Agenda light for fall veto session

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In less than 24 hours last year, the Missouri Legislature overrode three gubernatorial vetoes of high-profile bills relating to guns and abortion, matching the number of successful overrides lawmakers achieved during the previous 148 years.

When lawmakers convene Wednesday for their annual veto session, however, there is little expectation that the dramatic political clashes of a year ago will be repeated.

As Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, put it: "There isn't much cooking."

Democratic Gov. Bob Holden vetoed just 11 bills sent to his desk by the Republican-led legislature in the spring -- far fewer than the near-record 30 measures he spiked in 2003. And unlike last year when many of Holden's vetoes stemmed from philosophical differences with the GOP, most of the proposals he rejected this year were vetoed due to technical flaws.

An exception is a bill that would have required property owners to attempt to resolve disputes with contractors over allegedly faulty construction through mediation before they could file a lawsuit. Holden said the measure was so complex that homeowners could inadvertently lose their rights to recoup damages by failing to follow the bill's strict procedures for pursuing a claim.

Kinder, the bill's sponsor, is working to build support for an override but is uncertain if an attempt will be made.

Bypassing the governor requires two-thirds majorities in both chambers, or 24 Senate votes and 109 House votes. Republicans hold a 19-13 Senate majority and 89-73 advantage in the House, excluding vacant seats in both chambers.

In the spring, the Senate endorsed the bill 29-3, while the House approved it 142-17. However, many Democrats who initially supported the measure may be unwilling to override a governor of their own party.

"I have 19 Republican votes for it, and I'm told I have two Democratic votes with another five votes in play as possibles," Kinder said.

Senate Minority Floor Leader Maida Coleman, D-St. Louis, said there is a chance the Senate may support an override attempt, although its chances are far from certain in the House. Because the bill originated in the Senate, an override would have to occur there before the House could consider it.

"We will come together and try to hash out what is best," Coleman said. "We won't know what that is until we vote on Wednesday."

Coleman, a Sikeston native, takes over as the Senate Democratic leader following the resignation of her predecessor, Ken Jacob of Columbia. Jacob stepped down last month to accept a gubernatorial appointment to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission.

Holden's highest-profile veto of the year came on a Republican-priority bill that sought to overhaul Missouri's civil litigation system by restricting where lawsuits could be filed, limiting the financial liability of some defendants and tightening caps on financial awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases. Holden, who also vetoed a similar proposal last year, said the measure would have denied wronged parties access to the courts.

However, the House of Representatives sustained Holden's action in May, meaning it won't be an issue in the veto session.

One veto House Republicans were expected to try to override in the spring may resurface this week. That measure was a resolution rejecting a proposed administrative rule to allow the state to deduct service fees from the paychecks of state workers who are represented by, but don't belong to, a union.

Although Holden vetoed the proposal in February and the House took no further action, Secretary of State Matt Blunt, a Republican, has refused to publish the rule in the Code of State Regulations, blocking it from taking effect.

A group of unionized state workers last month asked a court to order Blunt to publish the rule. That case is pending in Cole County Circuit Court.

House Majority Floor Leader Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, said there has been some talk of pursuing an override, although at this point it may not be worth the effort.

"We probably won't make an attempt on that because of the current litigation," Crowell said. "The courts are probably going to decide that."

The votes passing the resolution fell well short of the needed two-thirds majorities in both chambers.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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