RUST COMMENTARY: PREVIEW OF THE 1998 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

The following is from the Missouri Press Association Legislative Update:

The 89th Second Regular Session of the Missouri General Assembly convenes at noon (today). May 15 at 6 p.m. is the last day to consider legislation. Official adjournment is midnight May 30.

Prefiling of bills began on Dec. 1, and to date 141 bills have been prefiled in the Senate and 170 bills in the House.

Griffin sentencing was handed down on Dec. 4 in Kansas City. A federal judge sentenced him to four years in prison and a $7,500 fine for his guilty plea to bribery and mail-fraud charges.

Upcoming 1998 state elections may bring much partisanship to the General Assembly this session resulting in deadlock and stalemate on many legislative efforts.

The 1998 Missouri General Assembly elections will be very important to both parties. The Democratic Party holds a slight majority in the House of Representatives by a margin of 86 (D) to 76 (R) to 1 (I). The independent incumbent will most likely run in 1998 as a Republican. The Republican party will work very hard to pick up the necessary seats to gain a majority in the House.

The Democratic Party also holds a majority in the Senate with a margin of 19 (D) to 15 (R). A change for certain that we will see in the Senate is the seat being vacated by president pro tem Bill McKenna. He cannot run again, as he is Missouri's first legislator to experience term limits. Rep. Steve Stoll (D) and Rep. David Broach (R) are running for his vacated seat. At this time, we expect all other Senate incumbents to run for re-election in 1998.

Top House and Senate leaders call for $100 million tax cut:

Top leaders of the Missouri House and Senate announced a major initiative to cut taxes in Missouri by at least $100 million during the upcoming session of the Missouri General Assembly.

Missouri House speaker Steve Gaw and Senate president pro tem Bill McKenna in a press conference announced a broad-based tax cut to keep state revenue below constitutional limits. This year, the legislature cut the state sales tax on food and income tax for retirees by about $250 million. With a AAA bond rating and being the 49th lowest tax state, McKenna said Missouri's strong economy and possible windfalls from changes in the federal tax laws provide the opportunity to extend tax relief into other areas.

Areas in which tax cut proposals are receiving early attention include:

* Income tax credits to offset property taxes and living costs.

* Circuit-breaker expansions to help middle- and low-income senior citizens.

The action called for by legislative leaders marks the third effort by lawmakers to refund revenue or cut taxes. Two years ago, lawmakers approved SB 500 to make direct refunds of revenue in excess of constitutional limits. The refunds, which now total more than $650 million, have been delayed pending a court challenge that was heard by the Supreme Court on Dec. 4, 1997.

Governor Carnahan subsequently announced his initiative to cut taxes in Missouri by $120 million. His plan includes a cut for homeowners and renters and expansion of the circuit breaker.

Joint interim committees continue to work on ending desegregation and reviewing our highway improvement programs. We can expect to see legislation as a result of the Joint Committee on Desegregation. The Joint Committee on Transportation will issue a report with its recommendations. The Joint Committee on Energy Deregulation will continue working through 1998 as will the Joint Committee on Mental Health Insurance Availability. The Joint Committee on Insurance will hold a wrap-up discussion on Kassebaum-Kennedy and reinsurance in January 1998.

Committee turns down governor's highway department change: On Dec. 16, the Joint House-Senate Committee on Transportation met for most the day and decided on its final report and recommendations to the General Assembly. On Dec. 12, Governor Carnahan had written the committee a letter asking for legislation which would give administrative control of the highway department to the executive branch. The Department of Transportation, as it is formally known, is a constitutional entity and is administered by a six-member commission which appoints a chief engineer as chief executive officer. There has been heavy criticism in recent months over shortfalls in funding of a 15-year road building program, which was kicked off by a gasoline tax increase in 1992.

Carnahan said he would continue to try to gain administrative control of the department in response to the committee's actions.

The committee did vote on the following recommendations:

* No new state taxes for highway funding should be considered.

* The 15-year plan should continue as a basis for all highway and bridge projects.

* The General Assembly should consider recommendations of the Total Transportation Commission with regard to the multimodal transportation needs of the state.

* The Highway and Transportation Commission and MoDOT to implement accountability measures to gauge whether costs are under control and re-evaluate expense and revenue projections.

Legislative profile -- Who are they?

The typical House member is a 48-year-old male Democrat who owns a small business and attended the University of Missouri-Columbia. He was elected to the House less than five years ago.

The typical senator is a 55-year-old male Democrat who's a lawyer. He attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and was elected to the Senate within the last five years after four years of experience in the House.

Male Female

H-123 H-39

S-31 S-3

Democrats Republicans Independents

H-85 H-76 H-1

S-19 S-15

Note: There is currently one vacancy in the House.

The longest-serving legislators:

Rep. Gene Copeland, D-New Madrid, 37 years

Sen. John Russell, R-Lebanon, 35 years (21 S-14 H)

Sen. Wayne Goode, D-Normandy, 35 years (13 S-22 H)

Rep. Russell Goward, D-St. Louis, 31 years

Sen. John Schneider, D-Florissant, 29 years (27 S-2 H)

Sen. J.B. "Jet" Banks, D-St. Louis. 29 years (21 S-8 H)

Most common occupations: House Senate

Business owner 25 5

Lawyer 19 8

Farmer/agribusiness 28 6

Real estate 7 6

Educator 16 2

Insurance 5 1

Journalism 3 1

~Gary Rust is president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.