Missouri legislators returned to the Capitol last week for annual veto session. There were five pieces of legislation the governor had vetoed. Unfortunately, no gubernatorial vetoes were overridden; one was attempted by the House and failed, while none were attempted by the Senate.
I went into veto session working hard to get HCB 3 passed in order to restore cuts to Medicaid providers. This legislation would have authorized the commissioner of the Office of Administration to do a one-time sweep of $35.4 million in unused funds from Missouri’s various boards, agencies and commissions. The money would then be deposited into the Missouri Senior Services Protection Fund to help provide in-home and nursing care services. Although HCB 3 passed with bipartisan support in both chambers, the House fell about 25 votes short of the two-thirds majority required to override the governor’s veto. Since it did not make it out of the House during veto session, the Senate never had a chance to vote on it.
However, leadership in both chambers have established a work group tasked with finding a funding solution that will preserve the much needed in-home and nursing care for more than 8,000 disabled Missourians. Also to be considered is restoring provider rate cuts including cuts to private duty nurses who administer in-home neonatal care. Lawmakers who are part of the group have been asked to have a plan drafted in the next several weeks. It is my hope that after a plan is developed, we can begin work to implement then plan as soon as possible.
While gathered for veto session, there were some historic actions taken by the Senate. For the first time ever the Senate censured one of its members, Sen. Maria Chappell-Nadal for her comment on Facebook, in which she said she hoped the president would be assassinated.
Members had hoped Sen. Chappelle-Nadal would realize the seriousness of her statements, take responsibility for her words, and resign on her own accord. However, since that was not the case, the Senate prepared for options afforded in the Missouri Constitution and the Senate Rules. The Senate retains the sole right and responsibility to discipline its members for disorderly conduct.
By a vote of 28-2, the Senate has censured Sen. Chappelle-Nadal, effective immediately. The censure also urges her to resign or face possible expulsion in the future. We also urge the Senator to conduct herself in a manner that respects the longstanding traditions of the Missouri Senate and to respect her position as a senator by refraining from action or words that incite or encourage violence.
The resolution, in part reads: “Be It Further Resolved that the members of the Missouri Senate urge Senator Chappelle-Nadal to resign or, upon failure to do so, she may be subject to potential expulsion at a future session of the Missouri Senate.”
The actions taken by the Senate this week are not something that is taken lightly. I look forward to moving forward as we enter the next legislative session.
Always feel free to contact me throughout the year with any comments, questions, or issues by calling my office at (573) 751-5713 or by visiting my website at www.senate.mo.gov/brown.
Thank you for reading this and for your participation in state government.