Lawmakers may try again on tax, gun issues

With the veto session behind them, Missouri lawmakers are evaluating a possible second effort on several issues they expect to see during next year's session, including an income-tax cut.

Override attempts last week on the hotly debated House Bill 253, a tax-cut measure, and House Bill 436, which would have nullified federal gun laws, were unsuccessful, despite a veto-proof majority of Republicans in the Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate.

Cape Girardeau public schools superintendent Jim Welker said schools feel relieved after the failed override attempt on the tax bill. The district also expects to receive larger state payments over the remainder of the school year because the governor has released money he withheld due to concerns about the budget related to House Bill 253.

Based on estimates from the governor's office, Cape Girardeau schools could have lost between $680,000 and $1 million if House Bill 253 became law. Welker said he wants to continue to work with state lawmakers on budget-related bills, but with one thing -- tax credits handed out by the state -- addressed before tax-cut bills are pushed.

House member Kathy Swan of Cape Girardeau agrees tax credits need examination.

Rep. Kathy Swan

"I'm looking at how it impacts our revenue picture, definitely," Swan said. "I think knowing how much we spend on tax credits when we consider making any changes to the budget, including tax cuts, is the way to go."

Swan said discussions about tax credits "might include the possibility of incorporating the tax credit program in the state budget-setting process, considering appropriate levels of tax credit redemptions per category and fiscal year and/or developing procedures for handling multiyear tax credit projects."

Vetoes of 10 other bills were overridden. Republican House members from Southeast Missouri, including Swan, Donna Lichtenegger of Jackson, Shelley Keeney of Marble Hill and Holly Rehder of Sikeston, voted to override House Bill 253. Two area Republicans did not -- Kent Hampton of Malden and Dennis Fowler of Advance. Steve Hodges, a Democrat from East Prairie, also voted against a veto override.

Supporters of the bill said it offered the first tax cut in nearly 100 years and would grow the state's economy; opponents were concerned about potential spending cuts to education and other state services.

"Republicans may differ regarding social issues, but the one subject on which they agree is smaller government and fewer taxes, so I was very disappointed in the failure to override," Lichtenegger said in a Capitol report released Friday. "I am confident we will return to this legislation during the 2014 session, and any needed fixes will be perfected."

She also said the failed override gives the legislature time to go back and fix problems with House Bill 253, such as a clause that would have increased taxes on prescription drugs.

Swan said a similar opportunity exists with House Bill 436. With the veto not overridden, clarification on the bill's language pushed for by the Missouri Press Association could be changed.

In addition to nullifying federal gun laws, the bill contained a provision that would have made concealed-carry permit holders' information a closed record under the Missouri Sunshine Law and other provisions. That would have made publishing the name or other identifying information of a gun owner illegal. In the weeks up to the veto session, the Missouri Press Association voted to seek injunctive relief and a court determination on the constitutionality of those provisions. The Southeast Missourian is a member of the association.

Lichtenegger questioned several parts of the bill's language, but gave it full support after she confirmed its constitutionality, she said in her Capitol report.

Hodges supported both bills during the regular session of the legislature, but decided to stand with the governor during the veto session.

"I got to honor the commitment I had made to way I said I would vote on the bills and an allegiance to the governor I have always carried," he said.

eragan@semissourian.com

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