In COVID-shortened session, Missouri GOP wields supermajority to push through agenda
The COVID-shortened 2020 session of the Missouri Legislature came to a close on Friday, with lawmakers capping a three-week sprint to adjournment by authorizing limited mail-in voting and once again failing to create a program to combat the abuse of prescription drugs.
Brushing off fears about gathering during a pandemic, lawmakers — many donning masks, but most not — returned to the Missouri Capitol April 27 to approve the state’s $34 billion budget.
But the Republican supermajority also used that time to rush through many of its legislative priorities, most notably the long-sought goal of placing a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot repealing a redistricting plan enacted by voters in 2018.
They made it harder for Missourians to collect punitive damages when suing a business, and easier for military spouses to use certifications and occupational licenses from other states to gain a job in Missouri.
They passed a sweeping crime bill that increases prison sentences for various offenses, and banned the state from doing business with companies that boycott Israel.
“The body of work that ended up making across the finish line is, from my perspective, responsible, good policy,” said Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia. “I think there were times in the middle where we were scrutinized for the process. And that’s fine. And we can take that. But, I think the outcomes are something that we’re pretty proud of.”
Democrats argued that the GOP prioritized a partisan agenda instead of focusing on the pandemic — all at a time when the public was asked to stay away from the statehouse for their own safety.
“For House Republicans, responding to a disease that has affected thousands of Missourians, killed hundreds and left countless unemployed wasn’t just a backburner issue,” said House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield. “It never made it to the stove.”
Gov. Mike Parson has until mid-July to sign or veto measures that passed this session. While he is widely expected to sign nearly everything sent to him by his fellow Republicans, he’s made it a point to avoid staking out a public position on most bills until they’ve reached his desk.
COVID-19
Lawmakers adjourned for a month because of the COVID-19 outbreak, cutting the session short out of concern that gathering in Jefferson City could put lawmakers, lobbyists, legislative staff and the public at risk.
They returned to pass the state’s $34 billion budget, ultimately approving a stripped down spending plan that trims around $700 million from what they originally projected.
The current fiscal year ends on June 30, and Parson said he expects he’ll need to make further cuts to ensure the budget remains balanced. That could change, he said, if Congress approves an emergency aid package for states.
“If the federal government doesn’t do backfill,” Parson said Thursday, “people need to be prepared that a lot of things are going to have to happen to balance the budget.”
Lawmakers did approve a handful of bills addressing aspects of the COVID-19 crisis.
Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, championed a bill that seeks to ensure Missourians won’t have to pay state taxes on federal stimulus checks.
Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, attached an amendment to a healthcare bill requiring the state to use any available federal funds to help cover costs for Missourians seeking a COVID-19 test.
“Missourians without health insurance, or those who have fallen into the coverage gap, should not be forced to pay out-of-pocket for their COVID-19 test,” Rizzo said in a statement Friday.
Lawmakers expanded the options available for requesting a mail-in ballot while the pandemic persists. Most voters will still need to get their ballot notarized before they return to a local election authority. But those deemed at-risk of contracting COVID-19 can vote absentee without notarization under the measure.
At-risk populations include those 65 or older, who live in a long-term care facility or who have compromised immune systems. Those who suffer from diabetes, liver disease, chronic kidney or lung disease, serious heart conditions and at least moderate asthma also qualify as “at-risk.”
“I think it’s important to recognize that while we are under an emergency declaration, while we are in a pandemic, there are going to have to be some things we do that give citizens full and fair access to the ballot box,” Speaker of House Elijah Haahr, a Springfield Republican, said. “Now, I think when that pandemic is over, when the state of emergency is over, that’s obviously going to change that calculation.”
The measure succeeded despite opposition from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who protested against lawmakers’ eliminating provisions that would have strengthened in-person photo voter identification requirements.
The expanded system expires at the end of the year, and most likely will only apply to August and November elections, if approved by the governor.
The ACLU of Missouri, which sued the state last month seeking to ensure people can vote by mail to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic, said the measure falls short of answering the challenge COVID-19 presents. The group noted that in addition to requiring most Missourians to get their absentee ballot notarized, they are also unable to request that ballot online.
What passed?
The highest-profile legislative win for Missouri Republicans this year was a bill putting a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot to repeal the voter-approved changes in redistricting process.
The system, supported by 62 percent of voters in 2018, calls for a nonpartisan state demographer to draw legislative maps with the goal of making districts as competitive as possible.
While it is unlikely to change Republican control of the Missouri General Assembly, the new process increases Democrats’ chances of winning elections and cutting into Republicans’ supermajorities in the state House and Senate.
Another long standing GOP priority that won approval would require plaintiffs to prove a company intentionally harmed them or acted in a deliberately flagrant manner before being awarded punitive damages.
“Punitive damages should be awarded to punish wrongdoers, not to punish people who just make a mistake,” said Rep. Bruce DeGroot, R-St. Louis County.
Democrats argue the bill shields from accountability businesses that deserve to be punished.
Lawmakers also approved a “Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights” that says victims don’t have to pay for rape kits and can get a free shower after an exam, if available. The bill would also require all licensed Missouri hospitals to provide rape kits by 2023.
“Survivors of sexual assault deserve justice, care and comfort,” said Democratic Sen. Jill Schupp of St. Louis County.
One of the first bills to hit Parson’s desk benefits payday lenders, who are increasingly offering installment loans paid over a matter of months. The measure, which did not have a public hearing, was slipped into a larger omnibus bill and would disallow cities from charging permitting fees that would help with enforcement of regulations.
The House sponsor denied the measure had anything to do with payday lenders and instead said the intention of the legislation was to allow for uniform collection of convenience fees by lenders.
What failed?
A plan to establish a prescription drug monitoring program in Missouri was expected to sail into law when legislators returned to session.
The Senate, which has historically killed the idea, reached an agreement to allow the bill to move forward. House leaders were ready to accept the deal and end Missouri’s distinction as the only state without a statewide electronic database designed to help spot the abuse of prescription drugs.
However, the House surprisingly rejected the Senate deal, prompting a vow from conservative Senate critics to filibuster the bill unless the House relented.
Neither side blinked, and the bill died again.
Missouri cities had hoped before the session began that lawmakers would sign off on legislation enabling the collection of sales taxes from out-of-state online retailers.
They maintained that as internet sales continue to climb, to the detriment of brick-and-mortar stores, the revenue generated by the sales tax is also in decline — a situation that was magnified as the pandemic strangled the economy.
Only two states — Missouri and Florida — have refused to tax online sales.
The idea has run into opposition from Senate conservatives who see it as a tax increase. It died when it was tied to a plan to phase out local government’s ability to charge a franchise fee on cable companies.
A late-session effort to repeal a cap on medical marijuana licenses also failed to get traction.
The measure, inspired by a legislative investigation into allegations of misconduct in the program and pushed behind the scenes by applicants who were denied a license, was approved by the House as an amendment on a pair of bills that stalled in the Senate.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas had hoped lawmakers would create a witness protection fund to help law enforcement provide security for witnesses, potential witnesses, and their immediate families in criminal proceedings or investigations.
The goal of the fund would be to improve witness cooperation in the state’s urban centers, which have been plagued with gun violence.
The fund was included in a larger criminal justice bill that died on the session’s final day.
Haahr praised the work of his colleagues during a difficult time.
“I think it’s an incredibly successful session considering we had to take off six weeks in the middle of it,” Haahr said. “Particularly when you lose six weeks of legislative session and also you add a new element of trying to work on legislation responsive to the COVID-19 crisis.”
This story was originally published May 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
