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State Representatives Chris Kelly and Stephen Webber

Invite You To Attend A Public Forum

on

TOLL ROADS IN MISSOURI:

WILL THEY WORK, WILL THEY FLY, IS THERE A CHOICE?

Monday, February 6, 2012

Conference Room 1

Activities and Recreation Center (ARC)

1701 W Ash Street

Columbia, Missouri

7:00-9:00 pm

Panelists Include:

Kevin Keith

Director, Missouri Department of Transportation, Jefferson City, MO

Rep. Tom Long

Vice-Chair, House Appropriations Committee for Transportation & Economic Development

and Fleet Manager, Prime Transportation, Inc., Battlefield, MO

Colin Myer

Managing Director, FMI Capital Advisors, Inc., Raleigh, NC

.

Moderator: George Kennedy

Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri School of Journalism

and Former Managing Editor, Columbia Missourian

African-American members of the Senate ended a 15-hour filibuster of legislation weakening Missouri’s anti-discrimination laws after the bill’s Republican sponsor agreed to eliminate a provision of the bill that sought to require judges to rule in favor of employers in most workplace discrimination lawsuits. The Senate granted preliminary approval to the amended bill, SB592, on a voice vote shortly after the filibuster ended at around 1:20 a.m. on Feb. 2.

Although opponents agreed to stop blocking the bill in exchange for concessions, that doesn’t translate into support of the measure. The leader of the filibuster, state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, said opponents will continue to fight efforts to undermine anti-discrimination laws. The House of Representatives debated a similar bill on Feb. 1, but Republican leaders pulled the measure, HB 1219, after about hour amid fierce opposition by the Legislative Black Caucus and other House Democrats.

Making it easier for employers to escape accountability for wrongful discrimination is a top priority for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the state’s other major business groups. Since Republicans hold overwhelming majorities in both legislative chambers, a discrimination bill is ultimately expected to be sent to Gov. Jay Nixon’s desk. However, Nixon, a Democrat, vetoed similar legislation last year and has indicated he will do so again this year.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ENDORSES EDUCATION FUNDING CHANGE

The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee on Feb. 1 approved legislation that would modify the formula for distributing state funding to local public school districts to account for the fact that the K-12 education is being funded at levels well below what the formula calls for. HB 1043 is intended to prevent massive shifts in funding among the state’s 522 public schools districts that could occur in upcoming fiscal year if action isn’t taken.

Missouri’s existing education funding formula law was enacted in 2005. Because the state at that time lacked the $800 million necessary to fully fund the new formula all at once, funding increases were to be phased in over seven years, with the formula being fully phased in for 2013 fiscal year, which begins July 1. In recent years, however, the state hasn’t had sufficient revenue to phase in the new funding on schedule.

Unlike previous formulas, the existing law doesn’t contemplate under funding. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, however, dealt with the situation by imposing equal percentage cuts on each district.

But a provision of the law could require the state to redistribute the available funding next year, imposing massive cuts on some districts while giving big increases to others. HB 1043 would minimize the funding shifts, although some districts would still gain or lose funding under the bill.

SENATE BLOCKS NIXON’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PICK

Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Jason Hall resigned Feb. 1 after the Senate Gubernatorial Appointments Committee refused to advance his nomination to the full Senate for confirmation. Since Nixon appointed Hall to the post on Dec. 30 when the General Assembly wasn’t yet in session, Hall was able to take office immediately. In order to keep the job, however, the Senate had to approve the appointment by Feb. 2.

Although Hall’s selection had been endorsed by the state’s major business groups, some senators questioned whether he had the necessary experience for the job. An attorney, Hall had served as executive director of the Missouri Technology Corporation, a state-sponsored agency that promotes the growth and science and technology companies, until taking the economic development post.

Nixon has named Chris Pieper, a deputy counsel in the governor’s office, as interim department director until a permanent replacement is selected. Hall was the third economic development director since Nixon took office in January 2009.

