Significant lifestyle changes coming

by Representative Jim Whorton

The 93rd General Assembly completed its first regular session last week in Jefferson City. The time period described in our Constitution has come and gone and we will probably not meet again as an entire body until the veto session, which is scheduled in early September. It is likely that our Governor could identify an issue of significant need that might require a special session, hopefully to be scheduled at that same time.

This session is over, it is history, and only time will tell the extent of success which will result from our actions. I suspect the degree of success, satisfaction or dissatisfaction is totally in the eye of the beholder! Many will say it was a very productive session, one of the best ever, and others will say it was one of the worst ever. We’ll have to wait and see who gains and who loses because the legislative impacts will be different for various parts of our population.

Most, if not all, of the Governor’s priority issues were passed and many of those will create significant changes in lifestyle of many Missourians, especially for those who are dependent on social services. I will try to discuss some of these issues one by one as the season passes. We now have the new pieces of legislation, but, before I try to fully evaluate the cost versus benefits of them, I want to collect new opinions about how they will affect many of you folks in order to insure a balanced description.

In keeping with that intent, I will be traveling a lot throughout our district and am looking forward to renewing our acquaintances. Even though the time I spend in Jefferson City is enjoyable, I truly miss the routine of fellowship with each of you when I’m working from home. It is my thought that some legislation we passed this year is not really very practical, and we will probably need to revisit those areas of statutes again next year. I will need your advice and shared experiences to help get prepared for the second regular session of this term.

We had some real growing pains in this session, especially early on. There were about thirty new members in addition to our new leadership and a newly-elected administration. In addition, the majority party had plans for pretty significant changes in Missouri’s governmental policies. The initial shock value of all those factors is now behind us and the second session is likely to run a lot smoother. It seems like a long time until then. I am one of those who is very dissatisfied with our collective actions in this one, but I’m already looking forward to the next.