Dog Tired

I'm back at the hotel and ready for some much needed sleep. What a wild night!

As I mentioned we went to the omnibus abortion/sex-miseducation bill this afternoon. I think the majority party thought we might not be prepared, but thanks to our amazing staff members and some fantastic women's health advocates, we were prepared and then some.

Senator Bray (D-St. Louis County) and Senator Days (D-St. Louis County) took the first shift and showed the boys we were ready for a fight. Next came Senator Wilson (D-Kansas City) and Senator Smith (D-St. Louis) who spent over an hour on the floor dismantling the myths of abstinence only education. Our pro-life Democratic caucus appeared next to talk about their frustration with not being included in the Republican strategy on abortion legislation AND for being the red-headed step children of the Democratic party. They were amazing.

I came on the floor sometime after 7 and had a long talk with Senator Callahan (D-Jackson County) about several issues including the origin of life and fetal anesthesia. Senator Callahan offered an amendment that would require women to be advised of the availability of fetal anesthesia if they seek treatment for abortion services.

It's a silly bill because there is no credible evidence that babies can feel pain at that point in gestation; that the anesthesia for the mother is insufficient for the procedure; that any doctor in this state or country practices fetal anesthesia; or even whether fetal anesthesia is something that is available. The bill has been introduced the last two years by Senator Gross (R-St. Charles). The amendment was defeated, but it put the Republicans in an awkward position of having to vote against something that goes to the core of their belief -- that life and pain starts when the egg is fertilized. Most Republicans voted no, including Senator Gross -- the author of the bill. I know the no votes are going to cause some problems for the Missouri Right to Life constituents who wanted the amendment passed.

After Victor's amendment failed, I took the floor and spent a good chunk of time talking about the immorality of using precious floor time to address wedge issues like abortion and gaming, when we should be working on issues like healthcare and housing. I was able to successfully argue that Koster's provisions in the abortion alternatives program runs into the same problem that the Koster/Justus childcare subsidy bill, in that the Rs say it is not possible to mandate funding. Even if we include language that says it is subject to appropriations. We've got the exact same issue with funding for the abortion alternatives, but low and behold -- it's okay to skirt the budget process for this particular piece of legislation.

After pumping everyone up about the moral issues that really matter -- like healthcare and child care and housing and food and education, all with the amazing help of Senator Bray, I inquired of Senator Crowell (R-Cape) about whether he might want to amend his conscientious pharmacist objection bill to the bill on the floor. This is the bill that I support, as long as abortifacient includes the words "as approved by the Federal Food & Drug Administration." It was a good bill that he liked and I liked. We both got what he wanted pharmacists would not have to prescribe the morning after pill if they had a moral objection. The morning after pill is offered only by hospitals, so this would not prevent pharmacists from having to fill regular birth control and plan b at the retail stores.

I had my staff Senator Crowell's bill into my amendment. I added the "as approved by the Federal Food & Drug Administration" language, and sent it up for distribution. I talked for a long while about the history of this issue and how this was a great compromise. I thanked Senator Crowell for his work to make a better bill.

My amendment was first called out of order, but I was able to successfully argue that it was germane to the bill, within its scope and title. The point of order was not well taken by the senator who raised it and I went back to request a roll call vote, which would require each senator to vote the bill yes or now -- once again putting them in the awkward position of voting for a D amendment (a good amendment to boot), or voting no for political reasons and then getting hell back home for voting against such a basic right to life bill.

There was a lot of scurrying aournd and whispers in the back of the chamber and I was requesting my roll call vote, Senator Scott (R-St. Clair) rose and took their bill off the formal calendar and laid it over on the informal calendar. What does that mean? It means they cried uncle! They blinked! It was a great win!

I'm back at home now trying to stay awake long enough to finish this post. I keep drifting of between sentences. I may have to proofread it in the morning , when my eyes are so blurry. Getting ready for a full 8 hours. Let me know if you listened on line. I wonder if it was fun to listen to as it was to watch.

ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE what we will go to tomorrow. Guesses -- gaming, CAFOS, MOHELA. As always -- stay in touch, tuned in, be nice to dogs and vote Democratic.

Here I [We] Go Again . . .

Well we got about 3 hours of sleep this morning and then we started over again. It was a crazy-busy day with welcome visits from lots of constituents.

At 3 PM this afternoon the decision was made by the majority party to go to SB370, an omnibus abortion and sex mis-education bill.

Wow. We're all exhausted, but as I've stressed hundreds of times before, women's health is non-negotiable. It's going to be another very long night.

We've been talking since 3 PM. Senators Bray, Wilson & Smith have taken the laboring oar so far. I've got several amendments that I intend to offer and a stack of questions to ask the sponsors. I will pick up my inquiry after the senators on the floor are done with their remarks and questions. Remember -- you can always listen to live-streaming audio of the debate at www.senate.mo.gov.

Filibuster Update

It's 3:52 AM and we are going to take a break until 10 AM this morning. I'm gonna try to get some sleep. Not sure what waits for us later this morning. I've heard it may be the CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation). Of course we could go back to gaming or even MOHELA. As always -- stay tuned!

You Got to Know When to Hold 'Em

So it's 3:05 AM and here we are at the capitol in the middle of another filibuster. MOHELA? Nope. Gaming. The bill would remove loss limits at Missouri casinos and put a cap on the number of gambling boats in the state. The bill purports to create a number of new scholarships for higher education, but it is clear that the fight tonight is about gaming regulation.

Senator Bartle (R-Lee's Summit) & Senator Green (D-St. Louis County) have taken the lead on the filibuster. Senator Bartle is opposed to gambling altogether. Senator Green is opposed to the cap that would limit the number of boats in the state.

I have mixed emotions on the issue. I am generally in favor of lifting loss limits. Missouri is the only place in the world that has loss limits. It's proven that loss limits do not affect the number of problem gamblers and if we lift the loss limits it would greatly increase the amount of money for education in the state.

On the other hand, I have a problem with limiting (through legislation) the number of casinos in the state. I'm not particularly in favor of more boats in the state. In fact, I don't think we need any more. I do believe, however, that caps create an oligopoly and favor the those corporations already in the market. I can't think of any other industry where we limit the number of entrants into the market.

So while Senator Bartle is busy asking all the senators whether they have entered a tractor pull and which county has the best deer hunting, the rest of us are monitoring the floor activity, taking naps, playing cards, reading legislation and blogging.

We've made some progress, but it looks like a long night.

Denied!

So today was the first day that I've handled my own bill on the floor. I was pretty nervous -- wanted to make sure I could remember the proper words to introduce the bill, etc. The first few words out of my mouth were pretty easy -- "Mr. President, I would like to request that SB671 be brought before the body. " The President then said "All those in favor of bringing forth SB671 signify by saying aye (lots of ayes were screamed), those opposed signify by saying no (LOTS MORE nos were screamed). The President then started to say "The Nos Appear to have it . . ." But before he could say the nos do have it, I stood up and asked for a standing division. This would require all the senators to return to the chamber and sit or stand by their chair to indicate their vote. The President (played today by Sen Rupp (R-St. Charles)) decided he might try a recount of the voice vote rather than drag all the senators into the Chamber again. This time the ayes had it and the bill was brought before the floor to discuss.

I gave a brief description about the technical change that we were correcting from last year. This was originally an interstate compact that would allow political subdivisions on both sides of the Kansas and Missouri state lines to form an entity that would be able to raise funds for area transit projects. The bill passed this year, but it did not pass in Kansas, so we were simply stating that the counties in the Missouri Region could proceed without or until Kansas signs the compact. The bill also added Buchanan County to the metro area.

I suspected there would be a lot of questioning of the bill and general hazing of the first timer. The Requisite jokes about Jayhawks and their failure to pay for their fare share on the Missouri side were raised. After we finished debating the issue, I closed and called for a vote. This bill is on the consent docket, so it was a roll call vote. Every vote prior to my bill passed 33-0 or 34-0 or 33-1. These are truly noncontroversial bills. One by one, however, the senators started voting no on my bill. I got a couple of ayes from my fellow freshman, but it was looking bad. After the vote was made but not closed, one by one, the Senators rose from their chairs, to ask how they were recorded, and then switched their vote to an aye vote. Senator Gross was the last to rise. He asked how he was counted and they told him no. He shouted "excellent!: and left the chamber. So my first bill passed out of chamber today 33 ayes; 1 no. Everyone was very friendly and it was cool to hear their stories about the grief they received on their first bill. It was a lot of fun. My mom said she heard it on the internet. I hope she could tell they were having a good time.

Not 15 minutes later I was up with my second bill of the day. SB426 is a simple housekeeping bill to help create efficiency in the annual reports prepared by the judiciary. No problems this time -- we sailed right through and passed it 34-0.

It was a fun day. I got to participate in one of the fun traditions on the Senate Floor and I passed two consent bills. Let's hope we can keep them trucking along over in the House.

Back to Jeff & Ready to Go

Back in Jefferson City for another week of fun. I've been following the papers around the state and it looks like we could jump right in tomorrow with MOHELA or SB577 -- the majority's senate version of Blunt's MoHealthNet (the Medicaid "fix"). We won't know until right before we take the floor. It's more fun that way.

If you haven't had a chance, and you feel you can stand just one more MOHELA article, I recommend this piece from the Columbia Daily Tribune. It's long, but it gives the best blow-by-blow history of the issue that I have seen.

Women's Health is Not a Priority in MO

I'm probably going to take a lot of heat for this post, but the more time I spend in Jefferson City, the more convinced I am that it is safer to be a fetus in MO than it is to be a woman.

What?

I was saddened but not surprised to learn that Governor Blunt has pulled funding from Planned Parenthood in Springfield and Joplin for early detection of cervical and breast cancer. According to the Governor, women should be able to access these life-saving screenings without having to go to an "abortion clinic." Nevermind that these clinics don't even offer abortion services.

At the same time, the list of anti-woman, anti-choice bills in the MO General Assembly continues to grow. No matter where you stand on the choice debate, the Governor's latest political stunt is bad for women. Planned Parenthood in Springfield and Joplin provides critical family planning services for our most vulnerable populations. I would think that our goal should be the reduction of unintended pregnancies and healthy women. Instead it seems as if the governor is continuing his attempt to make good with Missouri Right to Life, after coming out in favor of Amendment 2 last year.

On the flip-side, a few of us are continuing to fight for fewer abortions and women's health. Several bills, including Prevention First and funding for the HPV vaccine are pending in senate committees. Let's keep our fingers crossed that these bills get the hearings and debate they deserve.

Live From Chicago

I flew to Chicago today for a three day conference on health care sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislators. It is co-sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research, a federal agency.

