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House Speaker Pro Tem Wiemann outlines priorities for Missouri session’s final two days (AUDIO)

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Legislation that would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected is the top priority for Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon, during the 2019 session’s final two days.

Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann addresses House colleagues about GM on May 13, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Transportation funding and redistricting are the other two main priorities for Wiemann. Mandatory adjournment for the Legislature is Friday evening at 6, under the state Constitution.

Republicans control the House 114-46 and they control the Senate 24-10.

Pro Tem Wiemann hopes the Senate passes the heartbeat bill, which also requires abortion providers to increase the minimum amount of required medical malpractice insurance from $500,000 to $1 million per occurrence.

“I’m hopeful that they (Missouri Senate leaders) will finally bring it to a vote and we will move on and be a state that has one of the strongest pro-life bills in the country,” Wiemann says.

Anti-abortion state senators who are part of the Senate Conservative Caucus say there is an impasse in the Missouri Senate.

GOP Governor Mike Parson held a Statehouse press briefing on Wednesday where he called for a Senate vote, telling reporters that “the unborn deserve an up or down vote.”

State Sens. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, and Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, have been among those filibustering the abortion bill.

“I mean this is a horrible piece of legislation. I mean, you’re talking about allowing for men and women to be forced to have a child even if it’s rape or incest. And then physicians going to jail, with a felony D charge,” Nasheed tells Senate colleagues.

The House approved the legislation in late February.

Meantime, transportation and infrastructure funding is another top priority for Wiemann, in the final two days.

While lawmakers have included funding for Governor Parson’s bridge bonding plan in the budget, Wiemann notes the General Assembly must also pass the underlying bill.

“I think we have a good compromise that we put together in the House and the Senate and I’m hopeful that they (Senate leaders) will bring that bill up as well,” says Wiemann.

Wiemann tells Missourinet the bill before the Senate contains a combination of transportation bonding and funding, adding that bonding is necessary for some matching funds from the federal government.

While the Legislature has included about $350 million in bonding money in the recently-approved budget, Pro Tem Wiemann says lawmakers must approve the statutes to enact that.

“Part of the puzzle has been done but we need to finish the puzzle by passing this legislation to enable it, the funding,” Wiemann says.

He also supports what he describes as redistricting reform, which he says has “less of a chance of passing” but hopes it’s approved by the Senate.

This involves Amendment One, which was approved by Missourians in November.

Under Amendment One, a state demographer would draw state legislative districts. Wiemann says modifications need to be made to that provision. Democrats who support Amendment One oppose changes, saying 62 percent of Missouri voters approved the measure in November.

As for other legislation, Wiemann says time is the biggest factor now, saying that good bills could potentially “die on the vine.”

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon, which was recorded on May 15, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

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What to watch for in this final week of the Missouri Legislature’s session

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Get ready for what could be long hours and plenty of drama during this last week of the Missouri Legislature’s regular session. The GOP supermajority chambers are hoping to wrap up final passage of several priorities that not all members agree with, including some of the same party. Two small but mighty groups – the Senate Conservative Caucus and Senate Democrats – will likely determine how bumpy the road to the finish line will be and how much wheeling and dealing will go on this week when several controversial bills potentially resurface.

Missouri House (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

The next five days are also key for Gov. Mike Parson, R, who is experiencing his first legislative session as the state’s chief executive officer. He has repeatedly pushed for lawmakers to focus on workforce development issues and infrastructure funding.

The Missouri Senate is expected to consider this week a $50 million incentives package for a potential $1 billion expansion General Motors expansion at the plant in eastern Missouri’s Wentzville. The plan was formed about one week ago by Parson and other House and Senate allies. The Senate Conservative Caucus is expected to have plenty to say about Senate Bill 68, sponsored by Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield.

The package would give $5 million per year in tax credits over 10 years to carmakers that invest at least $750 million in plant upgrades and would provide tax credits earlier in a business expansion. It would also provide financial aid for people seeking high demand fields and workforce training improvements for major expansions.

Missouri Senate dais

The House passed the measure during the late night hours last Thursday before adjourning for the week. It wasn’t a slam dunk in that chamber. Representatives voted 92-51 in favor of the plan, with a few Republicans from the St. Louis region voting against the measure. The House had to call in absent members to get enough votes and 17 members did not even cast vote.

Other legislation that could reemerge is one that would block a possible high-voltage power line project from using eminent domain to take private land in eight northern Missouri counties. Those counties are Buchanan, Clinton, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Randolph, Monroe and Ralls.

Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankford, is sponsoring House Bill 1062 in response to Clean Line Energy’s Grain Belt Express line project. The proposal is not one that is separated along party lines because of the impacts it could have on agriculture – Missouri’s number one industry.

