eminent domain Archives

Final week in Missouri legislative session: Wayfair, gas tax, PDMP and Grain Belt still unresolved

May 9, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Expect some long days and nights at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City this week, with just five days left in the 2021 legislative session. There are still a number of major bills that are pending, including legislation on transportation, prescription drug monitoring, Wayfair legislation and eminent domain.

State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City) speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City on March 9, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

The session ends Friday evening at 6, under the state Constitution.

The gas tax legislation is the top priority for powerful Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan). Schatz’s Senate Bill 262 would increase Missouri’s gas tax by 12.5 cents per gallon, by 2025. The increase would be phased in by 2.5 cents each year.

Schatz, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, the trucking industry and other supporters note Missouri’s 17-cent gas tax has remained the same since 1996. They also note that the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has had to dip into reserves for federal matching funds. The bill has bipartisan support. Opposition has primarily come from Republicans who oppose new taxes.

Schatz’s bill has received final approval in the Missouri Senate, and has been referred to the House Fiscal Review Committee. He’s hopeful that it will get to the Missouri House floor before Friday’s deadline.

Another key bill we’re watching this week is prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation from State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City). She’s filed PDMP for the ninth straight year: eight in the House and this year in the Senate. The bill has passed several times over the years, but it’s never been the same version in both chambers.

A PDMP is an electronic database that collects data on controlled substance prescriptions within a state. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a PDMP.

State Rep. J. Eggleston (R-Maysville) speaks on the Missouri House floor on March 4, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Rehder’s Senate Bill 63 would establish the “Joint Oversight Task Force of Prescription Drug Monitoring” within the state Office of Administration. Members would be selected from the Board of Registration for the Healing Arts, the Board of Pharmacy, the Board of Nursing and the Missouri Dental Board.

Rehder’s bill received final approval from the Missouri Senate in early April. It’s waiting for debate in the Missouri House. She and other supporters say 49 states currently have a PDMP, and that informed doctors make better decisions. Opponents, such as State Sen. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) worry about potential data breaches.

Another key bill that’s a priority for GOP Governor Mike Parson involves Wayfair. State Sen. Andrew Koenig (R-Manchester) has filed Senate Bill 153. It received final Senate approval in March, and is waiting for debate in the Missouri House. State Rep. J. Eggleston (R-Maysville) is the House sponsor.

Governor Parson called on lawmakers to address Wayfair, during his January State of the State Address.

“I hope the House and Senate will consider legislation to address the unfair advantage online retailers have over small businesses in Missouri,” Parson told lawmakers in January. “I am a strong supporter of lower taxes- in fact, I have signed several tax cuts into law. However, our small businesses, especially in smaller communities, are getting crushed right now because they cannot compete with huge online retailers.”

Another key bill that could hit the Senate floor this week involves eminent domain and the Grain Belt project in rural northern Missouri.

Governor Mike Parson, Congressman Jason Smith (to the governor’s right) and State Sen. Jason Bean (R-Holcomb) discuss the feral hog issue with USDA and the U.S. Forest Service on March 29, 2021 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Twitter page)

State Sen. Jason Bean (R-Holcomb) has filed Senate Bill 508, which has been heard by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and Environment Committee. Under the bill, the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) could not issue a certificate of convenience and necessity for a merchant line, until county commissioners in each county through which the line will be built pass a resolution supporting the project.

Senator Bean’s bill is aimed at Grain Belt, also known as Invenergy. The PSC has approved their request to build, own and manage a high-voltage transmission line across eight northern Missouri counties. Those counties are Buchanan, Clinton, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Randolph, Monroe and Ralls.

The PSC has determined there is a need for the service, and that the service promotes the public interest.

However, the Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, has urged lawmakers to approve Bean’s legislation, saying it’s about protecting private property. Missouri Farm Bureau says using eminent domain for this project sets a dangerous precedent and “makes it easier for our state to become the transmission superhighway for the Green New Deal.”

Invenergy says this would be Missouri’s largest energy infrastructure project, and that it would support 1,500 construction jobs over three years. They also say it would deliver millions of dollars in annual energy savings for 39 Missouri towns, and would improve electric reliability to help avoid future emergency outages.

The Missouri House approved a bill related to Bean’s earlier this session.

One issue that we likely won’t hear much discussion on during the final week is gaming. State Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg), who chairs the Senate Economic Development Committee, told Missourinet last week that he doesn’t see a path forward for any gaming bill this session.

