LEGISLATURE: '93 SESSION INTENSE, SAY AREA LAWMAKERS

JEFFERSON CITY - Southeast Missouri legislators generally agreed the 1993 session of the Missouri General Assembly was one of the toughest, most intense sessions they have encountered.

And while everyone agreed that some good things were accomplished and nearly all major issues addressed in some way, the overall rating of the session broke out on party lines. Democrats suggested this was one of the best ever and Republicans were withholding judgment until legislation is studied more closely.

Most area Democratic legislators also applauded Gov. Mel Carnahan for his hands-on role this year, which they contrasted to former Republican Gov. John Ashcroft, who had less personal involvement in the legislative process.

"This is the toughest session I've had in 13 years; it almost made me a basket case," said Rep. Dennis Ziegenhorn, D-Sikeston, as the House entered its final hour of work Friday afternoon.

"We've addressed the major issues of education, workers' comp, health care, and others," said Rep. Marilyn Williams, D-Dudley. "It's been a rough session with tough issues and limited funds to deal with those issues."

Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, said she was particularly pleased with the variety of family issues that were dealt with. She said many were billing the entire session as a victory for the children of Missouri.

"If I rated it on an emotional level, I would rate this as the worst one I've seen for apprehension, conflicts and emotions," said Kasten, serving her sixth term.

"If you look at the things done overall, it certainly has been a good year for children issues. And, when you do things for children, you are preventing a lot of future problems."

Rep. David Schwab, R-Jackson, rated his fifth session as "average to low" because there was no input from the entire body on most pressing issues.

"I felt there was a lot of arm twisting and we did not get the true feeling of the body," said Schwab. "I felt the trial attorneys kept us from getting rock-solid reforms in workers' compensation, and in education we should not have gotten the state more involved in running local school districts with the reforms."

Schwab said he believes the health care bill accomplished little except to force school districts to become more involved in health care for most of their students something he said is not their role.

"With the tough issues, we could have done a better job," said Schwab.

Also citing the lack of complete input on major legislation, Rep. Mark Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, said early Friday, "A lot of bad bills are going to be passed today."

Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said he was disappointed that the education bill, with a $310 million tax increase, a $2.75 minimum local levy and reforms, was not submitted to a statewide vote.

Said Kinder: "I remain convinced that the people who will end up paying for this massive tax increase should have had the final say on passage. I fought for an amendment for a statewide vote and continue to believe that the best way to govern is to include the people in the final decision. A majority of lawmakers chose not to trust the people's judgment on passing this tax increase."

Kinder said the workers' compensation bill did not go far enough. "We have applied a bandage to a bleeding wound that is driving business out of the state of Missouri," he said.

"Although I supported the bill in final passage, I am extremely disappointed about the outcome."

Rep. Larry Thomason, D-Kennett, gave his fifth session high marks: "Overall this was the most productive since I've been here. The way to look at the significance of a session is not the number of bills passed, but the number of bills passed that affect the lives of everyone in the state."

Thomason said the mood of voters in the last election showed that people want action on tough issues. "I think they got that this year out of the Missouri legislature," he said.

Carnahan's success in working with legislators this year was not due to the fact he was a Democrat, but rather because he was willing to work with lawmakers, Thomason said he believes.

Said Thomason: "I don't think the fact he was a Democrat made the difference. The difference is, he took an active role in this session. In the four years I was here with John Ashcroft, he never personally pushed any legislation except the 6-cent gas tax increase last year. The fact he was out working led to it; it has nothing to do with party affiliation."

Rep. Gene Copeland, D-New Madrid, the senior member of the state legislature, ranked the 1993 session "in the top five or six" of the 33 he has participated in. "Everything we discussed at the start of the session as a major issue was dealt with," said Copeland. "I guess you couldn't have had a better session. There were a lot of controversial bills this time, and that put a lot of pressure on everybody."

Copeland, who is one of the few House members that can remember when Democratic legislators had a Democratic governor to work with, said Carnahan's active role made a difference.

Said Copeland: "We worked well together and Democrats were more in tune with what he wanted. No matter whether you agree or disagree, it is good for the governor to talk to you about what he considers important."

Copeland, who rejected Carnahan's intense lobbying on the education bill and voted against it, said he had no problem with a governor lobbying lawmakers to get his bills through. "That's what he was elected to do," said Copeland.

Rep. Herb Fallert, D-Ste. Genevieve, serving his sixth term, said that sessions "are all different, but yet all the same in some ways. I guess the big difference this year is we had several big issues that dominated, and probably a lot of local issues people were pushing got overlooked.

"To me this was one of the toughest sessions. In fact, it was probably the toughest decision-making session in my 11 years," said Fallert. "We've had tough issues in a session before, but not as many."

Fallert said having a Democratic governor may have increased partisanship in the chamber this year; however, Carnahan had had some rough times with the Senate espeically in trying to get appointments through.

"Things were not entirely smooth for the new governor," said Fallert.

Rep. James Graham, R-Fredericktown, serving his second term, said he believes final legislation would be better if the major issues were not put off until the final days. Like Schwab, Graham felt there was too much arm twisting to get the major bills through the system and not enough input from the entire House.

"Overall, I would rate this a normal, typical session," said Graham. He disagreed with the health care bill, because he said it puts responsibilities on other entities that county health departments should handle. He said the education tax increase will likely face a lawsuit because it could violate provisions of the Hancock Amendment.

"Had they proposed a bill with a reduced amount of taxes and less reforms, they would have gotten a lot more support," said Graham.

Legislators had mixed reviews about the workers' compensation bill.

Richardson said, "The bill doesn't do much - it just nibbles around the edges at the kind of reforms we need."

Said Kasten: "I am disappointed that workers' comp was not as strong as I had hoped. It is only just another step toward where we should be."

But Ziegenhorn, who is chairman of the House Insurance Committee, spoke highly of the bill. "As long as it provides for open and competitive bidding, it has got to bring rates down," he said. "Last year's bill I rated as a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10; this year's bill rates an 8. We should start seeing results fairly soon."

Graham said business was not well represented in the final bill. "I just don't think we did enough. This was a jobs bill, pure and simple, for the state of Missouri, and I don't think we did the kinds of things to keep jobs in this state. We will be looking at this issue again."

On the health care bill, Kasten gave the measure high marks because of the access it provides for many Missourians to health care.

Said Kasten, "I feel like for a lot of under-served children and families that don't have health care, this is one way to access it."