Lipke regains chair of crime prevention committee

Veteran state Rep. Scott Lipke on Wednesday regained the committee chairmanship he lost in 2007 during a political fight with former House Speaker Rod Jetton.

Lipke, R-Jackson, will chair the House Crime Prevention Committee, a panel that is routinely assigned major bills relating to a wide variety of criminal laws. The appointment was made by new House Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin.

Lipke lost his chairmanship at the beginning of the 2007 legislative session when Jetton accused him of failing to inform fellow lawmakers of a provision repealing the ban on consensual homosexual acts. The provision was part of a bill known as Megan's Law that imposed tougher sentences on people convicted of sexually molesting children.

Little notice was taken of the repeal until after lawmakers had adjourned in 2006. In June 2006, Lipke said he included the repeal because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that laws against consensual homosexual acts violated the constitutional right of privacy.

The provision was in the bill from its earliest versions but Jetton in February 2007 said the repeal should have been highlighted to other members of the Republican caucus and that its inclusion in the bill had destroyed Lipke's credibility with fellow lawmakers.

At the time, some suggested that Jetton's action was aimed at diminishing Lipke in advance of a possible primary challenge to Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, who employs Jetton as a political consultant. Lipke ultimately declined the Senate bid after he learned that his latest child would be born with a heart defect.

In a news release announcing his new position, Richard cited Lipke's experience and knowledge of the committee's responsibilities as reasons for giving him the post.

"Rep. Lipke is responsible for some of the most important crime prevention packages we have passed in recent years," Richard said. "His experience as a legislator and an attorney makes him the logical choice to chair this committee."

Lipke could not be reached immediately for comment, but in the news release he said: "It is an honor to have the opportunity to lead this committee again and I thank Speaker Richard for the confidence he has shown in my abilities."

Lipke is serving his last term as a state lawmaker. Due to term limits, he is barred from running for re-election in 2010.

For updates, check back at semissourian.com or read Thursday's Southeast Missourian.