Missouri lawmakers want to reconvene during a pandemic for all the wrong reasons

The Missouri legislature will reconvene April 27. That’s nearly a week before the state’s stay-at-home order expires, and just a few days before coronavirus cases in Missouri are expected to crest.

It’s too soon.

“We will continue to work toward finding the right balance between protecting the safety of … members, staff and the public and understanding the critical nature of the work we have been elected to do,” said a tweet from Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden. “We believe both are possible!”

Gathering lawmakers, staff, reporters and the public in the state capitol that soon is a dangerous mistake. Legislative leaders will promise prudent safety measures, but that pledge will be difficult to keep for a session that lasts days or weeks. Sickness could be the result.

And for what purpose?

It’s true that lawmakers are required to pass a budget by May 8, one week before adjournment, although the penalties for failing to meet the deadline aren’t clear.

Surely, though, legislators understand the budget they pass now will look ridiculous in three months. They’ll have no choice but to meet again to redo the whole thing.

That’s why the smart approach would be to meet in early May for a one-day session, pass a general budget frozen at current levels and then revisit the spending blueprint over the summer.

Of course, when the legislature is involved, the agenda is never that simple. And there are at least some indications the leadership wants to get the band back together to consider non-budgetary issues, such as prescription drug monitoring or lawsuit reform.

There are measures Missouri lawmakers do need to consider — election reform and fully funding public defenders, for example. But now is not the time for lengthy debates on those subjects.

Missourians should also be outraged by suggestions that legislators want to regroup so they can try to overturn the Clean Missouri ethics and redistricting initiative passed by voters in 2018.

Think about that for a moment: Some lawmakers are so intent on overturning the will of the people they would risk sickness and death in the midst of a pandemic for partisan purposes.

It’s clear foolishness. “The Republican proposal to gather everyone together during the worst week of the coronavirus outbreak is the wrong plan at the wrong time for all the wrong reasons,” Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo said last Monday.

Lawmakers and Gov. Mike Parson must continue to focus on the state’s COVID-19 response, which has been lagging and halfhearted. That means setting up systems to aggressively and transparently fight the disease and its effects.

At the same time, some coronavirus-related proposals need to be off the table. A group of conservative Republicans now wants a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would prevent state-ordered stay-at-home proclamations for businesses and people from being issued under any circumstances.

That’s a waste of time. The state’s constitution should not be a suicide pact.

We live in an extraordinary era. The rules for how our government is supposed to work have been stretched at every level, and Missouri’s state legislature is no exception. Some improvisation is to be expected.

Like the rest of us, though, lawmakers should focus on personal health and essential business. Now is not the time to throw open the doors to take up unneeded and non-urgent legislation.

This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM.