Analysis: Months of work by Missouri lawmakers end in chaos

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's Legislature crumbled in the days before the deadline to pass bills, stunted by gridlock in the Senate and the resignation of House Speaker John Diehl after he admitted to exchanging sexually charged text messages with an intern.

Instead of a typical final week packed with last-minute votes on at least 100 measures or more, state lawmakers at times took lunch breaks lasting more than two hours and passed fewer than 50 bills. The partisan fighting even led to a much-discussed measure meant to address police use of deadly force following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson falling by the wayside.

But amid the chaos, Republicans -- armed with some of the party's largest numbers in the state Legislature -- managed to pass a number of high-priority bills.

The chaotic end to session was "certainly unusual," University of Missouri-St. Louis political scientist David Kimball said, "because in years past this is when they are rushing to pass a flurry of final legislation, often important stuff."

A rare move by Senate Republicans to force a vote Tuesday on a contentious bill that would prohibit labor unions from requiring nonmembers to pay dues set the tone for the rest of the week, with Democrats vowing to filibuster until the 6 p.m. Friday deadline.

Right-to-work was would be the last vote senators would take for days, with Democrats stalling all other action. The chamber met for only about an hour Thursday, when discussion on the floor between Democrats at one point veered to whether the first name of Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder should be included in the daily records.

"The very fabric of the Senate was torn on Tuesday," Senate Minority Leader Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis, said Friday. "The mending is going to take a lot of time and effort."

Meanwhile, work in the House limped forward after The Kansas City Star published a report Wednesday that detailed what it said were texts -- some sexually suggestive -- between Diehl and a 19-year-old intern. No work on legislation was done Thursday, when Diehl said he planned to resign and House Republicans spent the rest of the day discussing his replacement.

The final day of session began with the St. Louis County Republican officially stepping down for what he called a "serious lack of judgment." He led representatives in a final Pledge of Allegiance, apologized and said goodbye. House Majority Leader Todd Richardson was chosen to take his place.

The chamber passed 30 bills Friday, sometimes by stripping changes not approved by the Senate to avoid another round of approval there.

Among the GOP priorities that passed both chambers: reducing the length of time of available jobless benefits, welfare cuts, a broad bill aimed at helping the agriculture industry and the prized right-to-work bill.

While Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon signed the agriculture bill last month, he vetoed both the unemployment assistance and welfare measures and has said the right-to-work bill will be similarly blocked. Republicans already have overridden his veto on the welfare bill. The measure to tie the number of weeks of available jobless benefits to the state's unemployment rate needs another two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to become law, a move senators have said could occur during the short September veto session.

Several issues that had bipartisan support, including changes to the state's local court systems to address policies that some lawmakers say prey on primarily black and poor communities, also passed.

"Just because we had to slow down the last week doesn't mean we have no ability to work," Senate Majority Leader Ron Richard, a Joplin Republican, said. "I'm not too concerned about that last week."

Associated Press writer Summer Ballentine covers Missouri government and politics. Follow Summer Ballentine at https://www.twitter.com/esballentine