We just had our opening dinner/meeting and it seems like an interesting group. Folks here from as far away as Alaska and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The timing of this conference is excellent. Although I'm giving up some of my spring break, it sounds like the Senate will be dealing with healthcare reform as early as next week, when we debate SB577 (aka Healthnet), the governor's much-anticipated and from what I can tell -- severely anemic -- answer to Medicaid.

Spring Break Update

So what do Missouri legislators do on spring break? Well I can attest that it is not much of a break. While I have been able to catch up on some much needed sleep (yeah that's me with all the pooches), I've been busy meeting with constituents, attending parades and speaking engagements, opening a district office, and catching up at the law firm.

This weekend I will head to Chicago for a conference. I received a scholarship from the National Conference of State Legislators to attend a health care conference for new legislators. I'm not looking forward to more travel and time away from home, but the agenda for the conference looks pretty interesting. I'm sure we will focus a significant amount of time during the second half of the legislative session on health care issues, so the conference will be a good resource.

So while the clock is ticking on the rest of my short break, I'm going to continue to catch up with family and friends, take care of neglected household chores and of course I won't forget to cast my absentee ballot for next week's city election.

Prime Buzz . . . Day 5

Hard to believe I'm already a third of my way through my Prime Buzz free trial. I feel so much smarter!

More stuff I've learned -- wait two days and anything on Prime will make it's way to the Star or the Buzz Blog.

If you subscribe you get a nifty e-mail with site highlights. The e-mail comes Sun-Fri.

Reader comments average about one a day.

When your 14-day free trial has expired, you can sign up with one of your 5 other e-mail addresses.

So far I feel I've gotten my money's worth.

4 Years and Counting

"The man who is tenacious of purpose in a rightful cause is not shaken from his firm resolve by the frenzy of his fellow citizens clamoring for what is wrong, or by the tyrant’s threatening countenance." (Horace)

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of speaking at a rally recognizing the 4th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. Kansas State Sen. Chris Steineger and U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver were the other elected officials speaking at the event.

Here is a copy of my prepared remarks:

As a state senator I’ve been asked why we should discuss the Iraq war in Jefferson City. It’s a simple answer to me. We were elected to represent the people of this state and each one of us has been personally impacted by the devastation of this war. As your representatives it is our duty to tell the people in Washington that enough is enough.

On February 21 I introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution #13 in response to President Bush's proposed escalation of troops in Iraq. Whether individual legislators agreed with the resolution or not, it should have been debated and voted on by the entire Missouri Legislature. Unfortunately my colleagues in Jefferson City did not agree and after three weeks of languishing in committee, the resolution died on a party-line vote.

So what makes this a local issue that is worthy of debate in Jefferson City? Beyond the intolerable human losses, the financial cost of this war is crippling our country and our states and the unseen victims are the most vulnerable in our society. This is a local issue.

The war in Iraq has resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 US soldiers, including 55 Missourians and 36 Kansans. The financial cost of this war to our states has been devastating. The estimated cost of this war to Missouri and Kansas alone is nearly $10 billion and counting.

In Missouri 28% of our budget comes from the federal government. We depend on those dollars to provide key services for our communities. Yet over the last six years the President has offered budget after budget that puts the priorities of a wealthy few over good, proven programs that affect us all. The current budget proposed by the Bush administration has once again chosen to benefit millionaires with permanent tax cuts, while leaving a legacy of debt for our children.

We must send a message to Washington – we must reverse this irresponsible course and start setting the right priorities. Elected officials on every level should be debating this issue. This discussion should be heard in Topeka, Jefferson City, Kansas City, Independence, Olathe and beyond. It is our duty to tell the president how his war is affecting our communities. It’s the right thing to do. It’s what we were elected to do. It’s the patriotic thing to do.

I've been told my opposition to President Bush's plan (or lack thereof) is unpatriotic. Do not confuse concern for human life with a lack of patriotism.

You can support the troops without supporting their leader.

You can support the people who are fighting every day without supporting their leader's decision to put more people in harm's way.

Challenging the decision to sacrifice more lives and deplete more resources is patriotic and I thank each and every one of you for continuing to fight for what is right. Do not stop. Margaret Mead told us to never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

So I ask each of you as you continue your fight to please – call your city council person. Write a letter to your county legislator. Visit your state representative. Tell them that we in Missouri and Kansas do not want any more loss of human life and we do not want our children and grandchildren to pay for a war that has no resolution. This is a local issue that affects us all.

Thank you again for keeping the debate alive. I am so proud to call you my neighbors and friends.

Prime Buzz . . . Day 2

I'm on Day 2 of my 14-day free trial of Prime Buzz (the Star's subscription-only political blog).

Observations --

1. Readers have left a total of 4 comments over the last two days. 4!

2. They sent me a nifty e-mail yesterday that contained a summary of some of their content. The nifty e-mail did not come today.

3. The following article was posted this week, but I did not see the same post on the buzz blog or in the Star. Since it is about the Iraq Resolution that I sponsored, I will repost the article here for those of you who have already blown through your 14 days of prime buzz freedom.

War resolution hangs over state senator's other bills

JEFFERSON CITY | State Sen. Jolie Justus has learned that political feuds over the war in Iraq are not just confined to Washington.

Justus, a Kansas City Democrat, this year filed a resolution calling for the Missouri Senate to disapprove of any escalation of the war in Iraq or troop surge. Though her resolution praises the troops as having “valiantly upheld their duty” in Iraq, it says a majority of Americans oppose sending more soldiers.

The freshman senator said that while she supports the troops, she doesn’t support the war and believes it’s patriotic to say so.

