ALTHOUGH NOT PROLIFIC FOR NEW LAWS, LEGISLATIVE SESSION DID SOME GOOD

Business in your state Legislature convenes the first week of January and ends for the year the second Friday in May at 6 p.m. This column has missed the past two weeks owing to a rising crescendo of long days and nights, including even a four-hour night session the last Sunday evening heading into the final week. This is true even though the session just concluded wasn't one that produced many bills passed. Of the eight sessions I have participated in since 1993, this produced the fewest bills that, in the legislative term of art, were "truly agreed to and finally passed."

Although not prolific when it came to major legislation, this session did lots for our area when it come to the state budget. In addition to the more than $50 million operating budget for Southeast Missouri State University, there were capital improvements. We came away with $11.9 million (to go with last year's $4-plus million) to round out the state's half of the new River Campus; more than $6 million for ports across the state, a chunk of which will head here for more improvements at our SEMO Port Authority (increasingly well-known as a model development statewide); and, especially pleasing, success in efforts to add in the bill $1 million for the new Cape Girardeau Area Career and Technology Center at the very last-minute. For this last we had to fight with St. Louis labor Democrats who consistently oppose needed improvements in this region. In this effort we had the consistent support and indispensable backing of Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Wayne Goode, D-St. Louis. Once again I offer my gratitude and best wishes in his re-election bid to Wayne, one of the General Assembly's most valuable members, who is engaged in a tough primary battle in his overwhelmingly Democratic district.

As to the lack of major legislation, constituents aren't beating on me in large numbers to pass lots of new laws. In this regard, an on-line survey conducted by last week the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is most interesting. Postnet.com offered this item to on-line readers, yielding the following reader responses:

"Observers call the recent session of the Missouri Legislature dreadful. How can the Legislature become more productive? Eliminate term limits to keep good lawmakers: 20 percent; Institute rules to reduce partisan bickering: 9 percent; Enforce strict spending limits on lobbyists: 24 percent; Do nothing, because Missourians are safest when the Legislature does nothing: 48 percent."

Among those we did pass for which major support existed is the telemarketing bill, long sought especially by senior citizens to correct abuses in that business. One that failed in the category of those that should have passed is a "prompt pay" bill for medical providers to be reimbursed by insurance companies. A version of this legislation was in position to pass on the final, crucial day before time ran out.

The other major thing we lawmakers did was to pass a $2.25 billion bonding bill to speed up highway construction over the next four years. It is far from perfect, and was never billed as such, still less is it a comprehensive approach to addressing Missouri's highway woes. Still, it will provide the Missouri Department of Transportation an injection of funds with which to get going on much-needed highway improvements statewide. After the first $250 million, each year lawmakers will get a chance to reject MoDOT's list of proposed construction under it.