Bill to stop Grain Belt Express path gets Missouri Senate hearing, again (AUDIO)

April 22, 2021 By Ashley Byrd

The Grain Belt Express project plans to run wind power transmission lines across eight rural counties in northern Missouri—from Buchanan through Ralls. Though the Public Service Commission has approved it and the commission’s approval won a court challenge, agricultural opponents have once again found support in the Legislature.

The Missouri House passed HB 527 to stop utility company Invenergy from using its PSC-granted eminent domain power. Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee heard about two hours of testimony on the Senate version of the bill, SB 508, now championed by State Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb.

Disagreement over the power line projects pits farmers on the transmission route in the northern part of the state against county commissioners in the south, who expect the project to share electricity at lower rates.

Burrely Loftin, the Mayor of Ava Missouri told the Senate panel that his town of about three thousand could save as much as $267,000 a year.

“That’s a lot for a poor community like ours,” he said

Marilyn O’Bannon, a farmer and County Commissioner in Northeast Missouri’s Monroe County, said the powerline’s path is not fair:

“The proposed line runs through approximately five miles through the middle of all the farms my family owns, all tillable land,” she testified.

Farmer Dawn Ingles of Randolph County supports the Grain Belt Express, saying it will bring $700,000 a year in tax revenue needed for their schools. She added that it would help the power grid that suffered rolling blackouts.

In emotional testimony, Salisbury rancher Robin Henke said lines running through their land affects their future:

Senator Bill White, a Republican and lawyer from Dade, Jasper and Newton counties, opposes the bill to block the project because he says the Grain Belt has already been legally approved – many times.

Tina Reichert, a farmer and Bed and Breakfast owner in Chariton County says properties in her family are getting overused for such projects

Invenergy spokeswoman Beth Conley issued a statement after the hearing:

“The bipartisan Missouri Public Service Commission unanimously approved the Grain Belt Express as a public utility project because of the tremendous public benefit it will bring to the Show-Me-State. Missouri’s largest energy infrastructure project will provide payments to landowners and local communities, support 1,500 construction jobs over three years, deliver millions in annual energy savings for 39 Missouri communities, and bolster electric reliability to help avoid future emergency outages. Over 40% of project landowners in Missouri and Kansas have already voluntarily signed easement agreements and received upfront payments from Grain Belt Express of more than $5 million.”

Haahr and Hansen focused on Missouri property rights legislation

February 14, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation aimed at preventing private entities like the Grain Belt Express from using eminent domain could hit the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City soon.

State Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankford, briefs Capitol reporters about eminent domain legislation on February 13, 2020, as House Speaker Elijah Haahr and other GOP lawmakers look on (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The legislation from State Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankford, was the first bill sent by the House to the Senate earlier this year.

“This legislation is just to protect people’s personal property rights against a private company wanting to use eminent domain, and that’s the bottom line on what we’re working on,” Hansen says.

Grain Belt Express plans to construct and operate a high-voltage transmission line across eight northern Missouri counties: Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clinton, Randolph, Monroe and Ralls.

A Missouri Senate committee has approved legislation from State Sen. Justin Brown, R-Rolla, that bans private entities from using eminent domain to build above-ground merchant lines. Senator Brown’s bill is similar to Representative Hansen’s bill.

“I’ve requested my bill to be heard over there (Missouri Senate) in the committee here in the near future and then we’ll decide which bill we’ll maybe get on the floor in the Senate,” says Hansen.

Hansen and House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, briefed Capitol reporters Thursday in Jefferson City.

Haahr says his chamber is leading the fight to protect the property of Missouri’s farmers and ranchers. He also notes that last year’s Hansen bill wasn’t approved by the House until mid-April.

“Representative Hansen’s bill, we didn’t really start this process until after spring break of last year,” Speaker Haahr says. “This year it was the first bill out of the House, so I think that gives us a little bit more lead time.”

Last year’s bill died in the Missouri Senate in May.

The House approved Hansen’s bill in late January, on a bipartisan 118-42 vote. Five African-American House Democrats voted for the bill: State Reps. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, Michael Person, D-Ferguson, Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, and Kevin Windham, D-Hillsdale.

The Grain Belt project does have support. Backers say it would generate $7 million annually in property taxes to Missouri political subdivisions.

Supporters also say it would save towns like northeast Missouri’s Hannibal about $1 million annually in electricity costs.

The Grain Belt project also cleared another legal hurdle in December, when the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District ruled in favor of multi-state power lines, rejecting the arguments of Missouri Farm Bureau and landowners.