
Opponents of the plan say it would inject partisanship into the state's present non-partisan court plan. That's
okay with Lembke. "It's all political. 'There's not anything that we do in this building that's not political," he says,
"And that's just the nature of the beast."
Bartle, like Lembke a a conservative Republican, says conservative Republican interests are likely to lead the
effort. But he thinks voters statewide will reject the proposal if it gets to the ballot. He bases his outlook on the
vote last year in Greene County in which voters decided to adopt the non-partisan court plan instead of sticking
with the system of election of judges. He tells the Senate, "The fact that a very conservative area of our
state...voted to join the Missouri plan,voted to reject a plan by which the people would directly elect their judges
and instead joined the Missouri non-partisan court plan...is a strong indication that ultimately people will vote in
favor of keeping the Missouri plan."
Lembke claims there is "definite buyer's remorse" in Greene County. He claims the pro-Missouri Plan side
"manipulated" information.
The Missouri Non-partisan Court plan was adopted by voters in 1940 after a petition campaign put the issue on
the ballot. Backers of the plan said it would keep the court system from being dominated by political bosses such
as Tom Pendergast of Kansas City, who was regarded for many years as the most powerful political figure in
Missouri history.
The plan was written into the new state constitution of 1945. It operates this way:
When a vacancy occurs on one of the three state appeals courts, a special non-partisan commission is
appointed. Three members are members of the Missouri Bar, one from each of the appellate districts of the
state. Three are private citizens appointed by the Governor, one from each of the appellate divisions. The Chief
Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court is the chairman of the commission, which takes applications from lawyers
throughout Missouri. The commission selects three nominees whose names are forwarded to the Governor. The
Governor picks the new judge.
A localized version of the state plan is used in Clay, Greene, Platte, St.Louis, and Jackson Counties as well as
St. Louis city.
Although the system eliminates partisan political campaigning for high judicial offices statewide or in metropolitan
counties, voters still have a place in it. Once a judge has served in office, he or she must go before voters for
retention. No political opponents run against the judge. Voters are asked whether to retain the judge with a
straight "yes" or "no" ballot. No political party designations are on the judicial ballot.
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The Lembke proposal would require the commission to submit four names, not three, to the Governor who could
veto the list within sixty days. If that were to happen, the commission would have to submit a second list of
nominees from which the Governor must select a judge within 34 days. If the Governor refuses to pick a
candidate from either list, the commission can make the appointment.
Lembke's bill changed the make up of the nominating commission so that it had eight non-lawyer citizens and
three attorneys. The Chief Justice would no longer be part of the process. The Senate would be given
confirmation power over the eight appointees by the Governor.
The bill also required the Judicial Commission to hold its meetings in compliance with the Missouri Open
Records Law. The names of applicants would be made public. They are not known under present law until the
three finalists are presented to the Governor.
Lembke predicts a proposed change put before voters by the petition process would require Senate confirmation
of nominated judges.
Debate on Lembke's bill consumed all of the Wednesday session of the Senate. One amendment was adopted
but opponents dominated the last half of the debate and never let Lembke bring his bill to a vote.
A segment of the debate between Sens.Jim Lembke and Matt Bartle is included with this story.
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Helmet law repeal heads to Governor Nixon
Originally printed at http://www.ky3.com/news/local/44202067.html
SPRINGFIELD -- Legislation that would repeal much of Missouri's motorcycle helmet law is on its way to
Governor Jay Nixon.
Advocates for a repeal are a signature away from a victory in a decades-long fight.
This is legislation that's repeatedly been debated, but hasn't gotten this far since 1999. But even some who
believe motorcyclists should have the right to choose, aren't sure that 21 is the right age to begin allowing them
to do it.
The bill, passed by both the House and Senate, would allow anyone 21 and over to ride without helmets on all
Missouri roads, except the Interstate.
"It's our choice, we're the ones who ride, so it should be our choice," said Rob Hail of El Dorado Springs.
Hail is a member of Freedom of Road Riders, a group that's heavily lobbied lawmakers for a repeal. Hail
actually argues that riding without a helmet forces cyclists to make smarter decisions that keep them safer.
"Once you don't don your helmet, you become more aware if your surrounding and everybody else. You become
more of a defensive driver," Hail said.
