LEGISLATORS GIVE UPDATE AT FRIDAY COFFEE

The recent legislation session was a busy one, state Rep. Patrick Naeger said Friday.

"We failed to pass my bill -- prescription drugs for seniors -- but it was a good session," said the Perryville Republican from the 155th District. "It was successful for the bills it didn't pass."

Naeger talked about the recent session during a legislative update meeting during the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Coffee session, held Friday at the Show Me Center.

Naeger was one of four local legislators at the coffee. Also in attendance were Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, and Reps. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, and David Schwab, R-Jackson.

The session was the seventh for Naeger, who complimented other members of the Friday panel for their work during the session.

"Kinder made things happen," said Naeger. "He worked hard with members of the Senate and House ."

Senate President Pro Tem Kinder was brief in his remarks.

"I think one of the miracles of the session was the passage of the congressional redistrict map," he said. "I learned a lot during the session."

Kinder, like others on the panel Friday, said the budget was tight, "which meant saying no to a lot of people."

Schwab, who is member of the state budget committee, said the $19.2 billion budget, up from $17 billion last year, was "still one of the tightest budgets" he had seen. Some items were cut from 5 to 7 percent, he said.

Crowell, a freshmen representative, said he was looking forward to being a legislator. He said he was pleased to see funding for area education. He was instrumental in blocking attempts to remove the career center funding from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spending bill. Crowell said he was also pleased with funding for domestic violence shelters.