“Missouri’s legislators should absolutely tell our delegation in Washington how our constituents feel about this war,” she said.

Lawmakers in California, Vermont and Iowa have passed resolutions of disapproval, and similar measures have been introduced in 20 other states, including Kansas.

The Senate Rules Committee held a hearing on the resolution on Feb. 21, where an organization representing military families against the war spoke in favor of the measure. But Republicans on the panel gave the resolution an icy reception.

Sen. Luann Ridgeway, a Smithville Republican, said the resolution “would basically cut off the president from sending in the cavalry.” Senate President pro tem Michael Gibbons, a St. Louis County Republican, questioned sending such messages to Washington, adding, “Any resolution we sent to Congress, we’re pretty sure it goes in the trash.”

One Republican senator not on the committee had particular animosity toward it. Sen. Carl Vogel of Jefferson City testified against the resolution, noting his son’s Army unit is headed into combat operations in the near future.

Justus’ resolution sat in the committee for a few weeks and was not among the bills the panel considered for passage. So Justus last week called for a vote on the resolution, and the committee shot it down on a party line vote.

That wasn’t the end of it, though. An assistant to Vogel, who heads the Senate Ways and Means Committee, told Justus’ office that because of the war resolution, Vogel would not be hearing two of her bills that were before his committee.

One bill would create a state version of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, which refunds taxes collected on low-income workers. The other bill would hike fees collected on real estate documents filed with recorders of deeds to increase funding for housing assistance to low-income families.

Vogel confirmed he would not hear the bills, saying, “We were disappointed in the filing of the (Iraq war) resolution.”

He said it sets a dangerous precedent to say one supports the troops but not the war. In any case, the legislature has no business debating the war, Vogel said.

“That forum is not the Missouri Senate,” he said. “I have no problem leaving that debate in Washington.”

But Vogel and other senators forgot that they had debated the war in Iraq before.

On March 20, 2003, the state Senate, after a sometimes contentious debate, passed a resolution supporting the president’s attack on Iraq. The resolution said, “Iraq’s conventional, chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons” threatened world peace, and the measure attempted to link Saddam with the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks by saying the senators supported “bringing to justice Osama bin Laden and those responsible for terrorist attacks on United States soil.”

Sen. Jon Dolan, a Lake St. Louis Republican who sponsored the measure, made sure it was adopted on a roll call vote, saying everyone should be put on the record on the issue.

The resolution passed 30-2, and Vogel voted for the bill. He admitted it was a contradiction to say the Senate shouldn’t debate the war now. But he defended his 2003 vote.

“If the president made the decision to take military action against Iraq based on these assumptions, and now, four years later, some of these have been proven false, right or wrong, we’ve crossed a line where we’ve taken out a dictator and we’re helping form a new democracy,” Vogel said.

Justus dismissed the argument that state lawmakers shouldn’t be debating national or international issues. They do it all the time, she said, noting that the Senate Rules Committee had passed a resolution supporting negotiation of a U.S.-Taiwan free trade agreement and another measure urging the U.S. to not participate in any efforts to create a North American Union.

The Oldest Profession

Is the MOHELA debate about prostitution? That's what the publisher of the Columbia Tribune opined today.

It's an unfortunate, but accurate depiction of the issue. So how did our state universities find themselves in the unfortunate position of having to prostitute themselves? Because the Republican dominated General Assembly has failed to appropriate funds for capital improvements for the last six years. By all accounts, the Missouri General Assembly had a 50 year tradition of appropriating capital improvements for higher ed every other year. Then six years ago they stopped. The universities, faced with dwindling money from the state, increasing costs, and no capital improvements money, are starved for anything they can get. Along comes MOHELA.

The MOHELA plan had (still could have) potential. The current proposal comes at too high a price. First the universities were forced to accept restrictions on the type of research that could be performed. When those promises were not good enough, the plan was was revised to strip nearly all research facilities from the project list. UMKC and UMSL lost important incubator projects. MU lost nearly $55 million in capital that would have gone to research facilities. Instead the money was shifted to lower priority projects in the districts of anti-stem cell senators, in exchange for yes votes.

Even now, with academic freedom compromised and the original focus of the plan gutted, there are not enough supporters to end debate and bring the plan to a vote. I've got a stack of amendments and the willingness to continue to work on this thing. Let's put the money into scholarships and loan forgiveness and free up general revenue for the capital improvements that are so desperately needed.

Safe Schools Legislation . . . Anti-Bullying Round 2

As the MOHELA melodrama began to subside this week, the Senate got back to other business. Yesterday I had a hearing in the Education Committee on my safe schools bill, which would beef-up the anti-bullying policies for public schools.

Last year we passed a first step by requiring that all schools have an anti-bullying policy in place by September of this year. My legislation would significantly improve the existing legislation by creating a reporting mechanism, defining where bullying is off limits (schools, school events and school buses), enumerating categories of students who should be protected by school policies, creating a mechanism for publicizing the policies and ordering the state board of education to develop a model policy for schools to use when developing their own policies.

As I suspected, the biggest concern from the committee was regarding the addition of enumerated categories. Senators Loudon (R-St. Louis County) and Nodler (R-Jasper County) grilled me for an extended period regarding the subject. They both felt that adding enumerated categories (race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, etc.) created special protection for certain kids.

I quickly cut through the politics and pointed out the obvious -- some people have a problem with inclusion of sexual orientation. I could have danced around the subject, but it is unlikely that anyone would have objected to the enumerated categories if sexual orientation was NOT included.

