Lawmakers put focus on GOP agenda, budget

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Finishing work on priority legislation sought by majority Republicans and finding the money to pay for the state budget will dominate the final week of the 2003 legislative session.

The $19 billion spending plan lawmakers approved last week is at least $200 million out of balance, a situation they hope to rectify before their constitutionally mandated adjournment at 6 p.m. Friday.

A patchwork bill containing a variety of revenue-raising efforts has already passed both chambers but in vastly different forms. Lawmakers will take up a compromise version this week.

House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, R-Warson Woods, said winning the 82 votes needed for lower chamber passage will be difficult.

"I am committed to supporting it, but it will take some work," Hanaway said.

The bill includes some minor tax increases on yacht purchasers and out-of-state lottery winners, the closure of various tax loopholes and a second chance at amnesty for Missourians in debt to the taxman. The latter proposal, which was tried with success this year, would allow people to pay their back taxes without penalty.

Though Republicans are hopeful they can raise the $200 million they say is needed to balance the budget, other budget experts estimate that the proposal could be more than $500 million in the red.

Senate Minority Floor Leader Ken Jacob, D-Columbia, said most Democratic proposals to raise revenue never even got hearings in either chamber. Had such measures moved, lawmakers might not be scrambling for a fix now.

"If we would have brought up these issues earlier, we would have had more time," Jacob said.

Time could be a problem for key components of the Republican agenda, mainly tort reform and workers' compensation reform.

Both chambers have improved a version of tort reform, which seeks to limit lawsuits against businesses and cap big awards for damages.

Senate Democrats waged an unsuccessful 30-hour filibuster against the measure in March. With floor time a precious commodity in the session's final week, however, it becomes much easier to block legislation.

Democrats are also opposed to workers' compensation reform. The bill, which would tighten the definition of a work-related injury, cleared the House but hasn't yet been voted on in the Senate.

Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat, has indicated he might veto both of those bills should they reach his desk.

Awaiting vetoes

Already awaiting his veto are bills allowing law-abiding Missourians to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons and requiring women seeking an abortion to wait 24 hours after their first visit to a clinic before having the procedure performed.

As the legislature has long had a strong anti-abortion rights majority, even under Democratic leadership, a veto override on that bill is considered a strong possibility. The concealed weapons measure is another matter.

Two-thirds majorities in both chambers are needed for override -- 109 votes in the House and 23 in the Senate.

The bill garnered 105 House votes, but 18 members didn't vote, which gives an override effort a chance. While there were 23 affirmative votes in the Senate, one of those came from Jacob, who is among the measure's staunchest opponents. Jacob voted for it as a strategic move.

Lawmakers will consider any veto overrides in September.

Not in jeopardy of a veto is the legislature's biggest bipartisan success of the year -- nursing home reform. The bill, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, would increase fines for substandard home operators and require more expansive background checks of employees.

That measure awaits Holden's signature, which he has pledged to provide.

mpowers@semissourian.com

(573) 635-4608