According to the Missouri Public Utility Alliance, 39 Missouri cities that have signed up to take power from the line at a $12.8 million annual savings.

The State Public Service Commission rejected the project twice before a state Supreme Court ruling last year allowed commissioners to reconsider the plan again. In March, the Commission unanimously approved the project.

Hansen, like many lawmakers in this final week, are searching for other progressing bills to attach their measures to.

Another controversial measure that could come up for Senate debate is one that would ask voters to overturn a voter-approved ballot issue to change the legislative redistricting process. The resolution intends to toss out the portion letting the state auditor evaluate a nonpartisan demographer and requiring the demographer to draw legislative districts.

House Joint Resolution 48 is sponsored by Rep. Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres. It would also ban all lobbyist gifts to lawmakers, instead of the current $5 maximum limit.

The Missouri Senate’s top two Republican leaders have pledged to pass this session the proposal known as “Clean Missouri”. Senate Leader Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, and Majority Floor Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, strongly support getting the plan on the November 2020 ballot.

Comprehensive anti-abortion bills could also come up for debate in the upper chamber. House Bill 126 would, among other things, make abortions illegal if a fetal heartbeat is found, which could come as early as eight weeks. Among other things, Senate Bill 279 would criminalize doctors who perform abortions unless for medical emergencies, prohibit doctors from providing an abortion if the baby could have Down Syndrome or if the procedure is sought solely because of the sex or race of the child.

According to the Missouri Constitution, the Legislature must adjourn the session by 6 p.m. on Friday.

To see a list of the bills that have so far been passed by the General Assembly, click here.

Missouri House Assistant Minority Leader resigns after Ethics Committee investigation

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One of the top Democrats in the Missouri House has resigned, for what House Speaker Elijah Haahr describes as “unethical conduct as a member of this body.”

Then-State Rep. DaRon McGee, D-Kansas City, speaks on the Missouri House floor on January 9, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Speaker Haahr, R-Springfield, issued a statement on Tuesday morning, announcing the resignation of State Rep. DaRon McGee, D-Kansas City, who also served as the assistant House Minority Leader. Haahr says he accepted McGee’s resignation, based on the unanimously agreed to report by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee.

“As leaders of our state, it is vital that we hold members and staff of the Missouri House of Representatives accountable for the unacceptable actions causing harm to individuals or harm to the integrity of the institution. The Committee’s report makes it clear that the actions of Rep. McGee are inexcusable and absent his resignation from the House, the Committee was prepared to recommend to the entire body severe disciplinary action,” Haahr’s statement reads, in part.

While Speaker Haahr’s statement doesn’t describe specifics of what happened, the “Kansas City Star” reports the House Ethics Committee obtained text messages between McGee and a House employee whom he supervised. The newspaper reports the text messages show McGee made several attempts during a 10-month timeframe to initiate a sexual relationship with the employee.

The “Star” says those attempts were rejected, and that Representative McGee then took action that resulted in the employee losing her job.

Speaker Haahr’s statement says the Ethics Committee has been investigating the case for three months, “which required a subpoena of Rep. McGee to compel his cooperation.”

Haahr says Representative McGee’s behavior has broken the trust placed in him.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, has also issued a statement, saying McGee should no longer hold public office.

“The House Ethics Committee is to be commended for its fair, thorough and bipartisan investigation. By holding our colleagues accountable for their actions, we can begin to change the culture of an institution where behavior such as this has been tolerated for far too long,” Leader Quade’s statement reads, in part.

Representative McGee briefed Capitol reporters at a Statehouse news conference just two weeks ago. He also spoke at a bipartisan press conference at the Missouri State Fair in August, regarding the drought.

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Big turnout expected at Missouri Capitol Monday for Conservation tax hearing

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A proposed constitutional amendment requiring that Missouri’s conservation sales tax be renewed by voters every six years will be heard by a House committee in Jefferson City on Monday evening.

State Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 28, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel of House Communications)

The House Conservation and Natural Resources Committee will hear testimony Monday at 7 from State Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, who’s the bill sponsor.

Committee chairman State Rep. Tim Remole, R-Excello, tells Missourinet he expects a standing-room only audience on Monday evening. Moon is also expecting a big turnout, telling Missourinet a group called the “Missouri Hunting and Working Dog Alliance” plans to support the bill Monday.

Under Representative Moon’s measure, which is House joint resolution 18, Missourians would cast ballots on the measure in November 2020.

The conservation sales tax was first approved by Missouri voters in November 1976, and it hasn’t been voted on since.

