CAUTION THE WORD IN CAPITOL

JEFFERSON CITY -- The final grade of the 1994 session of the Missouri General Assembly may be based more upon what was not passed than what was passed, a number of state lawmakers said last week.

"No legislation is better than bad legislation," said Rep. Marilyn Williams, D-Dudley. "I think everybody is more cautious and aware of what we pass needs to matter."

Said Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, "I think maybe my best service to my people is to be against the bad legislation."

In many cases so far this year, major issues have been dealt with by one house or the other, or the two houses have passed different versions that need to be compromised in a conference committee.

Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, said he believes before the session ends some good things will be passed.

"Overall I have been pleased with the session. It has been very hectic and near frantic in some ways, and the major legislation is still bottled up and not dealt with until the end, which is typical," he said.

Five days remain in the 1994 session, which, according to the state constitution, must adjourn at 6 p.m. Friday. Signs of the final days were apparent last week on the House side, as a large copy machine was moved to the hall to quickly print copies of amendments to bills that need to be distributed to lawmakers before votes can be taken. The copier will run almost non-stop this week.

Gov. Mel Carnahan, who is frequently seen in the offices of legislators, was working the halls last week trying to get his priority bills moving. On Thursday, before the House adjourned for the week, Carnahan and several top aides were on the side galleries of the House and Senate chambers conferring with lawmakers.

Richardson said the frantic finish often makes it difficult for legislators to know what they are voting on. But Richardson believes the sense of caution he has seen during the 1994 session will continue this week.

"I think there is a lot more concern about how constituents feel on issues this year than in past years," said Richardson, something he attributes to an election year with many contested races.

Rep. Gene Copeland, D-New Madrid, who has been in the House longer than some members have been living, agreed with Richardson that lawmakers are exercising more caution. But the 34-year veteran does not feel it is due to 1994 being an election year.

"I think it is because people here are concerned about how the public is so anti-government, and we don't want to do anything to create the kind of problems here they have in Washington," said Coepland.

"We have passed some important legislation here, like the crime bill, and now the time is coming to work out differences to pass legislation," said Copeland. "While some good bills have passed, we have sure defeated a lot of controversial ones."

Rep. David Schwab, R-Jackson, said it's clear to him that the election year is having an effect.

Said Schwab: "It's obvious that this is an election year. We have defeated some bills that would have passed if people here do not have to go back home and explain their votes to the people."

Schwab cited as an example Senate Bill 380, passed last year under heavy pressure by the governor as an education funding and reform bill. This session Carnahan attempted to push through a sweeping health-care reform bill, but has met strong opposition -- opposition Schwab believes might not be so intense in a non-election year.

"You just could not twist enough arms to get that bill through this year," said Schwab.

The third-term legislator also said having the number of Republicans in the 163 member House up to 68 is having an impact. It takes 82 votes for a bill to pass. "It seems they (Democratic leaders) have not been able to railroad anything through very easily this year," said Schwab.

Rep. Herb Fallert, D-Ste. Genevieve, who is retiring after 12 years, said things have gone slow because lawmakers are cautious and somewhat hassled by recent Supreme Court actions on issues like riverboat gambling and education.

"It looks like we can't have any discussions on the big issues this year," said Fallert.

Powerful House Budget Chairman Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, stalked the House chamber Thursday afternoon expressing relief that his tedious chore of overseeing the state's $12 billion budget was done for this year. All of the budget bills are on the governor's desk.

Kelly pledged to spend his newfound freedom keeping watch for bad legislation.

"It's better to defeat bad bills than pass good ones," said Kelly. "I'm going to kill some bad legislation."

Kelly and Williams agreed that it seems ironic that people say they want less government intrusion but then are impressed by legislators who boast about the laws they have passed.

"People say they don't want more legislative interference, but how do they measure success? By the bills a legislator passes," said Kelly.

Said Williams: "I don't think you can measure success by just what is passed. We've killed a lot of bad legislation, and to me that is more important than passing a lot of laws. Some people up here think it is important to pass laws and others think it is important to keep bad things from becoming law."

Regardless of what has passed -- or hasn't passed -- everyone seems to agree that anything can happen in the final week. Words like "resurrection" are often associated with measures previously believed to be dead.

"It looks kind of bleak for some of the big issues right now, but the pieces of the puzzle are all there," said Fallert. "It is just a matter of finding the right spot."

Said Schwab, "We have all learned many times that you should never underestimate what can happen up here the last week of the session."

Rep Dennis Ziegenhorn, D-Sikeston, retiring after 14 years, has learned to brace for a wild finale.

"An issue might appear to be dead right now, but you need to remember: Stars will rise in the east up here the last week. That can be good, and that can be bad," said Ziegenhorn.