former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon Archives

Kinder describes the late Wayne Goode “as one of the real giants in the Missouri Senate” (AUDIO)

October 6, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Political figures on both sides of the aisle are praising the legacy of longtime Missouri lawmaker Wayne Goode, D-Normandy, who died Saturday at the age of 83. The “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” reports Goode died from leukemia.

The late State Sen. Wayne Goode, D-Normandy, speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City in 2002 (file photo courtesy of Jonathan Lorenz at Senate Communications)

Goode served 42 years in the Legislature, from 1963 to 2005. Most of that was before term limits took effect in 1994. Goode served in the Missouri House from 1963 to 1984, and in the Senate from 1984 to January 2005.

Goode served 12 years in the Senate with former State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, who was President Pro Tem for Goode’s final years in the chamber.

“Wayne Goode was plainly and justifiably recognized by all as one of the real giants in the Missouri Senate, and for that matter, the General Assembly in the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century,” Kinder says.

Kinder praises Goode’s encyclopedic knowledge of Missouri’s complicated education foundation formula and of the budget. He notes Goode served as a House Budget Committee chairman.

“Wayne was a great storer of institutional knowledge and wisdom all to himself. He was a guy people on both sides of the aisle looked to for guidance on a lot of issues,” says Kinder.

Kinder credits Goode and the late State Sen. John Russell, R-Lebanon, for helping Missouri through tough budget years from 2001-2004. Kinder notes Goode and Russell entered the Missouri House together in 1963, and that while they shared different political philosophies, they put the state’s interest first.

The “Post-Dispatch” reports one of Goode’s first pieces of legislation in the 1960s allowed the University of Missouri to acquire property in Normandy to establish the University of Missouri-St. Louis. After leaving the Senate, then-Governor Jay Nixon (D) appointed Goode to the UM Board of Curators from 2009-2014.

“The respect from every member of the (Missouri Senate) chamber and every member of the House chamber and the executive branch was always there for Wayne Goode,” Kinder says.

Brad Ketcher, who served as Governor Mel Carnahan’s (D) chief of staff, describes Senator Goode as an extraordinary legislator, tweeting Sunday that “Missouri was so much better for his decades of public service.”

Goode also was known for his legislation involving the environment, including the issue of emission testing on vehicles in the St. Louis area. And he expressed concerns several times about speeding and increasing traffic deaths on Missouri highways.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full five-minute interview with former Missouri Lt. Governor and former Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder (R-Cape Girardeau) about State Sen. Wayne Goode’s service and legacy. The interview was recorded on October 5, 2020:

Missouri motorcycle helmet legislation is still under review

June 10, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor is still reviewing legislation that would allow some motorcyclists to ride without a helmet.

State Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 20, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The provision is included in a large transportation bill that is now on Governor Mike Parson’s desk. Parson’s spokeswoman, Kelli Jones, told Missourinet on Wednesday that the large bill is still under review.

Current Missouri law requires every person operating or riding a motorcycle to wear protective headgear.

The provision in the transportation bill would allow riders 26 and older to operate a motorcycle without a helmet, if they have both medical insurance and proof of financial responsibility.

A national highway safety organization is calling on the governor to veto the bill, because of the helmet provision. The organization “Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety” says the helmet law saves lives and prevents life-long brain trauma.

The group also says it will be difficult to enforce, saying it will be hard for police to know if a motorcyclist driving by is 26 or older.

State Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, and other supporters of repealing the helmet law say it’s an issue of freedom. They say Missourians 26 or older should be able to decide whether or not they want to wear a helmet.

The organization “Freedom of the Road Riders” also supports the repeal. Their members travel to the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City each year to ask lawmakers to support a helmet repeal.

This is a perennial issue that’s been debated annually at the Capitol for more than 25 years.

At least three governors, including GOP Governor Parson, have vetoed helmet repeal legislation. Governor Parson vetoed a broad bill in 2019, that included a helmet repeal. The governor’s objections were to a different part of that overall bill.

Then-Governor Mel Carnahan (D) vetoed a similar motorcycle helmet bill in 1999, and then-Governor Jay Nixon (D) vetoed a similar bill in 2009. None of those three vetoes were overridden.

Medicaid expansion emerging as key issue in Missouri gubernatorial race

February 25, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s GOP governor and his likely November Democratic opponent clashed over the issue of Medicaid expansion, during separate press conferences Tuesday in Jefferson City.

Former Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson opens a special session on June 11, 2018. Richardson is now the state’s Medicaid director (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Medicaid is a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents who have limited incomes. Missouri’s current Medicaid budget is about $10 billion, accounting for about one-third of the state’s $30 billion operating budget.

Governor Mike Parson (R) and State Auditor Nicole Galloway (D) spoke to Capitol reporters at separate press conferences, after they filed for governor at the Kirkpatrick Building.

Missourinet asked both candidates about the issue, during their briefings. Governor Parson opposes Medicaid expansion, saying the system is broken.

“When (Auditor) Galloway was there and (Democratic Governor Jay) Nixon was there, we had over one million people on the state Medicaid roll out of six million. So when you think of that practically, one out of every six people on Medicaid,” Parson says.

Parson also says no one verified the Medicaid rolls, for more than a decade. He also emphasizes that children who qualify for Medicaid should receive it, and that his administration wants them to receive it.

Auditor Galloway, the presumptive Democratic nominee, backs Medicaid expansion. She says rural Missouri hospitals are closing, and that thousands of children have lost their health insurance coverage, under Parson.

Galloway says Medicaid expansion is crucial.

“We have a governor that has kicked 100,000 children off of their health insurance, and he has no vision and no solution on how he’s going to fix that,” Galloway says.

Medicaid expansion supporters, including “Healthcare for Missouri”, note that eight rural Missouri hospitals have closed in recent years. The group says Arkansas and Ohio have expanded Medicaid, and that they’ve used Medicaid-derived savings to cut income taxes.

Governor Parson sees it differently, asking why someone would want to expand a broken system. He also suggests that some lawmakers are grandstanding on the issue, and asks if they’ve trying to sign people up for Medicaid.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, also opposes Medicaid expansion. He says it would take dollars out of the classroom, noting it requires a ten percent match for the 90 percent draw down.

Two other Republicans filed today against Governor Parson in the GOP gubernatorial primary: State Rep. Jim Neely, R-Cameron, and Seneca resident Raleigh Ritter.

St. Louis Democrats Jimmie Matthews and Antoin Johnson have filed in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Filing will continue on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kirkpatrick Building. The final day of filing is March 31.