In an about-face, Gov. Jay Nixon announced a special session is not necessary.

After alerting the Legislature he was planning on calling a special session, legislative leaders suggested the governor already possessed the power required to ensure Missouri Highway Patrol officers and Missouri National Guard troops were paid for the time spent dealing with unrest in Ferguson.

The governor agreed with the leadership’s suggested interpretation of the law and declared the special session no longer necessary.

Photo of the statue of Thomas Jefferson at the south entrance of the Missouri State Capitol by Nickbigd on Wikimedia Commons.

Gov. Jay Nixon has informed legislative leaders he would be calling a special session to address funding issues related to the deployment of Missouri National Guard troops and Missouri State Highway Patrol officers in the city of Ferguson.

Gov. Nixon has yet to issue a formal call with the convening date for the session, but has stated he will do so shortly.

Photo of Gov. Jay Nixon by Bernard Pollack on Wikimedia Commons.

Missouri state lawmakers returned to Jefferson City today to start the veto session.

During the regular session, Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed 33 regular bills and made line-item vetoes to hundreds of items in the state operating budget.

Lawmakers were expected to prepare for a three-day session due to the historical number of vetoes to consider.

Photo of the Missouri Capitol by Nickbigd on Wikimedia Commons.

A Missouri judge recently denied a request to compel Gov. Jay Nixon to set special legislative elections. County Circuit Judge Dan Green issued a one-sentence written opinion but provided no reasoning for the ruling. After the lawsuit was filed in January, Nixon set special elections to fill three of the four vacancies. He has not called an election to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Ryan McKenna.

McKenna left office in December after being appointed by Nixon to serve as Labor Department Director.

Photo of Gov. Jay Nixon courtesy of Bernard Pollack on Wikimedia Commons.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon called an August 5 special election to fill three vacant seats in the state House of Representatives. The announcement came after being confronted with a lawsuit seeking to compel him to call special elections for four legislative seats. He has yet to set an election date to fill the Senate vacancy.

On February 13 House Republican Mike Moon filed articles of impeachment against Nixon for the delay in filling all four vacancies – a delay he says has denied representation for almost 300,000 Missourians.

Ten Missouri residents filed suit in early January asking a judge to compel Gov. Jay Nixon to call special elections to fill vacant legislative seats. The governor is granted constitutional authority to do so and is required to issue a writ of election without delay.

Perhaps most problematic are the political ramifications of the Democratic governor’s refusal to act. With the vacancies, House Republicans sit just one vote shy of the two-thirds majority needed to override gubernatorial vetoes.

Plaintiffs contend constituents living in the affected districts are being deprived of a representative voice. Nevertheless, Nixon has yet to definitively set special election dates. If he wants the elections to coincide with the April 8 municipal elections, he needs to issue election proclamations by January 17.

Photo of Gov. Jay Nixon courtesy of Bernard Pollack on Wikimedia Commons.

Missouri legislators made ethics a top priority at the start of their legislative session. The Legislature convened on January 8 and members filed at least 10 bills addressing issues such as lobbyist registration, gifts to public officials, campaign contribution limits, and revolving door provisions.

Although Missouri is one of few states placing no restrictions on campaign donations or lobbyist gifts, reform appears to be of bipartisan concern. Secretary of State Jason Kander announced the most comprehensive approach to ethics reform with HB1340, introduced by Rep. Kevin McManus. The proposal establishes contribution limits, closes the revolving door for legislative officials, and establishes a lobbyist gift ban.

Kander’s proposal is unique in that it also adds mandatory registration requirements for paid political consultants as well as whistle-blower incentives. Those who provide information about ethics violations could receive 10 percent of the fines collected for the violation they revealed.

The Legislature discounted opportunities in the past to address ethics reform. With momentum building, many are hoping this is the year for change.

On December 6, the Missouri General Assembly adjourned its first special session sine die.

The legislative body convened earlier in the week to prepare an aerospace industry incentive bill.

Effective immediately, Senate Bill 1 is designed to encourage growth and expansion of the aerospace industry and serves as an incentive proposal for Boeing to build its new commercial 777X airplane within the state.

Photo of the Missouri State Capitol courtesy of RebelAt on Wikimedia Commons.

Legislators are meeting today, Monday, December 2, 2013, for a special session to consider a package of tax breaks designed to give Boeing a reason to bring thousands of jobs to the state. Gov. Jay Nixon called the special session and asked legislators to approve a $150 million incentive package with extensions of existing economic development programs.

Nixon hopes the package will attract Boeing’s 777X program after a machinists union in Washington State rejected the company’s long-term contract proposal earlier this month.

Prior to the union vote, Washington legislators passed a package of incentives with the largest tax breaks any state had ever offered to a corporation.

Photo of the Missouri Capitol courtesy of RebelAt on Wikimedia Commons.

St. Louis Public Radio and NPR joined together to form a partnership recently. The result was a project aimed at educating the public regarding state lobbying.

Using information gathered from the Missouri Ethics Commission, they created an online database with the names of lobbyists, lawmakers, gifts, and transaction details. Also accessible are easy to understand charts and graphs.

See it all at LobbyingMissouri.org.

The Legislature convenes its annual veto session on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. Among the vetoed bills eligible for an override vote are House Bill 110 and Senate Bill 29.

House Bill 110 requires a special election to fill the lieutenant governor’s office if there is an early vacancy due to resignation, death, or impeachment. Senate Bill 29 requires certain public labor unions to obtain annual consent from members before withholding dues and fees from their paychecks for political contributions or expenditures.

Gov. Jay Nixon has declined to call a special session to allow lawmakers to craft a new version of a vetoed income-tax bill. Override votes require a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

Photo of the Missouri State Capitol by RebelAt on Wikipedia.

The Missouri Ethics Commission has announced James Klahr as the new executive director for a six-year term beginning September 13, 2013. Klahr has worked for now-Governor Jay Nixon since 1997, most recently as the administration’s legislative liaison in the Department of Public Safety.

Klahr replaces Julie Allen, who became the elections director for Secretary of State Jason Kander in January. Stacey Heislen will remain on the commission’s staff after serving as acting director.

City Council approved changes to the ethics code setting limits on gifts to city officials and employees on Thursday, May 30, 2013. Ordinance No. 130249 prohibits an official or employee and their immediate families from knowingly accepting any gift having a value in excess of $1,000 from any person or business with a substantial interest in legislative or administrative actions.

Gifts worth more than $200 must be reported quarterly by the city official or employee. Previously, reports were due annually and there was no limit on gifts.

The bill becomes effective in 10 days unless vetoed by the Mayor.

Lawmakers have ended the 2013 legislative session. Although both chambers are scheduled to convene on May 22, 2013, for a technical session, the House marked the conclusion with the traditional and celebratory paper toss on Friday, May 17, 2013.

Several bills aimed at reinstating or expanding the ethics reforms of Senate Bill 844 failed to pass. The major 2010 ethics reforms in Senate Bill 844 were found to be unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court because they were joined to a procurement bill.

Photo of the Missouri State Capitol by RebelAt on Wikipedia.