Safety advocates would disagree, and say the helmet can be the only thing that protects a rider from severe
injury or death.
"They want it to be their choice. My choice would be to wear one -- anytime I ride the bike," said Jerry Johnston
of Springfield's J.J. Cycles.
He falls on the side of personal choice, but thinks the age has been set too low.
"I know how I was in that 21 range and just feel we start maturing after 21," Johnston said.
"You have 21-year-olds that act like 10-year-olds and you have 28-year-olds that act like mature adults,"
countered Hail.
Picking an age is arbitrary, but Johnston doesn't expect helmet sales to fall off. He said the most experienced
drivers have usually taken a fall, or know someone on a bike who has had a close call. That, he said, makes the
decision easy.
"I encourage everyone that buys a motorcycle to also have a good helmet," Johnston said.
Governor Nixon has not said whether he will sign the bill into law.
"As he does with all bills that reach his desk, the Governor will carefully review this particular piece of legislation
once the session concludes before making a decision on whether or not to sign it into law," said Nixon
spokesman Scott Holste.
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Legislative session once again features debate
over abortion and birth control
By Jo Mannies, Beacon Political Reporter
Posted 1:15 p.m. Fri., May 1: On Saturday, groups that support abortion rights and legislators on both sides of
the issue will hold a "town hall meeting'' in St. Louis to discuss preventative measures like sex education and
accessible birth control.
The event will be held from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 4712 Clifton Avenue, in St. Louis.
The scheduled participants include state Reps. Jacob Hummel, Vicki Englund, Bert Atkins and Tishaura
Jones, all D-St. Louis, and a representative for state Rep. Cole McNary, R-Chesterfield.
"The goal of the meeting is to help our legislators understand why prevention is so important to reduce
unintended pregnancies,'' said Alison Gee, vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood of the St.
Louis Region. The focus will not be on abortion, she added.
Saturday's town hall also caps a week in which abortion opponents succeeded in winning a state Senate panel's
support for a provision that allows pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for certain contraceptives or to
provide over-the-counter access to women of legal age to "morning-after'' pills, also known as Plan B.
Before the session ends May 15, the anti-abortion camp also is pressing to get through the Legislature
measures that add more requirements to the state's informed-consent law and create a new crime of "knowingly
coercing a woman to seek or obtain an abortion."
(And then there's various efforts to block any state money for any research program deemed to be involved, now
or in the future, in certain forms of embryonic stem-cell research allowed under federal law and protected in
Missouri under Amendment 2. Many anti-abortion groups oppose any research using human embryos or that
involve any sort of cloning. )
The activities by both sides reflect an eternal political truth in Missouri:
The state's roster of legislators may change, and the political party in charge can change. But the battle over
abortions never goes away.
During the final weeks of Missouri's legislative sessions, it's virtually a given that there will be at least one floor
fight -- and usually more -- over proposals aimed at restricting access to abortion in the state, and in some
cases, making it harder to obtain certain birth control medications.
Some of those efforts are fueled by another given: abortion opponents continue to hold a majority in the state
House and Senate.
However, abortion opponents have run into some obstacles this session. Most of this year's anti-abortion
proposals have won House approval and are now in the Senate, where it's unclear if any will get through.
The chief reason, says anti-abortion activist Sam Lee: This year's Senate leaders have been more reluctant than
their recent predecessors to use a parliamentary procedure -- called "moving the previous question" or PQ, for
short -- to end filibusters or threatened filibusters on any controversial issue, including abortion.
However, abortion opponents have been heartened by the earmarking of about $2 million in federal stimulus
money for state alternative-to-abortion services; that allocation already has been approved by the state House
and has just been sent to the Senate.
That allocation is on top of $1.9 million that new Gov. Jay Nixon had inserted for such programs in his proposed
budget, said Lee, head of Campaign Life Missouri, an anti-abortion lobbying group.
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(Nixon, a Democrat, is a supporter of abortion rights but has been low key on that issue since taking office in
January -- a fact noted by both sides.)
Earlier this week, abortion-rights supporters held a "lobby day'' on Tuesday, with about 200 gathering at the state
Capitol to buttonhole various legislators. Abortion opponents had conducted similar lobbying efforts earlier in the
session.