With all the cards on the table, I argued that this legislation provides protection from all bullying -- it simply stresses that bullying against certain categories of kids is not acceptable. The categories of kids listed are those who are most likely to suffer from bullying and it is often the bullying that is ignored by teachers and school administrators. Furthermore, states with enumerated categories have shown a statiscal decrease in the amount of bullying over those states with generic policies. Simply put, policies with enumerated categories help reduce bullying. Generic policies -- not so much.

Senator Champion (R-Springfield) was extremely helpful during the questioning and queried whether listing the enumerated categories would actually help educate teachers and students about what types of comments and actions can be classified as bullying. She also proposed language for the bill that seemed to appease some of the enumeration skeptics. Senator Champion is right -- including the enumerated categories does serve to educate everyone about what is acceptable and what is bullying. I was thankful for her insightful comments.

In the end, Senators Loudon and Nodler are not going to be happy with any policy that includes sexual orientation. I don't know if I have the votes to get the bill out of committee and even if I did, I doubt seriously the bill would be reported to the floor by Senator Nodler (the chair of the committee). I'm going to make the amendments suggested by Senator Champion and include some additional cleanup language and see what happens. I will also see if there is any bill on the floor that I can attach this to as an amendment.

The bill was supported by PROMO, MNEA, AFT and ACLU. I know other school organizations are supportive and regardless of an individual's views regarding sexual orientation -- I suspect that most people are in favor of providing a safe learning environment for ALL children.

Prime Buzz . . . The Clock is Ticking

I started a 14-day free trial for the Kansas City Star's Prime Buzz today. Prime Buzz is the new subscription-only political site that I hear runs roughly $400/year (I guess I will find out at the end of my free trial).

Let me start by saying -- I think Prime Buzz is a bad idea. I don't know how many paid subscribers there are, but I can't imagine that this business model will take off. The cost is prohibitive to the average person and part of what made the KC Buzz Blog so successful was the frequency of posts and free access to everyone. The only people who will subscribe to this thing are political insiders and paid professionals. Possibly a wealthy political junkie or two.

What value does it have if it is only available to a sliver of the population? New posts on the Buzz Blog have dropped since Prime Buzz went live. Fewer topics and fewer debates. With the traffic that the Buzz Blog was getting over the last six months, I would suspect that selling ads on the original site would be a more lucrative endeavor.

I doubt I will cough up the dough for a subscription at the end of my 14 day trial. So far I have been able to find the same level of political coverage on the FREE blogs for other newspapers across the state. The RSS feed seems to be dead as well, which means that I have to make a special trip to the site every day -- all the other blogs are delivered to my desktop in one neat little package.

If I learn anything earth-shattering during my 14 days of freedom, I will be sure and send it your way. I would hate for you to miss out on the exclusive political coverage of Kansas City's political elite.

Spring Break

The Senate has adjourned until Monday, March 26. It's been a very long week. We need a break.

After the MOHELA filibuster Monday-Tuesday, we stayed until midnight last night taking care of a whole mess of legislation, including a HUGE transportation bill.

I'm going to take care of some paperwork this afternoon, then I'll take some time to rehash the last week and some highlights of my first 1/2 session that have not made it to the blog yet.

MOHELA Redux

Here's a great post about the biotech gutting of the original MOHELA plan. The author also picks up on the obvious reasons to hold off on the deal -- we still don't have an answer regarding the financial feasibility of the project.

The Welfare of the People Shall be the Supreme Law

If the Republicans had allowed us to speak tonight, I was going to start my debate with the following speech. I may still use the speech if we go back to MOHELA, but I want to share it with my constituents, so you can get a feel for my position on the this issue.

_____________

In just over two months I have come to cherish the Missouri Senate.

The Senate provides the place and time for legislators to pause in the face of swirling controversy. This historic chamber affords us the ability to regain focus on fundamental values and keeps legislation on the right track.

It is in this chamber where we can take the time to live up to our state’s motto: “The Welfare of the People Shall be the Supreme Law."

As we have debated this controversial proposal I keep repeating to myself: “the welfare of the people.” I have tested every version of this proposal against this measure.

Over the past several months, many people have come to me to explain the benefits of the Governor’s proposal. These are people I know and respect.

I listened carefully to the list of benefits of the MOHELA plan. I considered what those benefits could mean to all potential stakeholders. I assure you that I listened and carefully considered all positions presented to me.

And yet, I know in my heart, that the welfare of the people is something separate and apart from benefits to individuals, organizations and institutions.

Being a senator affords me the opportunity to think about the difference between individual benefits and the public welfare. I would not be living up to the high standards of a Missouri State Senator if I did not accept this awesome responsibility and leverage it to the benefit of all Missourians.

For example, I may want to support the grand promises of cash and prizes made to UMKC, but as a member of this chamber, I am bound to serve the interest of education as a whole.

I look at the proposal before us and I see benefits for a few and restrictions on the whole. I see a sale that may result in speculative profits, while low cost loans for deserving students are subjected to risk.

I see the promise of - but not the appropriation for - research facilities in strategically placed locations across our state. Yet this bill is punctuated with limitations on the research we can perform. Instead of the original promise of economic development and potential for life-saving cures, I see enormous risks and liability.

Accepting this proposal is a dangerous precedent and sets us on a path we do not want to take. Slowly but surely we are letting the beliefs of a few erode the rights given to us all. What's next?