NIXON APPOINTS NEW SENATE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION

Gov. Jay Nixon appointed a new commission on Jan. 31 that will make the latest attempt at drawing new state Senate districts to reflect population changes based on the 2010 U.S. Census. The 10-member commission, which consists five Democrats and five Republicans nominated by their respective parties, will meet for the first time on Feb. 18.

The Senate redistricting process is entering its second round, creating uncertainty for the 2012 election cycle. A previous partisan commission failed to agree on a new Senate redistricting plan last year, and under the Missouri Constitution the task passed to a separate commission of six state appellate judges. Although the appellate commission filed a redistricting plan in November, the Missouri Supreme Court last month ruled that plan violated the general constitutional prohibition against splitting counties among Senate districts.

As a result, the whole process begins from scratch with a new partisan commission, which will have until Aug. 18 to submit a final plan. If it fails to do so, another appellate commission will again take over and have until Nov. 16 to complete the job. If the process runs it full course, however, there is no way it could be completed in time for the either the Aug. 7 party primaries or the Nov. 6 general elections.

If the new commission can come to a quick agreement, it is possible it could file a Senate redistricting plan by as early as the end of March. However, candidate filing for the August primaries is scheduled to open on Feb. 28. Legislative leaders are considering pursuing legislation to push back the filing dates.

In his comments, Kelly pointed to the lesson of his fellow Geyer Award winner, former UM President Gary Forsee.

“He taught the administration at the University of Missouri — and I hope the alumni association — a very important lesson, and that is do not be complacent, do not be bowed, do not be afraid, do not be intimidated by the political class,” Kelly said. “Get in there and fight for what you know is right.”

The House Elections Committee on Jan. 24 voted 7-3 in favor of legislation that seeks to require voters to show government-issued photo identification at their polling place in order to cast a ballot. At present, however, the General Assembly lacks the constitutional authority to impose such a requirement. Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, vetoed similar legislation last year and is expected to do so again should the latest version, HB 1104, be sent to his desk.

The Republican-controlled legislature enacted a photo voter ID law in 2006, but the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers cannot impose restrictions on voting rights other than those specifically listed in the state constitution. The General Assembly in 2011 approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would authorize the imposition of a photo voter ID requirement, but it doesn’t go on the statewide ballot until November.

Supporters say the photo voter ID requirement would prevent voter fraud, but Missouri has never had a documented case of voter impersonation at the polls – the only type of fraud such a requirement could prevent. Opponents assert that photo voter ID is just a thinly disguised effort to disenfranchise poor, disabled and elderly voters, since they are the least likely to have a photo ID and tend to vote for Democrats. The Missouri Secretary of State’s Office estimates that about 250,000 registered Missouri voters don’t have a government-issued photo ID.

GUN CROSSHAIR STICKERS TARGET SIX STATE LAWMAKERS

The Missouri Capitol Police and State Highway Patrol are investigating a potential threat against six state lawmakers after stickers resembling gun crosshairs were placed on the nameplates outside of the lawmakers’ offices on Jan. 24. After two of the lawmakers removed the stickers, they were later replaced with larger gun sight stickers.

The targeted lawmakers included all four Democratic women in the Senate – Jolie Justus and Kiki Curls of Kansas City, Robin Wright-Jones of St. Louis and Maria Chappelle-Nadal of University City. The others with gun stickers found on their nameplates were House Minority Leader Victor Callahan, D-Kansas City, and state Rep. Scott Dieckhaus, R-Washington.

Senators of both parties denounced the potential threats during open session the afternoon of the incident and vowed punishment for those responsible. Although the stickers may have been intended as a prank, House and Senate administrators are treating the incident seriously.