In recent years, abortion opponents have succeeded in passing new state laws that impose more restrictions on
the few remaining abortion clinics in Missouri, bar abortion providers from any sort of involvement in sex
education in public schools, and allow schools to drop instruction about contraceptives.
Saturday's town-hall reflects the counter-efforts in recent years by abortion-rights supporters, who have sought
to shift the debate to abortion prevention. But Gee acknowledged some obstacles. Prevention bills didn't even
get a hearing this session, she said.
As for Lee, he says that abortion opponents may still be adjusting to the fact that they no longer have a
sympathetic governor like Nixon's predecessor, Republican Matt Blunt. Nixon may be avoiding any tangles on
abortion, but he certainly isn't pressing for abortion restrictions like Blunt. Blunt made a point of emphasizing
his anti-abortion views and even held a special session in 2005 that focused on anti-abortion measures.
All that aside, Gee and Lee agree that this session's legislators have found at least a few hours -- like their
predecessors for decades -- to do battle over abortion-related measures.
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Political groups join for gun discussion
Data inconclusive on concealed-carry.
COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE By Janese Heavin
Friday, May 1, 2009
If you see Geoff Petersen, 24, in a grocery store, movie theater or on the street, chances are he‘s packing heat.
But during the day, Petersen has to leave his pistol at home. The University of Missouri freshman — who
recently got out of the Navy — has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, but it doesn‘t grant him the right to
bring his weapon on campus.
The Missouri House last month voted to change that. The bill would allow residents to carry concealed weapons
at public colleges and universities and also would lower the age of those eligible for permits from 23 to 21. The
Senate has yet to debate the legislation.
Although Petersen can‘t think of a specific time he might have needed a gun on campus, ―if I‘m sitting in Cornell
auditorium and a gunman comes in, I‘d rather have it,‖ he said.
But instances of random massacres, such as the one at Virginia Tech University last year, are so rare, they‘re
not useful when looking for empirical data to show whether concealed weapons decrease crime or increase
risks, panelists agreed last night during a forum at MU‘s Middlebush Auditorium. The concealed-carry
discussion, which attracted about 40 students and faculty members, was co-sponsored by MU‘s College
Republicans and College Democrats.
Research on how conceal-and-carry permits impact crime is mixed, and there‘s little data showing the effects of
weapons on campuses, said Jeffrey Milyo, an economics professor. Most studies show that concealed-carry
laws neither increase nor decrease violent crimes, he said.
Fellow panelist Robert Blake, a former physician and retired professor, said Missouri‘s murder and rape rates
have increased since lawmakers approved the concealed-carry law in 2003. But he acknowledged that it‘s
impossible to blame that crime on the legalization concealed weapons.
Still, Blake said he thinks the potential harm of concealed weapons outweighs any benefits. He pointed to
statistics that show the majority of homicides and suicides are committed with firearms and said people are more
likely to commit those crimes if they have easier access to guns. But he acknowledged the debate isn‘t over
whether guns should be legal. Instead, he urged students to think about what they and their peers would do with
concealed weapons on campus.
―As a student, think about since you came to college,‖ he said. ―Has there been a conflict or disagreement,
maybe with alcohol or drugs involved? What might have happened if there had been a gun?‖
When asked to consider that scenario, Petersen said he couldn‘t think of a situation on campus. Instead, he
thought back to bar fights he has been in. ―Guns would not have helped there,‖ he said. ―I went through the
training, so I know if I‘m intoxicated it‘s a felony to have a gun, and I would lose all my gun rights.‖
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Bill on drug testing adds officials to list
COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE Friday, May 1, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY — If welfare recipients are going to be tested for drugs, so are lawmakers, statewide elected
officials and recipients of state tax credits.
That‘s the opinion of members of a Senate committee that voted 4-1 yesterday to require drug tests for all
statewide elected officials and members of the General Assembly after being elected and before taking office.
The bill also would require the state Department of Economic Development to create a screening program to test
each tax credit applicant if there is reasonable cause to believe the applicant engages in illegal use of controlled
substances or engages in ―addictive alcohol behavior.‖
Those who test positive could be declared ineligible to receive a tax credit.
If an elected official fails a second drug test, the official may not take office.