Like so many of my fellow senators, I went door-to-door in my district to ask my neighbors for this job. I promised my constituents that I would live up to our state’s motto. In response to that commitment, made on doorstep after doorstep, my neighbors extended to me their trust. I take that public trust very seriously.

We are once again at a moment where the senate has the opportunity to fulfill its institutional purpose.

I am prepared to deliberate on this bill, in this historic chamber, until the public welfare is served.

Tomorrow

Roughly 29 hours after we started session yesterday we finally called it a night. Faced with yet another long night of attempts by the Democrats to craft better legislation for the people of Missouri, the majority leadership laid the MOHELA bill on the informal calendar and we adjourned until 10 AM tomorrow morning.

What happened? What does all this mean? Is MOHELA finally dead? I'm still trying to sort through all the details of the last day and it is very difficult to determine exactly how things went down. Unfortunately, the night ended on a negative note as the President Pro Tem once again accused the Democrats of trying to thwart good public policy with obstructionist tactics. It was a move designed to give the Republicans the last word to the press, but it was an inaccurate portrayal of the real story -- Governor Blunt and the Republican majority are trying to once again cram bad legislation down the throats of Missourians through strong-arm tactics, extortion and half-truths.

After a quick break for caucus, we went back in session around 8 tonight to pick up where we left off on MOHELA. Senator Nodler offered yet another substitute for the bill (I think we are up to 23 or 26 different versions right now). Once the new version was offered, Senator Gibbons gave a lengthy and fiery speech claiming that our negotiations today were in bad faith and despite all the hard work that the Republicans put in today, it was ultimately the Democrats who were not willing to compromise.

My response is this -- it's been almost six weeks since the Democrats offered a solid alternative proposal to the governor's plan. This afternoon was the first time the Republicans even inquired about our proposal. We haven't had a hearing, a debate or even a discussion. When they finally started to talk to us about the core of our plan -- it became obvious that we were still miles apart. Instead of moving forward, however, we were faced with another round of yelling, arm waving and accusations. They even tried to blame Jay Nixon. I'm starting to hear a recurring theme here. Every time the governor has a loss, the Republicans immediately scream "Blame Jay."

This is a colossal lack of leadership on behalf of the Governor. In three weeks we have seen Fred Ferrell, vouchers and now MOHELA all blow up in his face. Maybe the Republicans should stop screaming Blame Jay and start looking to clean up their own house.

There is a chance that MOHELA could come up again tomorrow. We also have several nasty fights lurking in the wings -- abortion, gaming, porn. What happens tomorrow is really anyone's guess.

If MOHELA comes up tomorrow, I hope that we continue to work as a caucus to draft better public policy. We owe it to the children of the state.

MOHELA is Dead ...

for now. More to come . . .

In the Back Room

We went back into session at 2. Leadership from both parties is in a back room trying to see if there is any way we can reach a compromise on the issue.

MOHELA has not come back to the floor while negotiations continue. Instead we spent some time on the consent calendar and now Senators Gross and Barnitz are going over a supplemental budget with a fine-tooth comb.

No word yet on possible resolutions to the deadlock. I'm ready to go one way or the other.

Quick Siesta

Around 11 we took a break so both parties could caucus. We (the Dems) met and set our strategy for the next phase of the debate.

This will be a short post because I'm going to take a quick break to walk Laika (the commie dog), shower and change. Maybe I'll catch a quick power nap.

Debate starts again at 2. Remember that you can listen on line at www.senate.mo.gov.

As always, thanks for staying in touch and tuned in.

MOHELA Immunity

8:57 AM. Just entering hour 14.

I just finished a long inquiry with Senator Days from St. Louis regarding the immunity provision in the latest version of the bill.

For those keeping score at home -- we are currently on the 20th version of this bill. It is currently in the form of a Senate Committee Substitute.

As with previous versions, this bill has a section that provides a conflict of interest waiver and immunity clause for all the board members who took part in the negotiations leading up to this deal. I've asked for information regarding how many other bills we have passed that contain an immunity clause for the participants of the acts necessitating the legislation.

Live Blogging a Filibuster?

Sure -- why not. It's 7:05 AM and we're still on MOHELA. I toyed with giving updates all night, but figuring that no one would be awake to read them, and since I was on the floor most of the night and not able to use my laptop because of Senate rules (rethinking that decision now), I've delayed making frequent updates until now.

UPDATE -- I got called to the floor before I could finish this post. It's 7:42 AM now and the minority has taken the floor back. We're still on MOHELA. No end in sight.

MOHELA on the Floor

As expected, MOHELA was brought to the Senate floor last night (Monday). We got started debating around 8 PM. It's now 4:44 AM and we are still going strong. I just spent the last two and a half hours or so standing and talking about the cost of higher education and how important it is for all Missouri's citizens to have access to quality, affordable education.

Senator Smith (St. Louis) and I spent most of that time relating our personal experience with constituents who are finding higher education increasingly out of reach.

At roughly 4:30 AM MOHELA was placed temporarily on the informal calendar and the Republican leadership went to the consent docket and we heard a time share bill. Weird juxtaposition to say the least.

Now we've gone back to MOHELA and Senator Shields is in the middle of a lengthy inquiry of Senator Graham.

Stay tuned . . .

Tom Eagelton's Farewell Address

Senator Tom Eagleton wrote a farewell address in May 2006, with instructions it be shared with his family and friends at Saturday's memorial service.

A few friends forwarded it to me today and after reading it, I felt it was definitely worth sharing.

