Looking For Governor’s Veto To Be Overridden

Last week at the Capitol surely had it’s ups and downs.

Because we have been working steadily since the beginning of session, there are scores of bills on the calendar for discussion and passage. The leadership team prioritized our work early to get the largest and most controversial issues completed early. Those bills have made the trip to the Senate and are now coming back for final passage.

The Senate bills are also coming over to us for our amendments. Many of the smaller and single issue bills can simply be added to similar legislation that has already gone through the process. Of course, the Senate can always request the bill to go to conference if they don’t like something about it. We have the same privilege with House bills that the Senate amends.

Normally, this give and take is a good way to resolve differences and it does make for a better finished product. The other benefit to getting our priority bills done early is to send the finished product to the Governor’s desk for his signature or veto early enough that we have time for an override if we disagree with his veto.

This is the situation we find ourselves in with SB 24. SB 24 is the welfare reform bill and it’s intention is to encourage people to return to work. Only about 15 percent of Missouri’s welfare population is meeting current work requirements which puts us close to the bottom in national standings. The bill provides for almost four years of assistance, typically about $500 per month in food stamps and $125 in cash.

There is also an intervention system where state case workers meet face-to-face with people and give them an additional six weeks to comply. If people still fail to meet their work requirements, the benefits would be cut in half for an additional 10 weeks. This proactive reform cuts limits from five years to four years and is following the lead of many other states who realize that the programs were expanded as the economy worsened several years ago, but now we need to encourage people to go back into the work force. The resources we save by this move can be reinvested into child care, education, transportation assistance and job training for families in need.

In his veto letter, the Governor cites a concern for children. He didn’t seem so concerned when he took over $200,000 from Children’s Division to pay the fees for the National Governor’s Association. More next week, I hope to have news on the Right to Work bill that I sent to the Senate in the second week of session. I’ll just have to wait and see. Bill Lant 417-437-8223 bill.lant@house.mo.gov 573-751-9801