The changes were added to a House-passed bill that would require the Department of Social Services to test
applicants for temporary assistance for needy families if there was reason to believe the applicant was using
drugs. Those who test positive could be denied welfare benefits.
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Putting the hammer down in the senate
Friday, May 1, 2009, 9:20 AM
MISSOURINET By Bob Priddy
Putting the hammer down might mean something to truckers. But it means something entirely different to the
presiding officer of the state senate. And when Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, the President of the Senate, vigorously
gaveled the Missouri Senate to order earlier this week, the head of the gavel flew off and almost conked Senate
staff member Julie Bochat.
That would have hurt because that sucker was heavy. It was pretty old and chipped from years of calling the
chamber to order, maintaining some dignity during debate, and signaling recesses and adjournments. But the
weight of authority that it carried was quite real.
To the rescue has quickly come Joplin resident Tom Rhoads, whose son Mark prowls the halls and corridors of
power at the Capitol as a lobbyist. Rhoads, a woodworker, has crafted a large new gavel out of native Missouri
cherry wood and has donated it to the Senate. Kinder gave the new symbol of authority some authoritative
pounds in yesterday's session.
Senate President pro Tem Charlie Shields drew up a special resolution of thanks, noting, "a proper gavel is
integral for decorum and civil debate consistent with the dignity of the Missouri Senate." But the resolution also
said Rhoads "in no way warrants the safely of this gavel nor that its use will improve decorum and civil
exchange...."
During discussion of the resolution, Shields revealed that Senator Matt Bartle had actually broken the gavel
earlier but had reattached the head of it without telling anyone what he had done.
You can hear the first raps of the new gavel along with related commends from Kinder and Shields in the
attached soundbite.
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EDITORIALS … & Letters to the Editor
Antics slow progress in Missouri House
An economy on the ropes hasn‘t stopped Missouri‘s elected representatives from making the usual spectacle of
themselves in Jefferson City.
The latest antic was the House‘s passage last week of a budget bill that shaves the state income tax from 6
percent to 5.5 percent, using federal money intended to shore up essential functions of state government.
As House leaders admit, the move is almost certainly disallowed by federal rules. And it‘s unclear how the cut
would be sustained after two years, when money from Washington will no longer be available.
But why let such minor details stand in the way of making a statement — even if no one is sure what you‘re
trying to say?
Earlier in the session, the GOP-dominated House passed a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment that
would eliminate individual and corporate income taxes altogether, replacing them with a higher sales tax.
Fortunately, the House‘s extreme proposals are finding little traction in the Senate, and are unlikely to be passed
into law or appear on a ballot.
The Senate, for its part, has fallen into a grinding pattern of legislative filibusters, which have stymied passage of
a jobs-creation bill. And members last week indulged the House by actually debating — before killing — an
idiotic bill that would have required state employees to say ―merry Christmas‖ instead of ―happy holidays.‖
But the senators are clearly the adults in the Capitol, and they are needed to squash the worst of the House
proposals.
This year that list includes a bill making concealed handguns legal on college campuses, and a constitutional
amendment that would weaken the independence and quality of the state‘s judiciary.
While legislators indulge themselves with feuds and foolishness in the public view, some good work is actually
getting done behind the scenes.
House and Senate negotiators are making progress on a budget plan that — so far — meets crucial needs, fully
funds elementary and secondary schools according to the current formula, and leaves university funding at
current levels.
A proposal that would enable an additional 35,000 adults to qualify for state-subsidized health insurance is still in
limbo. Under the proposal, state hospitals would pay the state an extra $52.5 million a year. With that money,
Missouri would qualify for an additional $93 million in federal funds for health care.
The agreement, which Gov. Jay Nixon worked out with the Missouri Hospital Association, would grant health-
care coverage to more low-income Missourians without spending money from the general fund. It‘s nearly
inconceivable that legislators have taken so long to embrace this stellar opportunity.
Lawmakers have until the end of the day Friday to get a budget to Nixon. The session ends on May 15.
Legislators have a lot of catching up to do if they hope to declare this session a success.
KC STAR
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Vetoing changes to helmet law is a real
no brainer
STL TODAY By Editorial Board
Missouri lawmakers have taken a giant step toward increasing the number of human organs available for
transplantation. But, alas, not on purpose.
