Capitol Calling

House passes tax cut plan

While the Missouri House shot down legislation that would fund numerous projects with federal stimulus money, they approved a separate plan to lower the state's income tax.

That plan was proposed last week as a two-year cut in the income tax from 6 percent to 5.5 percent. But House Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs, attached an amendment that would make the reduction permanent.

The bill passed the House 86-66. But it faces a rough road in the Senate. And even if it makes it through there, it could face opposition from Gov. Jay Nixon. That lead Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, to deride the bill as an "imaginary" tax cut.

Here's video:

Tilley: We may bring HB22 back up

House Majority Leader Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, says he will bring legislation consisting of projects funded with federal stimulus money back up for debate if that's what the chairman of the House Budget Committee wants to do.

Tilley made that statement during the weekly media availability for House Republicans. The aforementioned bill failed outright on the House floor 82-68. A cadre of Democrats joined Republicans to defeat the bill.

While Democrats were upset about how the bill went through the process, some Republicans - such as House Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs - objected to a $12 million allocation to assist St. Louis' METRO mass transit system.

The video below touches on both of those aforementioned topics:

We all sing the songs of separation

Wow.

A bill containing a list of projects funded with federal stimulus dollars went down in flames on Thursday after a bipartisan group of lawmakers voted the measure down.

The package - which underwent an unusual legislative route to get to the floor so quickly - included a number of projects funded with federal stabilization dollars. In that mix include a $12 million allotment for St. Louis' METRO system, $111 million for a statewide interoperability system for law enforcement and $31.2 million for the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia.

The legislation passed an initial vote in the House yesterday. But when it came up for another vote in order to be sent to the Missouri Senate, it failed 82-68.

A group of Republicans joined forces with a large number of Democratic lawmakers to sink the legislation. House Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs, for example, decried the bill as a vehicle for localized pet projects. Some Democrats - such as state Rep. Jason Kander, D-Kansas City - said it was better for the money to be saved for next year.

Rep. Rachel Storch, D-St. Louis - who voted for the bill - said it's "pretty late in the session with a ticking clock" to pass some of the projects funded in the bill. Storch successfully passed an amendment on the bill yesterday procuring funding for METRO.

"I guess if I had a crystal ball, I would say either that money is going to lapse and we'll come back to it next year or we're headed toward a special session," Storch said.

House Budget Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, said some members of his caucus had "heartburn" over some of the projects. There was a perception, he said, that the list of projects were an example of needless spending.

"Going from the previous versions to this, I tried to focus on what I consider critical projects for the state," Icet said. "I'd like to ask the people who voted against it how will we find the money and pay for a statewide [law enforcement communication system]? Because as I stand here, I do not know."

Pratt said Republicans became fed up about how the legislation became an arena for local pork projects. He singled out the METRO allocation as an example.

"The METRO bill may have killed the bill on its own," Pratt said. "I'm not aware of any plan right now for the longtime sustainability of the METRO. They were looking for an infusion of cash without any plan to say they're not going to need the cash need year or the year after."

More later.

Nixon: Swine flu hits Missouri

Gov. Jay Nixon held a somewhat unusual evening press conference to discuss a probable case of swine flu in Missouri.

Nixon told reporters that health officials had located a person in Platte County who likely had contracted the disease. The World Health Organization warned today that a pandemic of the disease is imminent.

Here is video of Nixon discussing the development:

Here's video of Nixon answering questions about the swine flu case:

METRO gets stimulus funding

A St. Louis City state represenative succeeded in procuring $12 million for St. Louis' METRO program into legislation spending federal stimulus funds.

Rep. Rachel Storch, D-St. Louis, successfully procured $12 million by taking funds originally directed at state ethanol incentives and transferring those funds to the mass transit program, which has been hit hard by recent budget cuts.

Under House budget rules, a House member must cut something in a budget bill in order to boost funding somewhere else.

METRO was slated to receive $20 million in an earlier version of the spending bill. But Storch said while the funding wasn’t completely enough to stem off METRO’s shortfall, it was a good start.

“At this point, we just need to move forward to look prospectively at what we can to do to make sure there is oversight and accountability in place, but to also make sure that [METRO] has the funds they need to allow them to provide transportation service in the St. Louis region,” Storch said.

The stimulus project bill passed 97-56. It needs another vote to go to the Missouri Senate for consideration. You can read more in my latest article for the St. Louis Beacon.

The Notebook

The Missouri Senate began debate on substantial changes to the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan, the first time such alterations have been debated in the Missouri General Assembly’s upper chamber.

But the constitutional amendment that could make a number of changes to the selection plan for judges in some parts of the state is running into a filibuster. And the bill's Senate handler, Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis County, seems to see the writing on the wall.

How? Well, Lembke noticed thick black notebooks that say 'HJR10' on the desks of a number of lawmakers. These notebooks apparently contain talking points about an inch and a half thick against Rep. Stanley Cox's resolution.

Here's a sound clip of an exchange between Lembke and Sen. Matt Bartle, a Lee's Summit Republican largely opposed to altering the Non-Partisan Court Plan:

Death by Senate

As I sit in the Missouri Senate waiting to see if HJR10 will be debated tonight, I just listened to a pretty fascinating exchange between Sens. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit, and Tim Green, D-St. Louis County.

Bartle talked about a phenomenon this session where bills die in the Missouri Senate. Lately, most legislation encountering any bit of opposition has been shelved after a brief period of debate. The result of this trend, Bartle said, is the increasing irrelevance of state legislators.

Here's some audio:

The exchange occurred during debate of Sen. John Griesheimer's telecommunications bill.

KBIA Commentary: Bullet or the Chapstick

Missouri legislators are coming up with new and exciting ways to spend federal stimulus money. But that indecision could lead to gridlock this late in the session - which to some may actually be a good thing.

That's the topic of my KBIA commentary. Here it is:

Specter switch shocks political establishment

Sure, there's plenty of good things emanating out of Jefferson City today. But the big story coming out of Washington, D.C. is Sen. Arlen Specter's defection to the Democratic Party.

From the Washington Post:

Specter's decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next senator from Minnesota. (Former senator Norm Coleman is appealing Franken's victory in the state Supreme Court.)

"I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary," said Specter in a statement. "I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election."

He added: "Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."

Read the rest here.

Crowell beseeches Senate to give lawmakers keys to Capitol Dome

The headline is pretty self-explanatory.

Here's the audio of Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, asking the Senate to adopt his amendment that would allow individual lawmakers to access the Capitol Dome:

The amendment was adopted by voice vote. God bless America.