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State legislators override Gov. Nixon’s veto of redistricting map (AUDIO)

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Rep. John Diehl (left) talks with House Speaker Steven Tilley prior to override vote/House photo

State legislators have overridden Governor Nixon’s veto of the congressional redistricting map.

The Senate completed the legislative override, voting 28-to-6 to enact the bill containing the map over the objections of the governor. That vote came on the heels of a House vote that just met the two-thirds majority requirement; 109-to-44.

The House was the key. The Senate had earlier approved the map 27-7, more than enough votes to override a gubernatorial veto. Sen. Chuck Purgason, a Republican from Caulfield, voted against the bill earlier, but voted for the override. Sen. Bill Stouffer, a Republican from Napton, stuck with his opposition to the map and voted with five Senate Democrats against the override. No debate took place in the Senate prior to the vote.

House Speaker Steven Tilley, a Republican from Perryville, acknowledges he worried whether he had the votes needed when he brought the veto override before the body.

“Yeah, I mean, because we had 109. If one person flips on you, then you don’t quite get there,” Tilley tells the Missourinet, “but I’m thrilled with the result.” [Read more…]

General Assembly overrides Gov. Nixon’s veto of congressional redistricting map

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The legislature has overridden Gov. Nixon’s veto of the congressional redistricting map.

The Senate follow action begun in the House this morning. The Senate voted 28-6 to complete the override. No senator spoke on the motion made by Sen. Scott Rupp, a Republican from Wentzville, who chaired the Senate redistricting committee. One Republican senator, Bill Stouffer of Napton, voted against the override motion. Stouffer has been critical of the 5th Congressional District, which incorporates Kansas City, but stretches out to take in three rural counties.

The Missouri House has voted 109-44 to override Nixon’s veto earlier. [Read more…]

Missouri House overrides Gov. Nixon redistricting veto [UPDATE: FLOOR DEBATE AUDIO]

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House Chamber electronic voting board/House photo

The Missouri House has voted 109-44 to override Gov. Nixon’s veto of the legislature’s redistricting of Congressional districts.

The legislature approved the new map last week. The governor vetoed it Saturday and asked the legislature to approve a new map. The map reflects Missouri’s loss of one Congressional seat due to the 2010 Census.

The House received the minimum votes needed to approve an override; a two-thirds vote of the body. The task became more difficult when Rep. Sally Faith, a Republican from St. Charles, left the legislature when elected as mayor of St. Charles. That reduced the Republican to 105. Three Democrats had voted for the measure initially, leaving House Republican leaders a vote short of the two-thirds needed. Democrat Jonas Hughes of Kansas City joined fellow Kansas City Democrat Michael Brown and St. Louis Democrats Jamilah Nasheed and Penny Hubbard in voting to override the veto of Nixon, a Democrat.

The override attempt now shifts to the Senate, which had more than enough votes on initial approval to complete the override.

AUDIO: Floor debate on redistricting veto override [18 min]

House Speaker says redistricting override attempt to come soon (AUDIO)

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House Speaker Steven Tilley says the House will attempt to override Governor Nixon’s veto of the Congressional redistricting map this week.

Tilley, a Republican from Perryville, says he’s disappointed the governor vetoed the map.

“I was hopeful that the governor would sign the map, because I think the House and Senate agreed upon a map that’s fair and representative of the citizens of this state. But he chose not to,” Tilley tells the Missourinet. “My intent is at some point in time trying to get the votes to override the governor and send it to the Senate.” [Read more…]

Nixon vetoes congressional redistricting bill

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Governor Nixon has vetoed the congressional redistricting plan approved last week by the legislature. Nixon says the map “does not adequately protect the interests of all Missourians.”  He urges the legislature to send him a new redistricting plan “with appropriate congressional district boundaries.” 

 Legislative leaders have indicated they’ll try to override the veto. If they fail to do so they have two weeks left in this legislative session to come up with a new plan. 

Lawmakers wait to see what Gov. Nixon does with Congressional redistricting map (AUDIO)

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A congressional redistricting map has been sent to Governor Nixon. Now, legislators wait to see if he signs or vetoes it.

After fits and starts in negotiations, the House and Senate finally resolved their issues and settled on a map. It reduces the number of congressional districts in Missouri from nine to eight, in line with the results of the 2010 Census. St. Louis loses a congressional seat and the 9th becomes the 3rd, less of a rural district and more suburban. All districts shift.

The map sailed through the Senate 27-to-7, more than enough votes to override a veto.