They did it by voting last week to change the state‘s motorcycle helmet law. Riders over the age of 21 no longer
would have to wear protective headgear except on interstate highways.
It‘s a spectacularly bad idea. And not just because it‘s almost impossible for police to gauge the age of a rider
racing past at 70 miles per hour.
In states with similar laws, underage riders often ignore the law, with disastrous consequences; fewer than 40
percent of those who suffered fatal injures were wearing helmets. In states where helmets are optional, only
slightly more than half of all riders choose to wear helmets.
Motorcycle riders‘ groups have been trying to get helmet laws repealed for years. They don‘t want the nanny
state telling them what precautions they should take.
Some even go so far as to say that it‘s safer to ride without a helmet. Nothing to restrict their vision or interfere
with their hearing, they say.
The numbers tell a different story. An unhelmeted rider is 40 percent more likely to die in a crash and 15 percent
more likely to suffer serious injury. Riders without helmets are three times more likely to suffer brain injuries than
those who wear them.
Those brain injuries are crushingly expensive. In Florida, the total medical cost of treating injured motorcyclists
more than doubled in the 30 months after the law was changed in 2000, to $44 million from $21 million.
One of the first unhelmeted riders to die was a woman who led a high-profile campaign to change Florida‘s
helmet law.
We wouldn’t object to letting those who ride decide, if those who rode could pay the costs of their care. But
they can‘t. Indeed, very few of us could.
Statistics show that nearly half of all motorcycle riders have no health insurance. The average cost of treating
injuries to an unhelmeted rider in 2003 was about $67,000. In case you haven‘t paid attention, health costs have
soared since 2003.
Expensive injuries suffered by insured riders result in higher premiums for the rest of us. Uninsured riders wind
up on Medicaid. The cost of their care — which often includes years of extensive physical therapy to help
recover from brain injuries — is passed on to the rest of us.
The same lawmakers who voted to saddle taxpayers with higher costs for treating uninsured motorcyclists have
refused to extend Medicaid to working parents struggling to raise children at incomes well below the poverty line.
Ghoulish and unintentional though it may be, the law‘s only redeeming feature is that it could increase the
number of organs available for transplantation in our state. The number of transplantable organs has declined
because of improvements in automotive and highway safety.
But that unanticipated consequence doesn‘t justify all the extra suffering and expense this new law will produce.
Gov. Jay Nixon shouldn‘t have to think twice about Senate Bill 202, the helmet law repeal.
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Waiting game: A crucial Blue Springs
project hangs in the balance
By The Examiner's Editorial Board
The Examiner
Posted May 02, 2009 @ 02:41 AM
Blue Springs, MO — Two short weeks and counting.
Missouri legislators have been particularly slow about getting some of their main chores done this year, and
even Republicans who control both houses of the General Assembly have at times bickered with one another
while trying to work with a new Democratic governor.
It‘s still not clear that legislators will be able to pass legislation that would move along plans for the Missouri
Innovation Park in Blue Springs, a life-sciences center that could create thousands of jobs and greatly improve
the economy of Eastern Jackson County.
Legislators have just a week to pass budget bills and another week to pass anything else before their May 15
adjournment. The Innovation Park legislation has been part of a much larger bill addressing state tax credits.
The House easily passed that bill early in the legislative session, but the Senate has been bogged down by a
handful of senators – including Republican Matt Bartle of Lee‘s Summit – who are trying to force changes in the
way the state awards and monitors tax credits for a wide variety of development efforts.
Fair enough. They‘ve made their point. The issue deserves a good, healthy debate.
But time is running out. The House passed another version of the tax-credit bill on Thursday, but it‘s far from
clear that the Senate will be agreeable to it. The Innovation Park would be one more step toward getting jobs in
an emerging industry in Missouri. It would be simply be foolhardy to let the tax-credit issue stand in the way of
passing the legislation local leaders have been seeking.
As we‘ve pointed out before in this space, as the session gets closer to adjournment, more worthy bills get
tossed over the side and legislators‘ collective judgments are sometimes clouded by the press of events.
Then they plead that they ―ran out of time.‖ They‘ve had since January. They need to get this done.
