By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A St. Joseph state representative hopes this year’s legislative session in Jefferson City can prove more productive than the last two.
Rep. Bill Falkner, a Republican, says the lack of productivity the last two legislative sessions has been frustrating and has prevented the legislature from tackling some simple items that have been put off too long.
“They don’t get the big headlines, because they’re not glamorous bills, but they are bills that affect small communities and mid-size communities, and they affect our community,” Falkner tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
As an example, Falkner says he has carried a bill that would amend the state Sunshine Law to protect the identities of juveniles, which now are made public. Falkner also says bills some consider minor include streamlining sewage disposal regulations and easing the budget publication requirements for cities and counties.
Political infighting in the Missouri Senate, primarily Republican clashes between the Senate Freedom Caucus and Senate leadership, flared up during floor debate, tying up the legislative sessions the past two years, preventing much legislation from passing. The disagreements have been over major legislation, but the tactics don’t discriminate. Minor bills fail along with major legislation.
Falkner says some of the legislation that would help local communities has languished the past six to seven years.
“It’s very frustrating at times when you’ve got bills that would help certain areas of the state or certain political subdivisions and you can’t get the basic bills passed, because of either somebody’s personal agenda or trying to get you to vote on a bill you don’t want to vote on and trying to get you to change your vote,” Falkner says.
Missouri lawmakers likely again will vote on whether there should be changes to the initiative petition process.
Falkner has long been a proponent of changing how the Missouri constitution can be amended through popular vote. Falkner would like to see the voter threshold raised from the current simple majority. Falkner, though, would keep simple majority in effect for enacting state laws through the ballot box.
“If this body down here fails to do its job on certain things, then the citizens should have a way to try to get something passed, if we fail to act. I don’t have a problem with that,” Falkner says. “But constitutional changes I think it needs to be a higher threshold.”
Falkner says he will wait to see what types of voter thresholds will be proposed before endorsing any.
The Missouri General Assembly meets from the first of January to mid-May. It is very early in the session, but Falkner says it appears this year will be different with the possibility of a more productive session.
The legislature passed on 28 non-budget bills during the legislative session last year in Jefferson City. In comparison, the legislature approved 31 bills during the session cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
