TAX VOTE POSITIONS EXPLAINED

JEFFERSON CITY - Area legislators who voted for a bill that would give voters an opportunity to raise taxes by up to $575 million said they did so to put the matter before a conference committee in hopes a reasonable proposal is passed before adjournment May 17.

The legislators also agreed that $575 million is too much of a tax increase for voters to approve and suggested they won't vote for a final bill unless the tax package is considerably less.

"I voted for a tax increase to go to conference," Rep. Dennis Ziegenhorn, D-Sikeston, said of his vote Monday night. "I'll take a look at it after it gets out of conference and make a decision. I do know that if the election were held today on a $575 million tax increase, it would be defeated 3 to 1."

Rep. Larry Thomason, D-Kennett, said it's "ridiculous" to assume most of the 83 representatives who voted for the bill actually want to send a plan that large to the people. "Anybody who knows the system up here realizes that was not a vote for that package; it was a vote to get a bill out of the House so we could go to conference," said Thomason.

"What we passed last night was in no one's estimation a good package," he said.

The bill approved Monday was sponsored by Speaker Bob Griffin. It was a substitute to SB-353, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem James Mathewson, that would raise taxes by up to $492 million. Both bills would use most of the revenue for education programs and include some reforms for higher education and elementary and secondary education.

The substitute bill now goes to the Senate, which likely will vote not to accept the House version. That would send the measure to a conference committee. Each house will have five members, with the conferences led by Griffin and Mathewson as bill sponsors.

Griffin and Mathewson conferred several times on the side gallery of the House Tuesday to discuss the bill. The conference committee, which likely will begin meeting this week, will review all differences in the bills and attempt to reach a compromise.

A key player in the discussion - at least, indirectly - will be Gov. John Ashcroft, who has said a $575 million tax increase is too large. He has warned the legislation does not contain sufficient reforms to justify the increased revenue.

Most members of the General Assembly agree that no tax bill stands a chance of winning voter approval later this year without Ashcroft's full support.

All House Republicans voted against the Griffin plan. Rep. Mary Kasten, R-Cape Girardeau, said, however, it is not really a partisan issue. "It is just a matter of trying to come up with some reasonable figure and some solid reforms that will be in the bill," she said.

"I did what I thought was best to defeat a bill I think would be unacceptable to the people and try to work on something more in line to what people will support. I think we are all going to have to work together cooperatively to get some kind of an agreement."

Kasten was among a group of House Republicans that met with Ashcroft in his office Tuesday morning to discuss the tax debate and some changes that conferees need to consider.

"The bottom line is there needs to be more work and more input from everyone, including the governor and Republicans," said Kasten. "Hopefully something will come out. We definitely do need to try and meet some of our needs."

In getting support for the bill, Thomason said Griffin had advised House members he was going to take the measure to conference and sit down with Mathewson to hammer out a package acceptable to voters.

"He is well aware that if he doesn't come back with a heck of a lot better package than left here he won't have the votes on the floor," said Thomason. "Both are under a tremendous amount of pressure to put together a solid package to go to the voters with."

Rep. Herb Fallert, D-Ste. Genevieve, said he voted yes "with an open mind" and the hope that a conference will come up with a minimal tax increase.

"We want to get something presented to the voting people that at least they will look at," said Fallert. "If we can get something passed with the support of the governor, that will really help things."

Rep. Jim Graham, R-Fredericktown, agreed that many of the representatives who voted yes did not support a $575 million tax increase, just as those who voted no were not voting against education.

"There are a lot of people concerned that we will end up with nothing," said Graham. "There needs to be something that is compatible and realistic. To sell something to the people, we must have a realistic package."

Graham said he thinks $400 million is about the most tax increase that could be sent to voters, but he prefers less. He said asking people to support too large an increase would be "just like going to a bank and trying to get a loan: if you ask for too much money they will just laugh at you."

While all agree reforms for education need to be in the bill, there is some disagreement over what those should be. There are also some disagreements over how the funds should be distributed and what methods of taxation should be used.

"Each of us would probably write the bill just a little differently," said Kasten.

Ziegenhorn said he is not convinced the governor will support a tax plan despite some of his recent comments. Ashcroft and House Republicans will have to support whatever is sent to the people, he said.

"This bill needs to get smaller before we pass it," said Ziegenhorn. "The people who pay will have to be convinced that it is a needed tax. We can't just have educators saying it is needed; we will need business people and many other groups behind it. Educators won't be able to pass this on their own."