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SPRINGFIELD NEWS-LEADER VOICE OF THE DAY
Pregnant women often given no choice
Ilene Ordower
The Missouri legislature is considering legislation (SB 264, HB 46 and 434) that sponsors claim will prevent
women from being coerced into having unwanted abortions. But this bill seeks to protect only the interests of
women who plan to end their pregnancies, which raises serious questions about the legislative commitment to
the pregnant women who give birth. Missouri already requires informed consent for an abortion, but it doesn't
ensure the same for full-term pregnancy procedures.
While 7,000 women in Missouri have abortions each year, more than 81,000 go to term. The Missouri bills
require that women be provided with "medically accurate information" about abortion. While such information is
routinely provided in the abortion context, there is significant evidence that equivalent information regarding
childbirth methods is often denied to women going to term.
The World Health Organization suggests that births by Caesarean, based on medical need, would not exceed 15
percent of all deliveries. Yet, today, 30 percent of all births are by Caesarean. This rise in surgery rates has not
been accompanied by overall improvements in maternal or child health and creates risks that do not exist with
vaginal births. A survey of women's experiences found that one-quarter of the women who had Caesareans
reported that they had experienced pressure from a health professional to have the surgery. And 73 percent of
the women who had an episiotomy during delivery reported that they had no choice.
Evidence-based research does not demonstrate that women seeking abortions are deprived of information or
best medical practices. A highly respected report on maternity care practices, however, found that interventions
during labor and childbirth that "have been shown not to be effective, or to be appropriate only in limited
circumstances are in wide use." The best available evidence supports vaginal birth after Caesarean surgery
(VBAC) for most women who have had a Caesarean previously. Nevertheless, 38 percent of Missouri hospitals
leave women with no choice, requiring women to undergo a planned repeat surgery if they deliver in any of those
facilities.
Missouri legislators want to add yet another law to the already numerous ones regulating abortion, but ignore the
opportunity to pass legislation that could apply to women going to term. Instead, they should simply replace the
word abortion with the following italicized words: Health care providers would be required to inform the woman
that "she is free to withhold or withdraw her consent to have any medical intervention anytime without fear of
losing treatment and assistance benefits." And, hospitals would have to "display statements encouraging a
pregnant woman seeking a vaginal birth after a Caesarean to contact agencies that help women carry an unborn
child to full term" without unnecessary medical interventions.
It is time for Missouri to demonstrate a real commitment to pregnant women by ensuring that all of them,
including those going to term, are guaranteed informed consent and access to medical providers trained to
support a woman's choice without unnecessary and costly medical interventions.
Ilene Ordower is a former Missouri state representative (1992) and lives in St. Louis.
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Our opinion: Stimulus comes at a price
ST. JOSEPH NEWS-PRESS Sunday, May 3, 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act promises $787 billion in new spending and tax cuts to lift our
economy from the doldrums. There is every reason to hope that works, while at the same time worrying for the
debt passed to future generations.
We note recent developments in our region:
* In Plattsburg, city leaders exercised foresight last fall, paid for engineering studies with money on hand and got
in line early for a ―shovel ready‖ project to expand their water plant. Now, $1 million of help is on the way,
provided the city borrows $4.3 million to make this dream a reality.
* In Atchison County, the Wholesale Water Commission worked four years to put its project together to serve
multiple communities with new water wells and a water treatment plant. Residents of Fairfax, Rock Port and
Tarkio, as well as customers of Public Water Supply District No. 1, all stand to benefit from a $10 million federal
grant, a $12 million federal loan and $12 million from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
* In St. Joseph, a school district in need of some good budget news learned it will receive targeted funds that will
help in selected areas over the next two years. The district will receive $1.9 million for its six Title I elementary
schools — those schools in the city‘s most economically distressed neighborhoods — and also $3 million for
special education programs.
Water projects, schools, health care, roads and bridges, Medicaid — all have received a boost from ―stimulus‖
spending.
The pattern here is unmistakable: Worthy projects and programs, sometimes years in the making, receive
funding this year when our economy needs a bump. It‘s not because government suddenly had more money to
spend, it‘s because it needed to spend more money. And that money has to come from somewhere.
Shortly before the stimulus program passed Congress on Feb. 13, the Congressional Budget Office projected
the plan would increase economic output and employment in the short run, but within the next decade, the nearly
trillion-dollar new debt would become a drag on the nation‘s gross national product.