LAWSUIT CHALLENGES NEW HOUSE REDISTRICTING PLAN

A bipartisan group of plaintiffs are asking the courts to declare unconstitutional a new plan redrawing the boundaries of the state’s 163 districts in the House of the Representatives. The plaintiffs contend the redistricting plan violates the Missouri Constitution’s requirement that districts be contiguous since six of the new districts cross major rivers yet have no bridge crossings, making it impossible to get directly from one part of the district to the other, except by boat. They also argue the redistricting plan fails to meet constitutional standards that districts be as compact “as may be” and as equal in population “as possible.”

The case was filed as an original action with the Supreme Court on Jan. 23, but the court on Jan. 26 redirected the case to a lower court for a determination of factual issues. The Supreme Court on different grounds recently invalidated the new redistricting plan for the state’s 34 Senate districts. Both the House and Senate redistricting plans were drafted by a panel of six judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court also has given a lower court until Feb. 3 to reconsider the validity of Missouri’s eight new congressional districts, which the Republican controlled General Assembly enacted last spring over of gubernatorial veto.

All three new redistricting plans were scheduled to be used for the 2012 election cycle. Time is of the essence in resolving the various redistricting challenges since candidate filing for the Aug. 7 party primaries is set to begin on Feb. 28. It remains uncertain as to what will happen if valid districts for the affected offices aren’t in place by that time.

GAMBLING INDUSTRY OPPOSES FEE HIKE FOR VETERANS

A lobbyist for Missouri’s casinos told the House Veterans Committee on Jan. 24 that the industry will oppose bipartisan legislation to increase casino entrance fees by a $1 per person and earmark the estimated $50 million a year in new revenue for the state’s veterans homes. Gov. Jay Nixon recently proposed the fee hike to shore up the Veterans Trust Fund, which is on the verge of being used up by mid 2013.

The current casino entrance fee, which is paid by casino operators, is $2, with half going to the state and half going to the local community in which the casino is located. All of the state’s share used to be earmarked for veterans programs until the late 1990s, when most of it was redirected toward early childhood education programs. Over time, the $6.5 million a year from the existing fee that still goes into the Veterans Trust Fund has proven insufficient to keep up with the costs of veterans services.

For further details about the event and Kelly’s remarks to the hundreds of attendees, see the Columbia Daily Tribune article

Further information about the award and past recipients can be found on the Mizzou website.

February 3 Update: Cole County Circuit Judge, Pat Joyce, has given all sides until Feb 10 to submit their written arguments.  She has indicated that, based on the written arguments only, she will rule by Feb 14.  Regardless of her ruling, however, the case is certain to go back to the Missouri Supreme Court.  Meanwhile, the opening date for filing for Missouri House Districts remains set for Feb 28.

See the following articles for background and additional details:

Editorial: Redistricting – Columbia Daily Tribune, Jan 28, 2012

Redistricting Case Heads to Circuit Court – Columbia Daily Tribune, Jan 27, 2012

Suit Over MO House Districts Filed In Trial Court – Washington Examiner, Jan 27, 2012

Missouri High Court Refuses To Hear Redistricting Suit - Kansas City Star, Jan 27, 2012

Missouri Supreme Court Rejects Challenge of House Districts - Columbia Daily Tribune, Jan 26, 2012

New Legal Challenge Targets House Map – Columbia Daily Tribune, Jan 24, 2012

In delivering his fourth State of the State address, Gov. Jay Nixon on Jan. 17 proposed $500 million in spending cuts in order to balance a $22.98 billion state operating budget for the 2013 fiscal year without a tax increase. Nixon, a Democrat, also outlined his policy priorities for the 2012 legislative session, which include protecting worker rights, reforming charter schools, reinstating campaign contribution limits and a job creation package that emphasizes revitalizing the automotive industry in Missouri.

