LAWMAKERS IN AREA VOTE AS EXPECTED ON OVERRIDE

JEFFERSON CITY -- State representatives from Southeast Missouri offered no surprises Wednesday during the General Assembly's annual veto session, unanimously voting to override the governor's veto of a bill creating a crime of infanticide.

The eight Republicans, two Democrats and one Independent representing the region were all expected to join the House of Representatives' override effort.

The full House voted 127-34, with one member voting present, to overturn Gov. Mel Carnahan's veto of House Bill 427. The legislation would classify certain late-term abortion procedures as infanticide. Only 109 votes were needed for the override.

The Senate will take up the matter today at 10 a.m.

Rep. Pat Naeger, R-Perryville, predicted that with the level of public support for the measure and the overwhelming House vote, senators will be hard pressed to let the veto stand.

However, he expected the governor's supporters to work hard to sustain the veto in the Senate.

"Governor Carnahan is a very proud man and he is not going to lay down on this issue now," Naeger said.

Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, believes override supporters in the Senate have the 23 votes needed to prevail. As in the House, a two-thirds majority is needed to override a veto.

However, Kinder believes some Democratic opponents of the measure could mount a filibuster in an attempt to keep the matter from coming to a vote.

Only a simple majority is needed to halt a filibuster, but the procedure is rarely used. Kinder said that could change on this issue.

"There is a lot of sentiment that a bill that has already been fully debated should not be subject to a filibuster in veto session," Kinder said.

Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, said that with the Senate's increased opportunity for parliamentary maneuvering anything can still happen on HB 427.

"The final outcome of the bill is very much up in the air," Richardson said.

In regard to the House vote, Richardson said he didn't expect many members to waver from their original stance on the measure, which the Legislature passed in May.

"The governor obviously fell way short," Richardson said. "His bold prediction of three weeks ago that he already had the votes he needed proved to be a gross exaggeration."

The measure's supporters said the bill contains good, clear language and is not vague as opponents claimed.

"The bill is very precise," said Rep. Mary Kasten. "They were just grasping for straws."

Rep. Bill Foster, R-Poplar Bluff agreed.

"It is a very short, concise piece of legislation," Foster said. "I think you would have to have a very vivid imagination to envision some of the things the opponents were talking about."

Foster also said that calls to sustain the veto and draft a compromise measure next session were just a ploy to kill the bill.

"I think the bill has been negotiated, worked on and perfected over the past three years," he said. "They said they were looking for compromise. We have already been through that process. What they were really looking for was to kill the bill."

While the measure may not be perfect, Rep. Marilyn Taylor Williams, D-Dudley, believes it is strong enough to pass constitutional muster.

"Obviously there are valid concerns, but that remains to be seen in the courts," Williams said.

The infanticide measure wasn't the only piece of legislation vetoed by Carnahan to face a challenge Wednesday. The Senate voted 24-8 to override the governor's rejection of an omnibus crime bill. However, following the debate on HB 427, the House refused to take the matter up and the veto was sustained.

Richardson said House Republicans were prepared to vote to override but the measure didn't stand a chance because few Democrats -- key in the infanticide measure vote -- were willing to rebuff Carnahan twice in one day.