Pathways to funding senior care services

In the 2016 Veto Session, the Missouri legislature overrode 13 of then-Gov. Nixon’s vetoes. This brought his total of overridden vetoes in his gubernatorial career to over 90. This is more than all other Missouri governors combined (22), and it would not surprise me if it is more than any other governor in American history.

By contrast, this year’s Veto Session, held on Sept. 13, produced no overrides of any of Gov. Greitens’ vetoes.

The governor had vetoed five policy bills, and three line-items from budget bills. Only one of the policy bills, House Committee Bill 3, was brought up for veto override discussion. But its override failed by a vote of 49-106. HCB 3 was a bill to deal with funding of certain senior care services.

The topic of addressing the senior care services in some fashion other than an override was discussed. Iit appears that Republican and Democrat leadership from both House and Senate will meet in the coming weeks to see if there is a path to take money from somewhere and give to senior care services. If that path is identified in short order, the legislature may be called back in to address the issue in a Special Session. If not, it will be a top priority when we return to Regular Session in January.

The other well-publicized topic of discussion was the ill-advised Facebook comments of Sen. Chappelle-Nadal and Rep. Warren Love.

When a vandal defaced a Confederate memorial in Missouri, Rep. Love commented he hoped the perpetrators would be “hanged from a tall tree with a long rope.” This comment offended some in the African-American community who associated it with past lynchings of blacks by the Ku Klux Klan.

Rep. Gail McCann-Beatty gave a short speech of admonishment about Rep. Love during Veto Session and filed an ethics resolution. This resolution will be taken up by the House ethics committee – a panel of five House Republicans and five House Democrats – in the near future to decide Rep. Love’s fate.

In the Senate, despite calls by several elected officials, Sen. Chappelle-Nadal was not expelled for her Facebook post of “I hope Trump is assassinated.” Instead, the Senate passed a resolution censuring her, and leaving the door open for possible expulsion if she does not resign by January.

Censuring is a public declaration of blame, but does not necessarily mean a loss of privileges. She has said she does not intend to resign. Expelling her would have required two-thirds of the senators’ support, and while many would have voted for it, informal polling revealed it would not have been the two-thirds needed.

And now legislators will return to their home districts to be with their families, their constituents, and plan legislation for next session. Unless a Special Session is called, the legislature will not reconvene until Jan. 3, 2018.