Advocates figured the short-term gain is so critical that the long-term problem either can wait, or will take care of
itself as the economy grows over time.
Opponents — or perhaps they prefer the term ―realists‖ — cared little for that gamble, in part because they care
a lot for future generations. Many would have supported a smaller package, and thus a smaller future debt
payment. Others saw wisdom in allocating more of the package to tax cuts, which have direct impact on
individuals and business.
This becomes a more sobering discussion when you recognize no one gains by making the wrong choice. Both
sides in this debate wanted the same things, but only one prevailed. We see evidence of the stimulus spending
these days in Northwest Missouri, and know someday the bill will come due.
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Patients should know about the quality
and cost of care
STL TODAY By Editorial Board
Imagine buying a $7,500 car blind — without knowing how it compares to other models, how well it‘s made or
how fuel-efficient it is. Most of us simply wouldn‘t do it.
But that‘s exactly how we buy health care. Americans spent an average of $7,421 per person on health care in
2007. Yet when we buy health care, most of us know almost nothing about what we are likely to get for the
money.
We don‘t know how well our doctors or hospitals perform compared to quality standards put together by
authoritative national medical groups. Those numbers exist, but we don‘t ask — and we‘re not told — about the
quality or value of care we receive.
In Missouri, there‘s no requirement that doctors and hospitals report that information. In fact, they can prevent it
from being released publicly.
Some Missouri lawmakers are trying to change that. They want to allow insurance companies and business
groups to collect and release data on quality and affordability. That would allow consumers to make better
decisions about health care, just as they now do about buying cars or other products.
But the effort is facing stiff opposition from some health industry groups. Hospitals are making technical
arguments to limit reporting on quality and prevent disclosures about affordability. They want to limit reporting to
a narrower set of quality standards that contains nothing about value.
Hospitals already collect a great deal of quality information. But most of it is not released publicly. At some
hospitals, the information is not even shared widely within the organization. That defeats the purpose of
gathering it, which is to improve care.
Missouri House Bill 497 would have changed that by requiring public reporting of what are called ―adverse
events‖ — mistakes such as operating on the wrong body part or giving the wrong medication. Those kinds of
errors must be reported publicly in 26 states, but not in Missouri or Illinois.
House Bill 497 is going nowhere. So its backers are trying another tack: They added a so-called ―transparency
amendment‖ to another health care bill.
Insurance companies have access to cost and effectiveness information because it‘s part of the medical claims
filed by their customers. Some large Missouri hospital systems insist on putting language in contracts with
insurance firms that prevents them from releasing information on, for example, how often heart attack patients at
a particular hospital get recommended treatment and what that hospital charges for that care.
In some cases, data show one hospital charging considerably more for the same procedure than others, even
though the higher-cost hospital actually scores worse on quality measures.
But because of restrictive contract provisions, insurance companies can‘t release that information to their
customers. That prevents market forces from working properly to reward high-performing hospitals and punish
those that don‘t do as well.
The transparency amendment would prohibit restrictive contract provisions. Unfortunately, the amendment has
been added to a clunker of a bill, Senate Bill 306.
SB 306 would expand insurance coverage to about 35,000 working poor parents, which is good. But instead of
building on Medicaid as Gov. Jay Nixon proposed, SB 306 would create an alternative system with higher
overhead and more restricted benefits.
The best solution: Pass Mr. Nixon‘s Medicaid proposals, and resurrect and pass HB 497. Medical consumers
have a right to know what they‘re paying for.
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Missourinet
Some Missouri roads remain closed due to highwater
Monday, May 4, 2009, 9:46 AM
By Brent Martin
Rain this weekend caused flash flooding in portions of Missouri, closing some roads. The rain has eased, yet
some roads remain closed.
The Missouri Department of Transportation reports local flooding has caused the closing of a few roads in
central, eastern and southern Missouri.
Some two-lane local routes in central Missouri are closed due to high water, the so-called "lettered "roads. Some
lettered roads in the St. Louis area are closed. Floodwaters from the Missouri River have closed Route 94 in St.
Charles County. Bryant Creek has spilled over its banks and close Route 95 in Ozark County. A few lettered
roads in south-central and southeastern Missouri have been closed due to high water.