Everything I have heard about Senator Eagleton is that he was brilliant, funny and honest -- all in one package. Definitely rare in a politician. If you don't have time to read the entire address -- it can be summed up with his closing line:

"So go forth in love and peace — be kind to dogs — and vote Democratic."

MOHELA on the Brain

While the rest of the house is snoring, I'm still wide awake. I can't tell if it is my racing mind or the time change or too much coffee or something else, but no amount of sheep counting or other sleep tricks are working tonight.

One thing that has been keeping my brain in overdrive for the last couple of weeks is the MOHELA bill which may come back to the floor as early as today (Monday afternoon). I thought I would fall asleep for sure if I took out a copy of the latest version of the bill and read the whole thing, but I'm afraid it has me wider awake than ever.

If you're reading this blog, you are probably already familiar with the MOHELA issue, but for those who have remained blissfully ignorant -- MOHELA is the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority. The bill would allow for the sale of MOHELA assets and the funds from the sale would be used for capital improvement projects.

The plan seems to change on a daily basis, but the current proposal seems to have included enough compromises that it might be able to pass out of the senate.

The plan is still shrouded in controversy and I'm still undecided on how I will vote. In addition to the political baggage that the bill carries, it is part of a larger higher education proposal that I am not satisfied is in the best interest of the state. Some of the issues that concern me greatly include a voucher-like proposal that would give scholarships to students wishing to attend private colleges and restrictions on institutions' abilities to set their own tuition.

Of course there are also some fundamental problems with the sale of MOHELA assets. There is no guarantee that this is a fiscally responsible plan, or that any of the projects listed in the so-called Lewis & Clark Discovery Initiative will ever actually get financed. The original purpose of MOHELA was to insure that Missouri students have access to low-interest student loans. Sale of MOHELA assets compromises that mission and in return is a promise of new buildings. I have stated on several occasions that bricks and mortar should come from general revenue and not from a risky sale of assets. If it is determined that the sale is financially sound, then the money should be used for reducing the crushing debt load that Missouri students graduate with each year.

On the other hand, UMKC stands to gain a lot from the sale. The current plan provides $18.4 million for the completion of the pharmacy/nursing school and the purchase of badly-needed equipment for the dental school. These schools are crucial to UMKC, Kansas City and the state. Somehow this whole process has felt like extortion. At one point the bill's handler and the governor's staff would not assure me that UMKC's projects would be included in the plan unless I promised them a yes vote. This was BEFORE I was provided the version of the bill that they wanted me to vote for. Of course I want UMKC's projects to be included, but how could I ever promise to vote on a bill that I hadn't even read? I stood strong and insisted that UMKC be included in the project list, but explained that I could not promise to vote for something that was not in writing.

Well it's in writing now. On Thursday we were provided with the latest bill and we were given a peek at the latest project list. I've been studying and discussing the bill all weekend and preparing for the debate this week. I'm still undecided and I suppose that's what leads me to this point -- wide awake and trying to decide the right thing to do. Ultimately I will not be able to make my decision until we debate the thing on the floor. I've got pages of questions that I will ask and I know that my colleagues will do the same. In the end I will balance all the factors and make the decision that is in the best interest of my constituents. I may be losing a lot of sleep over this, but this is what the process is all about. If I haven't mentioned it lately -- I love this job. Thank you so much for the opportunity to represent you. I won't let you down.

Iraq Resolution Update

During my Rules Committee hearing on Wednesday, I made a motion to vote on the Iraq Resolution I filed earlier this session.

Since our hearing on February 21, the Chair of the Committee had failed to bring the issue to a vote. During last week's executive session, I made a motion "do pass," hoping that we could advance the resolution to the floor, where the entire senate could debate the issue. Senator Bray seconded the motion, but the resolution was voted "do not pass" along party lines. Senators Bray and Green voted to pass the resolution, while Senators Shields, Gibbons, Gross and Ridgeway voted not to send the resolution to the floor.

I'm understandably upset, but not surprised the vote came out the way it did. Unfortunately, there is very little chance the House version will even get a committee hearing.

This weekend as I was riding in the Brookside St. Patrick's Day Parade, a man and woman shouted at me from the crowd thanking me for filing the resolution. It was a brief exchange, but it meant so much. The cost of this war (human, financial and political) is the single-most pressing issue of our time. The people of Missouri deserve to know how their state legislators feel about the issue. Thank you to everyone who contacted my office to show your support.

I stand by my decision to file the resolution. I sincerely hope that it won't be necessary, but I will revisit the issue next year if President Bush continues his failure to address what the majority of Americans know -- it is time to end this war and bring our troops home.

Pretty Good

Steve Kraske's column in today's KC Star had a quick assessment of my time in the senate so far.

"The early reviews of Jolie Justus, Kansas City’s freshman state senator? So far, pretty good."

I know to take good press where I can get it, so I'm not going to complain. I will humbly agree that things are going "pretty good." In fact -- I think things are going great.

Here's a quick summary:

As of March 1 (the last day to file bills in the Senate) I filed a total of 17 bills and co-sponsored an additional 22 bills.

Of the 17 I've sponsored, I've had hearings on 10 of the bills and I have 2 hearings scheduled this week. I've passed 5 bills out of committee, have 2 bills on the consent calendar, one on the formal calendar, and I have amended 4 bills onto other legislation that is advancing through the system.

I've still got a long way to go with a lot of this legislation, but I'm excited about the work we have done so far and with one week before spring break, I am thrilled that we have made such amazing progress. Yeah -- I'd say we are doing pretty good. Thanks Steve!

