In a few weeks, the Missouri General Assembly will travel back to Jefferson City for our annual veto session, a constitutionally mandated session that allows lawmakers the chance to override any of the governor’s vetoes.
Over the past couple of years, lawmakers have disagreed with the governor and corrected several of his mistakes. This year, one of my sponsored bills could be brought up for a veto override vote. Senate Bill 67 would have increased court fees that could be used to fund much needed local capital projects. These projects include a new county juvenile center and new judicial facilities. The bill also provides a mechanism to help fund costs associated with keeping up with general repair, maintenance, and the day-to-day operations of various county and local facilities.
In the governor’s veto message regarding SB 67 he stated “Local capital projects should be funded through local revenues or, with voter approval, new revenue sources rather than through a back-door tax in the form of court user fees.” The governor, in his own veto letter, is contradicting his stance on a recent issue regarding a new sports stadium in St. Louis, where his own administration is continuing to push forward a plan to approve a multi-million dollar, tax-payer funding project without approval from voters or the Legislature. Can you smell the hypocrisy?
My bill establishes user fees for those who actually use the court facilities and would not affect those who don’t. The new and expanded court fees would range from one to 10 dollars in the 33rd Senatorial District. This only applies to civil and criminal cases, excluding traffic violations. The governor is wrong to veto a measure that will help rural governments keep the lights on and provide a mechanism to fund future projects, which are sorely needed in our district. The governor has also taken the wrong position when it comes to not letting the public and lawmakers vote and approve a state-backed bonding plan to build a second football stadium in St. Louis. He is also wrong to plan to raise both fuel and cigarette taxes without voter approval. These changes will affect the budgets of households across our state, and not allowing the input of the citizens of this state is something that bothers me greatly.
Senate Bill 67 was approved in the Senate by a vote of 27-3, and approved in the House by a vote of 126-16. It’s clear the legislative branch has spoken on the issues contained in the bill and has the necessary votes, a two-thirds majority in each chamber, to override the governor’s veto of this much needed legislation. Veto session will be held on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at noon. I will continue to provide updates on veto session in this column over the next few weeks.
Mike Cunningham is a Republican member of the Missouri State Senate, representing District 33. Contact him at 573-751-1882 or visit www.senate.mo.gov/cunningham