Stick a fork in Missouri's 'special' session. It's done
Barb ShellyVery quietly, the Missouri Senate has formally ended the 2011 special session. No congratulatory speeches today. The session goes on the books as one of the legislature’s great debacles, to be remembered more for what it didn’t accomplish than what it did.
No tax credit reform.
No tools for Kansas City to compete in its economic development border war with Kansas.
No tax credit incentives to kickstart the “Aerotropolis” cargo hub project in St. Louis.
No local control for the St. Louis Police Department.
No incentives for the potentially lucrative data storage industry.
Not even an agreement on moving the date of the state’s presidential primary.
The legislative did manage to pass a bill creating a stream of funding for high-tech and bioscience companies to locate in Missouri. But it contains a caveat saying it can’t take effect unless a larger economic development bill is also passed, which didn’t happen. Gov. Jay Nixon’s office is checking into the legalities of signing the bill into law.
Also, lawmakers fixed a poorly written bill passed during the regular session which went too far in limiting how schoolteachers in the state can communicate on social media.
Oh, and in a session called to boost economic development, the House managed to insult one of the state’s largest employers. Members passed a dumb resolution urging Congress to fully fund Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, forgetting that Boeing Corp. which employes 15,000 workers in Missouri, is a Lockheed competitor.
Lockheed, it should be noted, is a corporate client of Republican campaign guru Jeff Roe, who apparently pulled some strings to get the House to make itself look clueless. Members later backpeddled and passed a new resolution asking Congress to give money to Boeing, too.
That’s special, all right.
This was a session that never should have been called. It pointed to some serious weaknesses within the legislature. The House and Senate can’t work together. Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer can’t contol his own Republican caucus. House leaders allow too much interference from campaign consultants and lobbyists. Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, doesn’t even try to maneuver in a legislature controlled by Republicans.
Differences of opinion that for years prevented the legislature from achieving meaningful tax credit reform and retooled economic development incentives are now even more hardened. Some legislators openly dislike each other. Nothing that’s happened this fall gives any cause for hope of a productive legislative session in January.
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Mark Hastert
6 months, 3 weeks agoBoy those Republican controlled State houses sure know how to waste time and tax money. They certainly can’t blame this failure on the Democrats.
Mary Fox
6 months, 3 weeks agoJust think we are all richer thanks to the failed session, or was it? From the tax slaves point of view it was wonderful!
SMILING to the bank.
Mark Hastert
6 months, 3 weeks agoThe Governor only called for this session because the Republican house and senate leaders said they had a deal ready to go. As a prior poster said, Republicans are against government. Maybe that’s why they’re so bad at it.
Mark Hastert
6 months, 3 weeks ago“Republicans are for RESPONSIBLE govt.,”
It wasn’t very responsible to waste nearly $300,000 in taxpayer money on a special session that didn’t accomplish anything, a session that they told the Governor they were prepared for. This was clearly a Republican failure and they have already begun blaming each other. They rightly raised cain over Nixon’s excessive travel expenses but thought nothing about their own waste, not to mention what was lost from the important legislation they failed to pass. This bunch simply can’t govern and whether they’re placed with Democrats or with Republicans that can get along they need to be replaced.
Lance Linklot
6 months, 3 weeks ago“Boy those Republican controlled State houses sure know how to waste time and tax money. They certainly can’t blame this failure on the Democrats”
Same for Congress ..Current approval rating for the Republiturd controlled do nothing but blame.. congress.. Are you sitting down KC g ….9%
Jimmy is a shoe in for ii .Ron Paul would be my first choice but will take O .
Anybody but the crappy pizza king ,the Mis fit or BTO and all hat and and no brains moron ii from Texas.
Even the neo con godfather W Kristol is calling for some one anyone to get in as they are in a circular firing squad.
Lance Linklot
6 months, 3 weeks ago“why won’t libs keep their word and cut govt. spending ????
Did you miss that we getting out of Ididitfordaditstan ?