In the House, the vote fell short of the votes needed to override a veto; 96-55. Still, House Speaker Steven Tilley, a Republican from Perryville, believes he has a shot at the 109 votes needed to override a veto by the governor.

“If he chooses that he’s not going to sign it, he’s going to veto it, then certainly I have an obligation within the House to try to rustle up enough votes to override the veto,” Tilley says. “I think that’s a possibility and maybe even a likelihood.”

Not so fast says the top Democrat in the House, Mike Talboy of Kansas City, who feels confident he can hold the votes needed to block a veto. Talboy has sent a letter to Gov. Nixon, requesting the governor veto the map.

Can he put together the votes needed to block an override?

“Well, I will sit down and have conversations with my caucus members at that point,” says Talboy. “And, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have asked if we didn’t think it was a possibility.”

The numbers game has become tougher. Republicans lost a member who left after winning a local election, dropping their numbers down to 105 in the House. Tilley would need for all the Republicans who voted against the map to vote for the override, plus four Democrats, to successfully override the governor. Three Democrats voted for the map. Tilley has stated that the override vote brings a different dynamic to the mix than the vote for the redistricting bill.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [1:20 MP3]

Lawmakers reach agreement on new Congressional districts, prepare for governor veto (AUDIO)

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Grand Compromise Map

State lawmakers, who couldn’t reach agreement on new Congressional districts during an overnight meeting last week, suddenly find a compromise. They have approved a redistricting map and sent it to Governor Nixon.

A meeting between House and Senate negotiators that began early Thursday evening last week and stretched into the early hours of Friday morning failed to reach a compromise. Things changed on Wednesday this week. House Redistricting Committee Chairman John Diehl, a Republican from Town and Country, says there was magic to Wednesday.

“If we want to get this addressed before we leave on May 13th and resolve any veto issue one way or the other, then today was probably the last day to try to get a bill to the governor and I think that’s what force the discussion today,” Diehl says.

Passage gives the Republican-dominated legislature the opportunity during the regular session to override any possible veto by Democratic Governor Jay Nixon without having to wait until the annual veto session in September.

Though Diehl got only 96 votes on the map, he expects all Republicans to vote to override and believes he has a shot at enough Democrats to assemble an override majority of 109 votes. [Read more…]

The oddest district will likely remain as House and Senate debate Congressional map (AUDIO)

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House proposed congressional districts

Even as the House and Senate struggle to reach agreement on a new map of congressional districts, questions remain about an oddity that is sure to stay.

The 5th, the strangest looking congressional district of them all, is the least likely to change in negotiations between the House and Senate.

Why?

Rep. Chris Kelly, a Democrat from Columbia, has an idea. Kelly contends the current occupant, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Kansas City, has made a deal with 6th District Congressman Sam Graves, a Republican from Tarkio. [Read more…]

House sends another redistricting map to Senate, adjourns for Easter weekend (AUDIO)

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Rep. John Diehl/House photo

Yet another attempt has been made to break the logjam that has kept the state legislature from approving new congressional districts.

The House has attached a new, compromise redistricting map onto a separate Senate bill, SB 68. The action in the House comes hours after negotiations between House and Senate conference committee members failed to reach an agreement on a map that trims Missouri’s congressional delegation from nine to eight. The conference committee convened at about 7pm Thursday. It ended at about 2:30am Friday when Senate members re-entered the House Lounge, signed a conference committee report and left. The House refused to sign the report.

Redistricting has become a battleground between the House and the Senate. The Senate revised the House map and returned it. The House requested a conference committee. The Senate delayed responding to the request for days, then relented and granted the conference. [Read more…]

Long hours fail to produce deal on congressional redistricting (AUDIO)

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Sen. Scott Rupp (L) and Rep. John Diehl (R) meet in conference/House photo

Long hours spent at the Capitol and a looming deadline fail to break a deadlock between the House and Senate over congressional redistricting.

Negotiators for the Senate and the House met shortly after 7pm Thursday in the House Lounge. At about 2:30am Friday, talks ended after Senate negotiators returned to the Lounge, signed a conference committee report and left without talking with House negotiators. House negotiators never signed the report. The Senate then adjourned for the weekend.

House Redistricting Committee Chairman John Diehl (R-Town and Country) refused to consider the Senate position as a compromise.

“At some point, I think the Senate will get serious about negotiating the map and try to resolve the difference between the two bodies,” Diehl told reporters afterward. “But tonight was not a serious negotiation. They never put anything serious on the table. They compromised off their prior positions” [Read more…]