Drug benefit takes stage in session

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri lawmakers began a special session Wednesday with more than enough support to pass a new prescription drug benefit for lower-income senior citizens.

A majority of House and Senate members signed onto a pair of bills that differ only slightly and closely mirror the recommendations of Gov. Bob Holden's prescription drug task force.

Holden said he was optimistic.

"This plan helps those the most in need," the governor said shortly after legislators convened Missouri's first special session in four years.

Lawmakers deadlocked on a prescription drug plan during their regular session, with the House and Senate backing rival approaches.

Immediately after lawmakers disbanded in May, Holden announced he would call a special session. Then the Democratic governor appointed a bipartisan task force to recommend a new prescription plan.

Holden has endorsed the task force's suggestions. A bill offered Wednesday in the House mirrors those recommendations. A Senate bill contains most of the key provisions.

The House bill sponsored by Reps. Mark Abel, D-Festus, and Pat Naeger, R-Perryville, is supported by at least 90 of the 162 representatives -- more than enough to ensure the 82 votes needed for passage.

Sen. Sarah Steelman, R-Rolla, said her version is supported by 30 of 34 senators -- well more than the 18 needed for passage. Several other prescription drug bills also were introduced in the Senate, where any one member has the power to stall debate and delay a vote.

Ending tax credit

The proposals would do away with a prescription drug income tax credit that has been criticized as costing too much yet providing too little help.

Under the heavily supported House and Senate bills, eligible seniors would pay an enrollment fee and meet a deductible, then the state would pick up 60 percent of their prescription costs up to $5,000 annually.

Steelman's bills would repeal the tax credit only after the new program is up and running. Her bill also would also create a legislative committee to oversee prescription drug policy.

"If the senior program is not fully operational, then the tax credit would (stay in) effect," Steelman said. "So, for seniors, there's no lapse in coverage. They would have something to fall back on."

Abel and Naeger pledged a bipartisan approach in the House.

"The program will be fiscally responsible and it will provide relief for our most needy seniors," Abel said. "I'm confident that we will have an overwhelming positive vote in the House, and that will help convince the Senate to do the same."

Sen. Ken Jacob, D-Columbia, offered a bill in the Senate that is identical to the one backed by Abel and Naeger.

Sen. Marvin Singleton, R-Seneca, also filed a bill that, like Steelman's, would keep the tax credit in place until a replacement program is enacted. But Singleton's does not create a new program.

Singleton said he was concerned about how many seniors would be eligible for the new program and how costly it could become.

"We cannot move forward without an accurate determination of these issues," Singleton said. "Until you know where you are going to land, you should not leap out into space."

The program recommended by the task force is estimated to cost up to $52 million the first year and up to $85 million the next. Those estimates are based on just 13 percent of the 382,000 eligible seniors participating the first year and 20 percent the second.

Exempt refunds

Also Wednesday, lawmakers offered proposals designed to exempt this summer's federal tax refund checks from state income taxes.

"The taxpayers feel like I believe, that this is their money," Holden said.

Sen. John Cauthorn, R-Mexico, filed legislation said to be a compromise revision of a 1999 law. The law had been intended to protect small, independent producers from being paid less for their livestock than large producers. But since it took effect, packers have quit paying cash for live animals for fear of being accused of price discrimination.

Cauthorn's bill would replace the 1999 law with language mirroring the federal Packers and Stockyards Act, which determines unfair trade practices and price discrimination violations. The federal law has not sparked any controversies.

Lawmakers are expected to meet in committees Thursday and could debate legislation as early as Friday.

Senators are meeting in a House hearing room in the basement of the Capitol because their regular chambers are being renovated.

To save money, the House told most representatives to stay home for the first few days, which typically involve more procedure than debate. Fewer than a dozen of the 163 representatives were present Tuesday as the chamber convened.