Although the governor’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 would increase basic state funding for by $5 million to more than $3 billion, it also calls for cutting higher spending by $105.9 million. It would be third consecutive year that state funding of public colleges and universities would be reduced. Nixon’s budget balancing plan also calls for saving $191.7 million through efficiencies in the state’s Medicaid program, with no changes in eligibility or covered services

In addition, the governor called for eliminating another 800 state jobs, bringing the total number of positions cut from the state workforce since he took office in 2009 to more than 4,100 and resulting in the smallest number of total state employees in 15 years. To provide additional state revenue collections in the future, Nixon also asked lawmakers to eliminate some the tax credits programs that are siphoning about $700 million a year from the budget. Although the Senate last year made tax credit reform a priority, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives refused to go along. As a result, it is unlikely lawmakers will actively pursue reform efforts this year.

SUPREME COURT INVALDATES SENATE REDISTRICTING PLANS

The Missouri Supreme Court on Jan. 17 unanimously struck down a judicial commission’s efforts to draw new state Senate districts, creating uncertainty for the 2012 election cycle since the scheduled opening of candidate filing for the August party primaries is just six weeks away. The court ordered that the redistricting process begin anew, as the Missouri Constitution directs when a statehouse redistricting plan is found invalid. However, even if the process is expedited, there is virtually no chance it will be completed by the start of filing on Feb. 28.

The Appellate Reapportionment Commission, which consisted of six judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals selected by the Supreme Court for the task, officially submitted new Senate districts on Nov. 30 but withdrew and replaced the plan on Dec.9 after it was pointed out that the appellate judges had ignored the state constitution’s general prohibition against splitting counties among Senate districts.

Ruling in a lawsuit challenging both plans, the Supreme Court declared the first map unconstitutional for violating the county-splitting rule and found the second map invalid because the appellate commission had no authority to rescind and replace the first plan.

The appellate commission took over the job of redistricting both the state Senate and House of Representatives to account for population shifts under the 2010 U.S. Census after partisan commissions consisting of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement. The House redistricting plan produced by the appellate commission hasn’t been challenged.

Under the constitution, the redistricting process begins from scratch with the appointment of a new partisan commission. On the day of the court’s ruling, Gov. Jay Nixon initiated the process by formally asking the state Democratic and Republican parties to submit nominees for the new commission. The parties have 60 days to respond, after which the governor has 30 days to select 10 commissioners, five from each party, from among the nominees. Once the commission is established, it has six months to develop new Senate districts. If the new commission fails, the job would again pass to another appellate commission, which would have up to 90 days to complete its work. The constitution provides no guidance as to what would happen if candidate filing opens and valid Senate districts aren’t yet established.

COURT REVIVES CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING LAWSUITS

The Missouri Supreme Court on Jan. 17 sent a pair of lawsuits challenging the state’s new congressional districts back to a trial judge for a hearing on whether the legislation violates the constitutional requirement that the General Assembly create districts that are “as compact … as may be.” The court remanded the matter to Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green, who previously had dismissed the cases, for a ruling on the merits of the challenge.

In its unanimous decision, the Supreme Court signaled that the odd shapes of new Third District, which stretches from the St. Louis metro area to mid-Missouri, and the new Fifth District, which combines Kansas City and most of Jackson County with three rural counties to the east, might render the redistricting bill unconstitutional. “Districts 3 and 5 are alleged to be particularly suspect, as can be confirmed by any rational and objective consideration of their boundaries,” the court said in its unsigned opinion. “However, it is a question of fact, yet to be tried, whether those districts are ‘as compact and nearly equal in population as may be.’”

In order to expedite the process, the court ordered Green to render his judgment no later than Feb. 3. Regardless of his decision, it almost certainly will be appealed again to the Supreme Court for a final determination. The court indicated it wants the matter resolved quickly so that, if necessary, the General Assembly has sufficient time to enact a new redistricting bill before candidate filing opens on Feb. 28.

The House of Representatives voted 105-54 in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment that would place new restrictions on the General Assembly’s ability to increase state spending. HJR 43, the first legislation the House has debated this year, advanced to the Senate on a near-party-line vote, with majority Republicans in favor and minority Democrats opposed.