Consult MoDOT's Traveler Information Map for the latest on road closings.
Stop puffing, it goes out
Sunday, May 3, 2009, 10:01 PM
By Bob Priddy
Missouri is close to becoming one of the last states to require self-extinguishing cigarettes, known to the tobacco
industry as "reduced ignition propensity" cigarettes. The technology was developed when New York passed a
law requiring safer cigarettes five years ago. Basically, RIP cigarettes go out if the smoker stops puffing them,
instead of continuing to burn to the end, sometimes after being discarded into waste baskets or after the smoker
has gone to sleep in bed. .
The House and Senate have passed slightly different versions of the bill which has tobacco industry and retailers
support. The House is expected to take final action soon.
Senate Sponsor Jack Goodman says the law will require each cigarette brand family to be certified every three
years. "Primarily the technology that is used is either a particular kind of paper or bands that are placed in two
places on the cigarette," he explains. Testing of the technology is is up to the state fire marshal. Retailers that
sell un-certified cigarettes are open to fines of as much as $10,000 for each day of the violation.
Backers say the law should drastically reduced fires caused by careless smoking. As recently as 2001, the
American Legacy Foundation counted more than 31-thousand such fires nationally causing 830 deaths.
Missouri could become the 41st state to prohibit any other kind of cigarettes from being sold.
U.S. Rep. Luetkemeyer speaks out on card check legislation
Sunday, May 3, 2009, 9:57 PM
By Jessica Machetta
A measure in the U.S. House would do away with union elections and simply organize with only a card check,
also called a majority sign-up.
The legislation appears to have enough support to pass the House of Representatives, but Central Missouri
Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer says he doubts it will gain Senate approval.
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Luetkemeyer and other opponents of the legislation say skipping the ballot portion of the unionization process
would allow unions and peers to coerce workers to sign the card while stripping them of their right to a secret
ballot.
"It's something that appears to be dead because of a few key senators in the senate that are opposed to it, it
would do away with the secret ballot, and it's something some union leaders themselves don't want,"
Luetkemeyer tells the Missourinet. "We're concerned, even though it looks like it's a dead issue, everything in the
legislature has nine lives and this could be one of those issues."
The majority sign-up process began when the National Labor Relations Act became law in 1935.
Card check is a method for American employees to organize into a labor union when a majority of employees in
a bargaining unit sign authorization forms, or "cards," stating they wish to be represented by the union. Since the
National Labor Relations Act became law in 1935, majority sign-up has been an alternative for workers to the
Board election process. The main difference between majority sign-up and the election process is that the former
is an open, or public ballot, whereas the latter is a closed, or secret ballot. Also, majority sign-up does not require
the intervention of the Board when unions bargain with employers, whereas the traditional election process does.
In the process, a petition or an authorization card with the signatures of at least 30 percent of the employees
requesting a union is submitted to the Board, which then verifies and orders a secret ballot election.
There are exceptions: If more than 50 of the employees sign an authorization card requesting a union, the
employer can voluntarily choose to waive the secret ballot election process and just recognize the union. The
other exception allows the Board to order an employer to recognize a union if more than 50 percent have signed
cards and if the employer has engaged in unfair labor practices that make a fair election unlikely.
Under the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, if the Board verifies that more than 50 percent signed
authorization cards, the secret ballot election is bypassed and a union is automatically formed.
The measure has been introduced in Congress in 2005, 2007 and now, in 2009.
The act would provide that the NLRB would recognize the union's role as the official bargaining representative if
a majority of employees have authorized that representation via majority sign-up (card check), without requiring
a secret ballot election.
If more than 30 percent and less than 50 percent signed a petition or authorization card, the NLRB would still
order a secret ballot.
A petition signature would have the same weight as a "yes" vote in a secret ballot election.
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USA TODAY MISSOURI NEWS
MONDAY, MAY 4 -- St. Louis — An "outlaw" motorcycle gang called the Invaders has been at the center of
separate police investigations into the 2007 deaths of two St. Louis-area men and the disappearance of a third,
the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, citing court documents. No one has been charged. Earlier this year, police
and federal agents arrested more than a dozen Invaders and associates on charges of dealing marijuana.
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