Moon’s proposed constitutional amendment, upon voter approval, would require the conservation sales tax to be approved by voters in 2020 and every six years thereafter.

Former State Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, filed similar legislation in 2018. That bill died.

The conservation sales tax is a separate tax from the one-tenth-of-one percent parks, soil and water sales tax that was created through a constitutional amendment. That tax was first approved by Missouri voters in 1984, and was earmarked specifically for the state park system and efforts to stop soil erosion.

Missouri voters have re-approved it four times: in 1988, 1996, 2006 and in 2016.

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Nasheed: Missouri merger proposal “is absolutely the most important bill that I have filed this year” (AUDIO)

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A state senator from St. Louis is optimistic the Missouri Legislature will approve her proposed constitutional amendment involving a possible St. Louis City and County merger by the end of session in May.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed (at podium) briefs Capitol reporters on April 3, 2019 in Jefferson City (Brian Hauswirth photo)

Under the bipartisan proposal from State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, any statewide vote on consolidating St. Louis City and County would have to be approved by a majority of city and county voters before it could happen.

“We do have a problem when it comes to the state, outstate (Missouri), dictating to the city of St. Louis and the county, if we should or shouldn’t merge,” Nasheed says.

Nasheed calls this an issue of local control, adding that Senate Joint Resolution 22 “is absolutely the most important bill that I have filed this year.”

Her proposed constitutional amendment is the Senate version of a House proposal from State Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis. Representative Bosley’s bill, which also has bipartisan support, has been heard by the House General Laws Committee.

Nasheed presented her bill Wednesday before the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee in Jefferson City.

Essentially, Senator Nasheed’s proposed constitutional amendment would limit votes for county mergers to the counties impacted by the merger.

Nasheed, who serves as the Missouri Senate’s Minority Caucus Whip, tells Capitol reporters that while the St. Louis region does have problems with education and crime, the “Better Together” plan is not the answer.

“But under the current (Better Together) proposal, that proposal is not dealing with education, it doesn’t tell us how we will reduce crime,” says Nasheed.

Meantime, an organization known as the “Municipal League of Metro St. Louis” is backing Senator Nasheed’s proposal. Organization Executive Director Pat Kelly says Nasheed is responding to “Better Together.” He says this is a “democracy issue.”

“If this vote is decided on a statewide basis in November of 2020, it will actually be decided by outstate voters,” Kelly says.

He says if the proposed merger is done with a statewide vote, 77 percent of the votes would come from outside St. Louis City and County.

Senator Nasheed spoke to the Capitol Press Corps during a bipartisan Statehouse news conference on Wednesday. She was joined by State Sen. Karla May, D-St. Louis, Representative Bosley, State Rep. Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka, State Rep. Chris Carter, D-St. Louis, and Mr. Kelly.

Nasheed tells Missourinet that House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, tells her he’ll do everything he can to help pass the proposed constitutional amendment out of the House.

She also says Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, supports the proposal.

Click here to listen to reporter Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, which was recorded on April 3, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

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Former Missouri U.S. Senator defends Biden, commends his humanity

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Former U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan, D-Missouri, is defending former Vice President Joe Biden, who has been accused by two women of improper touching. Carnahan served in the upper chamber for two years after her husband, Governor Mel Carnahan, died in a plane crash in 2000. They also lost their son, Randy, in that crash.

Former Missouri U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan

Biden’s first wife and a son were killed in a car crash before he joined the Senate.

In several tweets Tuesday, Jean Carnahan had all good things to say about Biden.

Biden, who is considering a 2020 run for president, made the following statement to the national media:

“In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort. And not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately.”

Mel Carnahan defeated John Ashcroft in 2000 to take the incumbent Republican’s seat. Jean Carnahan assumed the office after her husband died.

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Missouri Rep. Bosley: proposed constitutional amendment is about local control (AUDIO)

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A proposed constitutional amendment limiting votes for county mergers to the counties impacted by the merger is being proposed by State Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis.

State Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, speaks on the Missouri House floor on March 28, 2019 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Under Representative Bosley’s proposal, only St. Louis City and County would vote on a proposed merger there, rather than a statewide vote.

“That’s all that my bill does is it automatically goes with what is in the (state) Constitution currently, and it just expounds on it to say that this is exclusively the only way for a consolidation of St. Louis City and St. Louis County to happen,” Bosley says.

Vinita Park Mayor James McGee and Moline Acres Mayor Michele DeShay traveled to Jefferson City last week to testify for Bosley’s legislation. Those two municipalities are located in St. Louis County.

Bosley tells Missourinet that House Joint Resolution 37 is an issue of local control.