The measure is a top priority of House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, who said it would end the “boom and bust” cycles in the state budget. House Democrats agreed but said it would leave Missouri in a perpetual state of “bust.” After a decade of deep state budget cuts, opponents said the measure would prevent the state being able to reverse those cuts in the future.

HJR 43 would cap annual spending at the rate of inflation plus population growth and 1.5 percent and require any excess revenue collections in a given year to be held in reserve. If also approved by the Senate, the measure would go on the November ballot for voter ratification.

The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments on Jan. 12 in a pair of cases that challenge the constitutionality of the state’s new congressional district boundaries, with several judges indicating the redistricting plan doesn’t comply with the state constitution’s requirement that districts be drawn “as compact … as may be.” The Republican-controlled General Assembly created the new districts to account for population shifts under the 2010 U.S. Census and the reduction of Missouri’s congressional delegation from nine members to eight. The redistricting bill, HB 193, was enacted in May over Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto.

Although the compactness of several districts were challenged, the arguments focused the odd shape of the new 5^th District, which includes Kansas City and most of the rest of Jackson County but then extends eastward to include three rural counties. The rest of Jackson County is included in the predominantly rural 6^th District, which covers the northern third of the state. The plaintiffs argue that Jackson County should have been kept whole in order to satisfy the compactness requirement. Several members of the court indicated that under no reasonable standard could the 5^th District be considered compact.

Defending the redistricting bill on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office, State Solicitor James Layton conceded that the 5^th District individually doesn’t meet compactness standards but argued the redistricting plan taken as a whole does, and under court precedent the bill is therefore constitutional. Attorney Eddie Greim, representing two Republican state lawmakers who intervened in the case, argued the court should defer to the General Assembly on the issue. The judges appeared cool to that notion given that under the Missouri Constitution the Supreme Court, not the General Assembly, has the sole authority to determine the constitutionality of legislative acts.

With the candidate filing period for the 2012 congressional elections set to begin Feb. 28, the court is expected to rule quickly. If it declares the HB 193 redistricting plan unconstitutional, the General Assembly would have the opportunity to enact a new redistricting bill in the coming weeks. If new congressional districts weren’t adopted in time for candidate filing, it is possible the state’s eight congressional seats could be elected on a statewide, at-large basis, which actually happened in Missouri in 1932.

Three of the court’s seven members, Judges Richard Teitelman, Mary Rhodes Russell and George Draper, recused themselves from the case. They were replaced by Judges Karen King Mitchell and Joseph Ellis of the Missouri Court of Appeals and retired appeals court Judge John Parrish. The cases are Kenneth Pearson v. Attorney Chris Koster and Stan McClatchey v. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.

In hearing a challenge to a new redistricting plan for the state Senate, the Missouri Supreme Court on Jan. 12 seemed uncertain as to whether the plan is valid and, if not, what should be done about it. As with an unrelated congressional redistricting challenge heard the same day, the court is expected to reach a decision quickly.

After a commission consisting of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a Senate redistricting plan, the task passed to a commission of six judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals selected for the job by the Supreme Court. The appellate commission officially filed its Senate redistricting plan with the Secretary of State’s Office on Nov. 30. However, the plan repeatedly violated the Missouri Constitution’s general prohibition against splitting counties among Senate districts. In the wake of intense criticism, the commission withdrew its original proposal and replaced it with a new one that corrected most – but not all – of the unconstitutional county splits.

David Brown, a Columbia attorney representing the plaintiff, argued the second plan is invalid because appellate commission had no authority to rescind the first plan, which in turn is unconstitutional because of the county-splitting problem. Brown said both maps should be declared invalid. Since there is no practical way valid Senate districts could be established under the normal redistricting process in time for the opening of candidate filing on Feb. 28, Brown said the existing Senate districts established during the 2001 redistricting cycle should be used for the 2012 elections.

