Missouri veto session starts Wednesday

The Missouri General Assembly will have no shortage of issues to consider during its Wednesday veto session.

The largely Republican Legislature and Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon clashed repeatedly over bills approved in the 2014 legislative session. Sales tax cuts, agriculture and an extended abortion waiting period are among the key issues that divided the two. They are among the more than 30 bills vetoed by the governor over the summer.

Budget cuts by the governor also will be considered in the veto session. While the Legislature could override some of the vetoed funds, there's no guarantee they would be released, since the governor can withhold funds.

Sales tax cuts

Since Nixon's June veto of 10 bills he said gave tax breaks to special interest groups -- including power companies, laundromats, restaurants and grocery stores -- and would damage the state's economy, many Republican legislators have voiced their intent to override. City and state governments, however, have stood behind the governor's vetoes of the bills they say weaken local taxation control.

A letter from the County Commissioners Association of Missouri, of which Cape Girardeau County Associate Commissioner Paul Koeper is president, specifically outlines concern about four Senate bills, including one that would exempt sales taxes for motor vehicles that are at least 10 years old. The letter also states that "sales tax by far is the greatest source of revenue" for counties and that any county sales tax exemption results in higher property taxes.

That's certainly true for Cape Girardeau County, where the property tax levy is determined by a complicated formula that also takes sales tax revenue into account. After another year of sluggish sales tax revenue, the county property tax levy was raised Thursday for the third year in a row. County commissioners have estimated the levy could increase nearly threefold if the tax-cutting measures take effect.

Agriculture

Other vetoed bills certain to affect the state's government are two omnibus farm bills. House Bill 1326 and Senate Bill 506 not only received strong support from the Legislature, but also many agriculture groups. More than 20 organizations -- including the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Missouri Corn Growers Association and the Missouri Dairy Association -- wrote a letter to elected leaders in the Legislature, asking them to support an override.

Nixon vetoed the legislation because it would classify captive deer as livestock and place them under the control of the Department of Agriculture rather than the Department of Conservation, a move he said went against the state Constitution.

The governor also noted at the time he announced his veto that the bills contained other "worthy provisions" that would advance the state's agriculture. A number of those provisions would benefit dairy farmers through insurance premium assistance programs and scholarships for student interns at dairy farms who agree to work in Missouri agriculture after graduation.

"Unfortunately, like everything that's a big issue, there's a lot of misinformation and a lot of politics going on," said Rep. Casey Guernsey, R-Bethany.

He sponsored the House farm bill and said as someone experienced in dairy farming, he believes the legislation is crucial to the future of Missouri's farmers.

"It's the first risk-management tool that will be available to dairy farmers," he said. "If we don't do this, we will lose our dairy industry, which is the equivalent of 15,000 jobs across the state."

The provision relating to captive deer was added to his bill later as an amendment, but Guernsey said he supports the measure. He said he believes the agriculture department is well-equipped to take care of captive deer and called its division of animal health one of the best in the country. Guernsey also said the agriculture and conservation departments should not be pitted against each other on this issue, but work together in the best interest of captive deer and deer farmers.

As for overriding the veto on the bill, Guernsey is hopeful. He said once presented with the facts, many people have expressed support for the legislation.

Abortion waiting period

If the House bill requiring a 72-hour wait for abortions had been approved, Missouri's regulations would have become some of the strictest in the country. The bill included no exceptions for rape and incest victims.

The absence of such an exception, and the likelihood of an increased waiting period causing more health complications for women, led Nixon to veto the measure over the summer.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Kevin Elmer, R-Nixa, said after Nixon announced the veto that he believed a successful override could be mounted. The Republicans have a veto-proof majority in both houses, and even picked up support from some Democratic representatives when the bill was initially approved.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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