“And this should only be the localities who have the say so and who have the final say in what happens in their day-to-day lives,” says Bosley.

House General Laws Committee Chairman Dean Plocher, R-Town and Country, has a similar bill, and he and Bosley are working together on the issue.

No one testified against the bills during last week’s hearings, which drew a standing room-only audience, with residents literally lined up out the Capitol hearing room door.

While those testifying had different views, all of them said only St. Louis City and County residents should decide the issue, rather than a statewide vote. Several told lawmakers that merger organizers are “rich people trying to get their way.”

“The (state) Constitution is not for sale, the state of Missouri is not for sale,” Bosley says. “If it happens to St. Louis City and St. Louis County, guess who’s going to go next. They’re going to go to you.”

Meantime, in the Missouri Senate, State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, will present her bill Wednesday at noon to the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee, which is chaired by State Sen. Sandy Crawford, R-Buffalo.

Under Senator Nasheed’s Senate Joint Resolution 22, any statewide vote on consolidating St. Louis City and County would need to be approved by a majority of city and county voters before it could happen.

Senator Nasheed also plans a press conference for Wednesday morning at 11, to brief Capitol reporters about the proposal.

Click here to listen to reporter Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, which was recorded on March 27, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

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Transportation and corrections pay highlight $29.2 billion budget approved by Missouri House

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The Missouri House voted Thursday in Jefferson City to approve a $29.2 billion state operating budget, which includes a $100 million transportation infrastructure plan.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, speaks on the House floor on March 28, 2019 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, tells House colleagues it’s the first time in recent history that general revenue would be used to fund roads and bridges.

“This is not in place of those dedicated road funds, this is not in place of the system of the road fund that we have where the gas taxes and fees and everything dedicated to funds go into that road fund,” Smith says.

Smith says his $100 million plan does not raise taxes or incur new debt. He says the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has paid more than $700 million in debt payments in the past two years.

Meantime, Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, tells Missourinet Governor Mike Parson’s proposed $350 million bridge bonding plan is still alive in the Senate, adding that discussions are ongoing.

Governor Parson’s bonding plan is aimed at repairing or replacing 250 deteriorating bridges.

As for the House, Chairman Smith has expressed concerns with the governor’s plan because of debt, noting that MoDOT’s five-year average debt payment is $313 million per year.

Governor Parson spoke Thursday at an MU Extension event in Columbia, and spoke to our sister network Brownfield about the House plan. Parson says the $100 million plan is not enough.

“No I don’t think it is, it’s not and I’m not sure that obligation to do, you know the plan that we put out there was for $350 million, and I think to really have an impact that’s what you have to look at,” Parson tells Brownfield.

Interstate 49 runs right through Smith’s southwest Missouri district, which has a strong transportation presence.

Smith also tells House colleagues he opposes placing another gasoline tax increase on the ballot.

“The people of Missouri have spoken,” Smith says. “They don’t want a higher gas tax. That’s not on the table.”

Missourians rejected a proposed ten-cent gasoline tax increase in November. Missouri’s 17-cent gasoline tax has remained the same since 1996.

Meantime, the House’s $29.2 billion budget includes an $8 million retention pay plan aimed at investing in wage increases in Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) staff.

Chairman Smith praised the plan Thursday on the House floor.

Governor Parson says the DOC has 11,000 positions, making it the state’s largest agency. The governor says DOC employees are among the nation’s lowest-paid corrections professionals.

The vice chairman of the Missouri House Corrections and Public Institutions Committee is also praising the retention pay plan. State Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankford, tells colleagues the plan will improve DOC employee retention.

“I think most of you in here (the House chamber) know that they’re the lowest paid probably in the United States. We’ve had several issues that we’ve dealt with in the Department of Corrections and have made major changes with the new director (Anne Precythe) who’s done such a great job,” says Hansen.

State Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, the House Budget Committee’s ranking Democrat, says some Missouri corrections officers have moved to Iowa for better pay there.

Under the budget approved by the House, DOC employees would receive the three percent pay increase all state workers would get. They would also receive a one percent increase for every two years of continuous DOC employment, up to 20 years.

The House’s budget also supports the governor’s plan to consolidate two prisons in northwest Missouri’s Cameron, which is aimed at improving employee retention.

The budget now heads to the Missouri Senate. The state Constitution requires lawmakers to approve a balanced budget by early May.

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Missouri Secretary of State Ashcroft calling for initiative petition reform (AUDIO)

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Missouri’s Secretary of State says initiative petition reform remains his top priority for the 2019 legislative session in Jefferson City.

Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (left) at a joint news conference with Governor Mike Parson (November 2018 file photo)

The House Democratic Leader is critical of proposed changes to the initiative petition process, saying “House Democrats will not allow the voices of Missouri voters to be silenced.”

Under current Missouri statute, it takes a simple majority to amend the state Constitution. GOP Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft tells Missourinet he’d like to see that increased to anywhere between 60 percent to a two-thirds majority.

“Well we commonly have 30 percent turnout in our primary elections, so that means that only 15 percent of the voters are deciding what our (state) Constitution is,” Ashcroft says. “I think that’s ridiculous.”

The Missouri House Elections and Elected Officials Committee is scheduled to hear testimony on Wednesday morning on a proposed constitutional amendment from State Rep. Chrissy Sommer, R-St. Charles, which would require initiative petitions to receive a two-thirds majority vote for passage.

Secretary Ashcroft says too many frivolous petitions are being filed.

He says 371 initiative petitions have been filed during the past two years, adding that the number was less than 100 about a decade ago. Ashcroft supports a refundable filing fee.

“The idea here is if you’re going to file 60 of them but you have to pay $500 per (initiative petition), you won’t file 60 of them. But at the same time, we don’t want to stop people that are serious, that are actually going to try to get signatures,” says Ashcroft.

Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D-Springfield) speaks to Capitol reporters on March 25, 2019 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The House committee is also scheduled to hear testimony Wednesday on legislation from State Rep. John Simmons, R-Washington, which would authorize Ashcroft’s office to collect a $350 filing fee for initiative petitions, which would be refunded if the petition qualifies for the statewide ballot within two years after a summary is prepared.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, is blasting the filing fee proposals, saying that “sometimes direct democracy is the only way to achieve progress when an unresponsive Legislature refuses to act on important issues.” Quade is blasting what she calls “the Republican assault on direct democracy.”

Ashcroft tells Missourinet that if the state Constitution is going to be amended, it must be widely agreed on.

“Just be honest, there are people that want to be able to buy the laws they want, and if they have a couple of million dollars they know they can get it on the ballot and if they spend a couple of million more dollars, they’ve got a 30 to 50 percent chance of getting it passed,” Ashcroft says.

Leader Quade issued a news release on Tuesday afternoon, noting that the House Elections and Elected Officials Committee will be considering ten pieces of legislation on Wednesday. Quade says the ten proposals will “make it nearly impossible for Missourians to use the initiative petition process to enact laws independently of the legislature.”

Quade says “an attack on the initiative process is an attack on democracy itself.”

Quade notes many significant constitutional amendments or statutory changes have been placed on Missouri’s statewide ballot by initiative petition and approved by voters. Quade cites the 1976 vote authorizing a constitutionally dedicated statewide sales tax to fund the Missouri Department of Conservation, the 1980 Hancock Amendment and the 2018 Clean Missouri proposal.

62 percent of Missourians approved the Clean Missouri proposal in November, which was Amendment One.

Click here to listen to Missourinet news director Brian Hauswirth’s full nine-minute interview with Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, which was recorded on March 20, 2019 at the Kirkpatrick Building in Jefferson City:

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Pelosi visits Missouri to bolster support for ethics, voting rights bills

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, made a stop in the St. Louis-area on Monday afternoon to gather support for two key pieces of Democratic legislation. The trip was Pelosi’s first stop to Missouri since Democrats regained control of the lower chamber.

From left: Urban League President Michael McMillan, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Missouri Congressman Lacy Clay

Pelosi joined Congressman Lacy Clay, D-Missouri, and other elected officials as well as community leaders at the Urban League Empowerment Center in Ferguson to rally for final congressional approval of two bills: HR. 1, “The For The People Act of 2019” and HR. 4, “The Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019″. Both landmarks bills are part of what Pelosi calls efforts to restore ethics and government transparency.

“The voice and the vote belongs to the people and people can have whatever they want as long as they vote,” said Pelosi to a room full of supporters. “If you don’t vote, you don’t count and that’s why the other side wants to suppress the vote, to impact the policy.”

The proposed plans would expand voting rights and change laws about undisclosed campaign donations.

“We are going to the heart of the Constitution of the United States – the right to vote, which our founders in their wisdom enabled the Constitution to be amended to do,” said Pelosi.

Clay, a co-sponsor of both measures, stressed there is a lot at stake with the passage of this pair of proposals.

“This is worth the fight and why is it that the other side don’t want these people to vote, to have a stake in their own government? Because they want to keep things the same,” said Clay.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has criticized H.R. 1, calling it a “power grab” because it would make Election Day a holiday.

Clay represents St. Louis and St. Louis County in the U.S. House.

By Missourinet contributor Jill Enders

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