Rep. Swan disputes governor's tax-bill claims

Of the 18 tax-related bills passed by the Missouri Legislature, Gov. Jay Nixon recently vetoed 10 of them. He claims the bills will cost state and local governments hundreds of millions of dollars and that correct processes were not followed when the bills were passed in the final days of session.

Rep. Kathy Swan disputes that.

After she heard the governor had expressed concern to the public that many of the bills did not have public hearings, the Cape Girardeau representative said she decided to do her own research.

Whether the bills originated in the House or the Senate, Swan said they all went through at least one hearing.

"They're required to have hearings by law before they come to the floor. That's the legislative process in getting a bill passed," she said at the Cape County Republican Women's Club meeting Friday.

Kathy Swan

Many of the bills had amendments -- one as many as 15 -- but she said none of them was last-minute plans state lawmakers invented in the final hours of the session. Public hearings are not required for amendments when they're added to a bill on the floor, Swan said. But through research, she said she determined most amendments were nearly identical to bills lawmakers had proposed as early as January.

"I found no amendments to any of these bills that were of any substantial nature that were not already a bill that was filed," she said. "Most all of them had had a hearing. ... So that satisfied me in the thinking, we did not pass something at the eleventh hour that did not have an opportunity for the information to get out to you."

Swan also said she would like to see more details about the numbers the governor's office released regarding local revenue loss related to the tax-cutting bills. She would like to see what provisions in the bills he expected would have a fiscal effect on Cape Girardeau County.

Like many proponents of the bills, she said the "economic incentive" of the bills should not be ignored. The measures offer an opportunity for businesses to spend less on taxes and put more money into the economy, Swan said.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.