JEFFERSON CITY, Mo – The Missouri General Assembly reconvenes today for what’s officially termed an “extraordinary” session, but the first day of the session could look quite different depending on which house of the legislature is under observation.
Both the House and Senate convened at noon in their respective chambers. Senate staff on Wednesday said a quorum is necessary for the Senate to convene. That means at least 18 members must be in the chamber when the roll is called at the start of the session.
In the House, Speaker Ron Richard, R-Joplin, circulated a memo last week among House members that said representatives would not be required in Jefferson City until Tuesday, the day the full house is scheduled to take up the two pieces of legislation that are the centerpieces of the special legislative session.
It’s not known how much, or if, the state will save money on the special session if large numbers of lawmakers stay away from Jefferson City. Lawmakers are paid a per diem of $103.20 for room and board while they are in Jefferson City. They also are paid mileage on their travel to and from Jefferson City. Calls to the House’s chief administrator Adam Crumbliss were not returned Wednesday. Last week, State Budget Director Linda Luebbering said the special session would cost the state about $150,000.
A contingency fund established in the fiscal year 2010 contains the funds to cover the costs.
House members who sit on the Job Creation and Economic Development Committee, the Retirement Committee and the House Rules Committee will need to be in Jefferson City Monday.
The Job Creation and Economic Development committee will hear Rep.
Jerry Nolte’s bill on economic incentives for the Ford Motor plant at Claycomo.
Meanwhile, the House Retirement Committee will take up the state workers’ pension plan bill.
Both hearings were set for 10 a.m.
If the bills make it through the committee process, they will go to the House Rules Committee, which will take a final look at the legislation and set rules for the bills’ debate should they require any special attention.
The legislation is expected on the House floor Tuesday morning. If the bills pass, they will then move on to the Senate, which is expected to vote on the bills by Thursday.
Gov. Jay Nixon has said he wants the automotive incentive and pension bills on his desk before the Fourth of July.
“We expect a quick little session,” said House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Steven Tilley, R-Perryville.
Less clear is the fate of the legislation.
Nolte’s bill on automotive incentives passed the House easily and was included in several bills that passed through the chamber. But it never received a hearing in a Senate committee. The bill was added as an amendment to another bill late on the last day of the legislative session, but that legislation never came to a vote in the Senate.
The Senate was waiting to see what action the House was going to take on the state employees’ pension plan changes. That bill had received a hearing before the House Retirement committee, but never came to a vote in the committee. When House members, led by Retirement Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Viebrock, R-Springfield, refused to support the retirement bill, the Senate pulled the plug on the auto incentive legislation.
As of Wednesday afternoon, sources in both the House and Senate said they knew of no agreements that would guarantee either bill would pass through both the House and Senate.
But in announcing that he was seeking to call a special legislative session, Nixon early last week in an appearance at an auto parts manufacturing plant said that he would call a special session only if legislative leaders and his administration could come to a consensus on the auto incentive legislation and the retirement bill.
“We need to make sure that we not only have a consensus on the manufacturing jobs act but also a way to pay for it,” Nixon said. On several occasions during that press availability, he said he would need a clear consensus before moving forward with calling a special session.
Last Friday, House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Steven Tilley said negotiations on the pension bill were still underway even as the governor was calling the special session. Calls to Viebrock and Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt, R-Blue Springs, who reportedly was trying to broker a deal on the pension bill, were not returned Wednesday.
Senate staff reported hearing “nothing negative” and noted that members of both the House and Senate had worked with the governor to set up the special session.
Still, it was added, “we’ll know more next week.”
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