IS SPECIAL SESSION REALLY NEEDED?

Kansas City area lawmakers are asking Gov. Mel Carnahan to call a brief special session of the General Assembly to prevent devastating floods such as those that killed nine people Oct. 4. Mayor Emmanuel Cleaver told a group of lawmakers that he wants to ask Kansas City voters to approve an 18-month half-cent sales tax to fund about $45 million for flood-control and storm-sewer improvements. The General Assembly would have to pass legislation authorizing the election. The Kansas City lawmakers hope to have the special session called for Nov. 4, the day after next month's election. The 1999 regular session begins Jan. 6. At the time the lawmakers made their request to Gov. Mel Carnahan, he was traveling in Europe. Since his return no announcement on the request has been made.

Costs for a special session include round-trip mileage for all 197 lawmakers, which they can receive once a week. That runs just over $15,000 a week. All lawmakers are also entitled to about $70 in daily expense money when they clock in for floor work, a total of about $13,800 a day.

Gov. Carnahan will want to weigh carefully whether the need for such expense justifies the trouble, when lawmakers are coming back for regular work within less than two months anyway.