The Final Days
With just one week left in the first regular session of the 100th General Assembly, we’ve come down to the wire. Any legislation that will become law this year must be passed by the end of next Friday. Many worthwhile measures will fall by the wayside as the Legislature focuses on other priorities.
One measure likely to receive attention in the remaining days is House Joint Resolution 48, also known as “Fair Missouri.” This measure improves upon ethics reforms enacted by initiative petition in November, and will require a vote of the people. HJR 48 bans lobbyist gifts. This measure will bring state law into line with the practice of my Missouri Senate office, where a sign is prominently displayed for all visitors to see: “This office will not accept gifts of any kind. Thank you.”
The Fair Missouri legislation also puts a stop to partisan redistricting provisions that were buried within the complex language of Amendment 1. In many cases, voters supported the ethics reforms contained in the initiative, without realizing that the measure also introduced party politics into procedures for drawing new legislative districts after each decennial national census.
The 34th Senatorial District, which I represent, is a prime example of how legislative districts were formed prior to the passage of Amendment 1. Crafted by a bipartisan commission appointed by the governor, the district includes 100 percent of Platte and Buchanan counties, and no areas outside those two counties. In every way, it satisfies long-standing criteria for legislative districts. It is compact, contiguous and includes approximately the same number of Missouri residents as all other senatorial districts in the state. Nothing about its boundaries reflects partisan considerations.
There’s no telling how District 34 might look under Amendment 1, which favors “partisan parity” over all other population and geographic considerations. In order to create legislative districts that contain roughly equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, the unelected state demographer – a new position created by Amendment 1 and appointed by the auditor, a partisan statewide official – will have to take some voters from mostly rural areas and add them together with residents of mostly urban areas. The convoluted districts created will be textbook definitions of the gerrymandering the proponents of the initiative claimed they wanted to prevent.
One thing I learned while campaigning for and serving in the Senate is that Missourians support local representation. My constituents like the fact that they see me in the grocery store or at the coffee shop and can share their views when we meet. Voters are not going to be happy to learn they have been lumped together with residents of a distant locality, merely to satisfy some arbitrary notion of political parity. HJR 48 restores the bipartisan method of redistricting that has created compact and contiguous areas of representation for decades. The districts created by this reform legislation will be subject to court oversight, ensuring there is no place for partisan politics in the creation of legislative boundaries.
PROTECTING THE INNOCENT
Another important measure yet to come before the Senate is House Bill 126, which expands protections for the unborn in Missouri. The Senate began its discussion of legislation to limit abortions early this past week when it heard Senate Bill 279. We had some fruitful discussions about that legislation before the measure was eventually tabled. I expect the effort to pass comprehensive legislation to protect the unborn will come as the Senate takes up the House bill in the next few days.
In recent years, America has seen a number of states pass incredibly liberal laws regarding abortion. In some areas, unborn children may be taken from their mother’s womb almost at the moment of childbirth. Those laws make no sense. Both the Missouri and U.S. Constitution proclaim protection of human life as one of the primary responsibilities of government. As elected officials, we take a solemn oath to protect life, and I intend to do that.
The “Missouri Stands for the Unborn Act” includes a number of provisions to prohibit abortions at various stages of a baby’s development. An abortion cannot be performed once the baby’s heartbeat is detected, unless there’s a risk to the life of the mother. If the baby can feel pain, abortion is not an option. There are other provisions that outlaw abortion for purposes of gender selection and other justifications. The bill is written so that each of these benchmarks is separable. If a judge rules against one provision, the others can remain.
The legislation that the Senate will consider in the coming days pushes back against some of the more extreme measures passed in other states. It’s a declaration that we are going to stand for life in Missouri. It’s a good bill and something that I’m going to be proud to support.
A LAND BANK FOR ST. JOSEPH
Legislation that authorizes the creation of the St. Joseph Land Bank has cleared the General Assembly and is on its way to the governor’s desk. I was pleased to usher House Bill 821 through the Missouri Senate and offer substitute language that was approved by the House of Representatives.
The St. Joseph Land Bank will acquire dilapidated properties that have fallen into disrepair and disuse and return them to productivity. Modeled after similar non-profit organizations in Kansas City and St. Louis, the land bank will have no eminent domain authority, but will assume title to vacant lots and abandoned buildings through tax lien auctions and donations from property owners who no longer want to be saddled with derelict parcels.
Enabling this innovative redevelopment approach was the No. 1 legislative priority for the City of St. Joseph and I was proud to work with my colleagues in the House of Representatives to see it passed.
It is my great honor to represent the citizens of Platte and Buchanan counties in the Missouri Senate. Please contact my office at 573-751-2183, or visit www.senate.mo.gov/luetkemeyer.