A mid-session legislative report card

By State Rep. David Klindt

The Y2K new year is flying by, and the 2000 legislative session is already half over. The legislature has already debated many important issues, like the tobacco settlement money, the state budget, and highway funding. Other issues still need to be addressed, like urban education, other state transportation concerns, and agriculture. Here are some of the highlights of what the General Assembly has accomplished so far and what is coming up.

The House has approved a proposed state constitutional amendment regarding the tobacco settlement proceeds, estimated at $6.7 billion over the next 25 years. The proposed amendment, which would have to be approved by a vote of the people, allocates half of the money for health care access and treatment, 20 percent for health sciences research, 15 percent for comprehensive tobacco cessation, education, and prevention, and 15 percent for early intervention and prevention programs for children.

House Republicans feel that locking spending percentages into the constitution is a bad idea, because we just do not know now how we should spend this money years from now. In passing this bill, the largest spending bill in state history except for the budget, the House Democratic leadership shut out any Republican input while allowing Democratic amendments to the bill.

Republican amendments would have ensured that more than a mere 15 percent of the tobacco money would have been used to fight tobacco-related illnesses. Unfortunately, this issue has been subsumed by politics.

On a brighter note, the House has finished its deliberations on the $17 billion state budget. The governor proposes a budget for the state, which the House takes under consideration. Reviewing and finalizing the state budget, which is spread among twelve appropriations bills, is an arduous task and the center of the legislature’s work. With its completion in the House, the budget will now move on to the Senate where it will be reviewed, debated, and changed pending House approval.

One budget adjustment made by the House was an increase in funding for the Read to be Ready Program. The House also approved another bill, HB 1076, that reinforces the importance of improving our children’s reading skills.

This legislation would adjust current school guidelines so that third-graders reading below their grade level receive at least thirty additional hours of reading instruction outside of the regular school day in order to catch up. If still a year behind when they reach the fourth grade, they would need to attend a summer school program. The General Assembly has yet to take up, however, pending legislation that addresses the urban education crisis in our two largest cities. Hopefully it will be considered when legislators return to the capitol.

Along with education, it is crucial that we improve the quality of our highways. Improving our highways is not just a question of convenience, it is a question of safety. Over half of Missouri’s roads have been rated as being in poor, fair or mediocre condition, and almost half of our highway bridges are deficient. Poor road conditions account for about one-third of traffic deaths in Missouri. A bill passed by the House authorizes MoDOT to issue up to $2 billion worth of bonds over the next six years to pay for highway improvements. This is a good start, although more money is needed.

A worthwhile highway plan would include sufficient funds to repair existing roads and build the promised projects of the 15-year plan. It would also include measures to restore accountability and credibility to our highways administration such as replacing the Highway Commission with a secretary of transportation as House Republicans are advocating.

Another hot issue this year is MTBE. This month, the federal Environmental Protection Agency proposed new regulations to get rid of MTBE, a gasoline additive that reduces automobile-caused air pollution but pollutes groundwater as it leaks from underground gasoline storage tanks. The House Republican farm legislation introduced last month includes a bill aimed at replacing the MTBE-reformulated gasoline sold in Missouri’s largest cities with an ethanol blend that is cleaner, cheaper, and benefits our farmers.

Other bills introduced as part of this package would create the Missouri Agricultural Investment Tax Credit to provide financial relief to farmers, a tax credit for personal property taxes paid on livestock, farm machinery, and grain storage and increase the incentives to producers who create or join New Generation Cooperatives.

Other highlights from the session so far include a bill passed by the House aimed at reducing computer crime and internet pornography and a bill approved by the Senate that lowers the minimum blood-alcohol content for drunk driving offenses from .10 to .08.

If you have questions about bills before the General Assembly or would like more information about what the legislature does, please do not hesitate to contact me.