However, Judge William Ray Price Jr. noted that the existing Senate maps have been rendered invalid by the 2010 Census and questioned whether they could legally remain in use. The Missouri Constitution’s only remedy for when a court strikes down a state House or Senate redistricting plan is for the whole process to begin anew. At a bare minimum, however, that process would take at least a couple months and last as long as nine months. As a result, if the court were declare both appellate commission plans invalid, it would likely be forced to concoct an extra-constitutional remedy.

SENATE PUSHING BILL TO PREVENT LOSS OF HIGHWAY FUNDS

The Senate is expediting legislation that would put Missouri in compliance with federal mandates on commercial trucking regulations and drunken driving sentences in order to avoid the potential loss of millions of dollars in federal highway construction funds. The deadline for compliance on the trucking regulations is Jan. 30, but the state likely will escape penalty so long as it resolves the issue in the near future.

The Senate Transportation Committee on Jan. 11 took the uncommon step of hearing the federal mandate legislation, SB 443, and voting on the same day to forward it to the full Senate for debate. The bill would modify the state laws that requiring commercial truck drivers to have medical clearance in order to work. Failure to do so potentially could cost Missouri $30 million in federal transportation funding in the first year of noncompliance and $60 million in the second year.

SB 443 also would lengthen the license suspension period for drunken drivers from 30 days to 45 days and other related changes. Missouri is already out of compliance on that issue and isn’t losing any funding as a result. However, about $20 million in federal transportation funds are being redirected from construction to highway safety improvements until the federal mandate is met.

Rep. Chris Kelly was the lone Democratic committee member to vote with the majority and was responsible for successfully sponsoring the amendment to use the 2008 budget as the baseline for the resolution. The amendment significantly increased the spending limit from the 2010 budget as proposed in the joint resolution (HJR43), sponsored by Rep. Eric Burlison.

If passed by both the House and Senate, ultimately the proposed constitutional amendment would have to be passed by the voters.

For a more detailed  explanation of the resolution, read the MissouriNet article.

There are three separate redistricting efforts:

1. At the local city (and county) level, redistricting affects city ward and county commission boundaries
2. At the state level, state representative and senatorial districts are redrawn
3. At the national level, US Congressional districts are reconfigured

These boundaries may be shifted every ten years in order to better equalize the population in each district, taking population shifts–increases or decreases–into account. This is done to correct for imbalances in the political representation of each person.  Remember that redistricting is done on the basis of population, not on the basis of voters.

Various court challenges still exist before all state senatorial and congressional redistricting boundaries will finally be set, but the lines for Missouri House Districts are final.

For elections purposes, all new House districts and new odd-numbered Senate districts will be used for the upcoming candidate filing period for the August party primaries. The filing period runs from Feb. 28 through March 27. And, of course those new districts will be used for the Aug. 7 primaries and Nov. 6 general elections. Even-numbered Senate districts will first be used for election purposes during the 2014 election cycle.

For the purpose of representation, all new House districts and new odd-numbered Senate districts will take effect when the next General Assembly, the 97^th, is sworn into office on Jan. 9, 2013. In other words, incumbent House members and incumbents from odd-numbered Senate districts will continue to serve their existing districts until that time.

Because Senate terms are staggered with only half of its 34 members up for election every two years, however, senators from even-numbered districts were last elected in 2010 and will continue to represent their existing districts – those created during the 2001 redistricting cycle – until the 98^th General Assembly is sworn into office in January 2015. This staggered implementation following redistricting always results in a situation where for two years some areas have two senators and some have none.

The bottom line: Rep. Chris Kelly will continue to serve the citizens of the House District 24 through the end of his current term, Jan 8, 2013.  However, he has announced that he will file for election in the new House District 45 during the prescribed filing period, Feb. 28 -March 27, 2012, leading up to the August 2012 Primary and November 2012 General Elections. As with the adage of I’m-not-losing-a-daughter, I’m-gaining-a-son, Rep. Kelly has no intention of breaking ties with southern Boone County, if elected in the new House District 45. For him, representation and involvement go beyond political boundary lines.