January 31, 2003

The 2003 version of the Missouri Legislative session is a month old now and work over at the capitol is just beginning to cook. In years past, legislators have begun the process slowly, steadily building steam as they cruised to the mid-May closing deadline. The start-up this year appears to be following that same pattern.

In spite of a change of administration in the House, all new committee chairs and vice-chairs and a reduction in total number of committees as well as a reconfiguration of others, things have gone smoothly. And while some would argue that little was done in the month of January, it was pretty normal. This was especially true, and somewhat amazing, when you consider that all committees are being quarterbacked by an entire team of rookies. (Rookies in the sense that none have been a committee chair before.) All have had legislative experience.

The reduction in committees was done by the elimination of some and the consolidation of others. For instance a priority bill for the Association, HB86 (MoDOT comprehensive job study) was assigned this week to the Transportation and Motor Vehicles Committee. This committee is a combination of two old committees, The Transportation Committee and the Motor Vehicle and Transportation Regulations Committee. House Bill 86 has not had a date set for a public hearing. Representative Dan Ward of Bonne Terre is the sponsor.

Other Association legislative priorities are being drafted and refined by House and Senate research departments. One of those is the conversion of unused annual leave time (vacation time) to retirement credit, a worker’s deferred compensation fund or shared leave. A Senate staff of bill drafters is now preparing the bill. In the House, legislative proposals dealing with converting unused sick leave to retirement credit and changes in the "80 and out" retirement formula are being drafted. The bill drafting process is slow. This, however, has nothing to do with who is in charge of the House and Senate. It’s simply because 34 Senators and 163 House members are back at the capitol and most of them have bill requests stacked on the desks of bill drafters. It’s the time for patience as well as persistence.