This week the Capitol building was buzzing with lots of activity. During the annual veto session lawmakers, staff members and citizens from across the state filled the halls to determine if any of this year’s 33 measures vetoed by the governor would be overridden.

Over the course of veto session, the General Assembly successfully overrode the governor’s vetoes a record 57 times. The Legislature voted to override eight Senate bills and two House bills, as well as 47 line-item appropriation vetoes from the state’s budget. We are focused on moving Missouri forward and keeping our state “open for business.”

Below is a list of vetoed legislation that was overridden:

• House Bill 1307 (handled by Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville) – Changes the minimum waiting period before a woman can have an abortion from 24 hours to 72 hours.
  
• This bill extends the waiting period for a patient to have an abortion from 24 to 72 hours to allow women the time to make a healthier, better-informed decision.
• The effects of abortion on both the child and the mother are devastating.
• We recognize the Supreme Court’s ruling, and we are operating within that law. It’s not an undue burden to give a mother more time to consider her decision by extending the waiting period to 72 hours.
• Utah and South Dakota already have 72-hour waiting periods.
• Studies show waiting periods have a health benefit for women and can reduce suicide rates after the procedure.
• More than 9,000 abortions were performed in Missouri in 2012. That’s 9,000 lives lost. While we have made progress in reducing the number of abortions in Missouri, we need to work more closely with mothers to provide better care for mother and child and educate the parents regarding available alternative choices.

• Senate Bill 829 (sponsored by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit) – Modifies provisions relating to the burden of proof in tax liability cases.
• Current law puts the burden of proof in tax disputes on the Department of Revenue except for certain large businesses, sales tax exemptions, and tax credits.
  
• SB 829 makes all taxpayers equal in putting the burden where it belongs, on the department. Taxpayers should not have to prove their innocence.
• Senate Bill 727 (sponsored by Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City) – Grants a sales and use tax exemption for products sold at farmers’ markets, among other provisions.
• House Bill 1132 (handled by Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington) – Changes the law regarding tax credits for contributions to a maternity home, pregnancy resource center or food pantry. HB 1132 would increase the amount of tax credits available for those programs.
  
• HB 1132 would increase the caps on three current tax credit programs by a total of $1.5 million annually.
• There are more than 50 pregnancy resource centers located in Missouri that offer valuable services to women with unplanned or crisis pregnancies. These charitable organizations offer guidance, emotional support, and often provide expecting mothers with baby clothes, car seats, and other must-have items for a new parent.

• Senate Bill 841 (sponsored by Sen. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa) – Prohibits the sale of alternative nicotine or vapor products to persons under 18 years of age.
• Senate Bill 593 (sponsored by Sen. Sater) – Modifies provisions relating to nonpartisan elections.
• This measure would allow certain political subdivisions to waive conducting non-partisan elections and provides a recall procedure for members of an emergency service board.
  Currently, nonpartisan elections in political subdivisions and special districts, with the exception of municipal elections, need not be held when the number of candidates who have filed is equal to the number of positions to be filled. This bill narrows the exception to municipal elections in cities, towns and villages with more than 100,000 inhabitants.
• Senate Bill 656 (sponsored by Sen. Kraus) – Modifies provisions relating to firearms, corporate security officers, and school protection officers. This bill will increase school security options.
  
• Allows districts to designate School Protection Officers with substantial training.
• This measure would have left the choice for voluntary training of School Protection Officers at the local level.
• Current statute already allows school districts to allow concealed carry in schools and School Protection Officer training is set in statute and rule.  Senate Bill 656 simply requires any teacher who is allowed by the district to carry to take that specific training.
• This measure prohibits banning of open carry with a conceal carry endorsement by municipalities.

• Senate Bill 523 (sponsored by Sen. Ed Emery, R-Lamar) – Prohibits school districts from requiring a student to use an identification device that uses radio frequency identification to transmit certain information.
  
• This measure would protect our students from being invaded by RFI (radio frequency identification) equipment without their permission.
• This act prohibits school districts from requiring a student to use an identification device that uses radio frequency identification technology to identify the student, transmit information regarding the student, or monitor or track the location of the student.
• If the RFI system is hacked, students’ private information is no longer safe.
• This ‘big brother’ tactic of monitoring our children goes too far.
• This bill doesn’t ban RFI; it just bans schools from mandating it.

• Senate Bill 731 (sponsored by Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis) – Modifies provisions relating to nuisance ordinances and actions. The measure would expand the definition of nuisance by adding that property affecting the values of neighboring buildings is considered a nuisance, and the actions failing to maintain said property lead to liability for the nuisance.
  
• Under current law, property in certain counties and cities is considered a nuisance if it adversely affects the property values of a neighborhood due to neglect or violation of a code or standard in addition to other reasons. This act provides that the property is also a nuisance if it affects the value of any property in the neighborhood and adds the actions of failure to reasonably maintain the property and violations of ordinances to the list of actions that lead to liability for the nuisance.
• Senate Bill 866 (sponsored by Sen. Wasson) – Preempts local laws that would modify current law governing the manner in which traditional installment loan lenders are allowed to make loans.
  
• The Legislature also overrode a number of the governor’s line-item vetoes in the Fiscal Year 2015 budget, restoring funding for a number of state programs, services and departments.  To see a complete list of the bills considered during the General Assembly’s annual veto session, visit www.senate.mo.gov.