Drinking the Kool Aid

We had an incredibly busy week. I was really impressed with the progress that we made as a body. We put in a lot of very long days, but I was excited to see a lot of movement on my legislation.

Every Thursday night, after the majority of the senators have gone back home to their districts, the Senate staff (Dem, Repub & non-partisan) meet at a local watering hole to unwind from the week's activities. No politics. No shop talk -- just socializing.

This was a longstanding tradition, but was unfortunately lost in the last few years of partisan squabbling. Some oldtimers brought it back and I'm glad they did. It really gives everyone a chance to socialize and get to know each other outside of a politically-charged atmosphere.

By all accounts it has been a great success. Drawing anywhere from 30-50+ participants, the gang has let me stop by a couple of times to hang out. Tonight we met at a local establishment popular for Thursday night karaoke.

Highlights --

--We've got some incredibly talented staff! A couple of the younger crew can really belt it out, especially Kool-Aid's dead-on rendition of Barry Manilow's "Mandy."

--Who knew we had such talented dancers on the Senate staff. Whether it was chair dancing or slow-dancing to Patsy Cline, the Senate family can really cut a rug.

--Never able to sit on the sidelines during karaoke, and in the ultimate display of bipartisanship, I happily joined a senior staff member from the Republican party in a totally forgettable performance of "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. About two bars into the song it was apparent that I should be singing the Kenny Rogers part, but I stumbled through and made a new friend.

Ever since I've been down here I constantly hear about how much things have changed since term limits. About how no one socializes anymore. We don't know our colleagues' families. It used to be that you could fight like dogs all day, then go out for dinner at night and be friends.

Since term limits a different Senate has emerged that is much more partisan with a lot less civility. People hold grudges and fights on the floor lead to enemies off the floor. Hopefully events like tonight will help the cultural and social fabric of the Senate to be restored to the golden days and we can put our differences aside and realize that we are all just working hard on issues that are important to the people we represent. We may not always agree, but we can respect each other and learn to value our differences.

Pretty lofty goals I realize -- but nights like tonight give me hope.

Burning the Midnight Oil

The days are getting a lot longer here in the capital city. We finished up after 11 tonight. Lots of action today, though. We made a lot of progress on consent bills and a HUGE local government bill that had close to 30 amendments.

I was excited to get two bills* unanimously passed out of committee today with consent status. Some night when I'm not so exhausted, I'll explain the whole consent status thing. For now, I will just say that consent status makes it much easier to get the thing to the floor and out the door.

After the committee hearing I was able to get those same bills added as amendments to the big local government bill that we tackled today. Now I've got two vehicles for each bill, so I will keep moving them forward and hope that one makes it through the entire process.

One of the amendments was opposed by the chair of the transportation committee. After a voice vote on my amendment, he called for a standing division, which requires all senators to come to the chamber and stand to be counted as either yes or no on the amendment. We won the vote -- 20 to 10. It was pretty exciting. I've heard there is usually only one standing division requested a year, but we had three or four tonight.

We also passed one of my co-sponsored bills (SB 237) out of the Senate entirely. I co-sponsored the bill with Senator Shields from St. Joseph. It will make it easier for Kansas City to enforce codes violations and crack down on absentee slumlords. It's on its way to the House now.

I've heard rumors that tomorrow's agenda could include MOHELA or gaming (casinos) or Senator Bartle's unconstitutional porn regulation bill. We get VERY LITTLE notice about what we are going to discuss from day to day, so it is really anybody's guess what issue we will tackle next.

I was happy to hear that the House KILLED school vouchers today. It was a great victory for public school supporters. The vote was 92-63 (or 93-62 or something close to that). Hopefully that means we will not have the voucher fight in the Senate this year. We've got enough to do keep ourselves busy with otherwise.

Laika (the commie dog) is ready to go to bed, so I'm gonna get some zzzzs before we start again in a few hours.

*The bills are SB 469 & 671. I would normally give you the link to these bills, but for some reason the "insert link" button is missing from my blogger page since I started using a Mac. If anyone has a fix, I would love to hear from you. You can check out the bills at http://www.senate.mo.gov/07info/bts_web/sponsoredby.aspx?SessionType=R&legislatorid=230.

Back Among the Living

I really hate that a whole week has gone by since my last posting. I have so many things to share that I don't know where to start.

Needless to say, it's good to be back among the wired. I've had some temporary technological setbacks, but I'm equipped with a new laptop and ready to go.

Rather than dump a week's worth of updates into one long post, I'll just try to catch everyone up with posts as I have time.

Last week was super crazy -- Fred Ferrell and another meeting with the governor and lots of bills heard and filed and my first attempt to offer an amendment on the floor and one of the worst bouts with the flu that I've had in years.

The weekend flew by as I tried to recoup from the nasty bug that infested the capitol and BAM -- I'm back in Jeff City and ready for another round of fun.

I must say that the highlight of my week was an impromptu visit from my former state rep Tim Van Zandt. I met Tim years ago in DC, but only for about 10 minutes, so this was the first quality time I've had with him. It was great to listen to Joan Bray, Marsha Campbell, Jenee Lowe, Timmy Green and Rita Days talk about the trouble they all used to get into back in the day.

Tim is doing very well. He's living in Indianapolis and he started a new job today as an ER trauma/surgery nurse. It was fun to watch his warm reception by everyone in the capitol. He's a rockstar!