Judy Morgan Archives - Missourinet

House passes gun nullification legislation

May 14, 2014 By Mike Lear

The state House has passed this year’s attempt at a law to nullify federal gun laws in Missouri. The bill would declare null and void any current or future gun law or regulation that infringes on the right to keep and bear arms.

State representative Doug Funderburk (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Doug Funderburk (R-St. Peters) says he has removed a provision that would have caused a law enforcement officer who enforces such a federal law to be prevented from ever being a Missouri law enforcement officer again.

“I don’t want to risk a good law enforcement officer’s career on the potential that they may have made a one-time mistake in the carrying-out of their duties,” says Funderburk.

The legislation is HB 1439

Representative Judy Morgan (D-Kansas City) says the bill is clearly unconstitutional and will be thrown out by courts. She is also concerned about some of the laws it seeks to nullify.

“It’s against federal laws for any person to sell any firearm or ammunition to felons, fugitives from justice, unlawful drug users, anyone who has been committed to a mental institution or anyone who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,” notes Morgan.

The House’s bill would also let Missourians sue federal workers for enforcing federal laws.

The two chambers have only until Friday evening to agree on a law and send it to the Governor.

Legislature approves $26.3-billion budget for FY 2015

May 8, 2014 By Mike Lear

The state House and Senate have approved a $26.3-billion operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The proposal goes to Governor Jay Nixon (D) for his consideration the day before the legislature’s deadline.

House Budget Committee Chairman Rick Stream. (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Legislators based their spending proposal on a projection revenue in Fiscal Year 2015 would grow by 4.2-percent. Nixon’s administration projected growth at 5.2 percent in the budget proposal he presented the legislature in January. Because of that disagreement the legislature proposes drawing money for some state programs and services out of a new surplus revenue fund, where money that comes in beyond its revenue projection would go.

The proposal would increase funding to public school districts by $114.8 million, but if Governor Nixon’s higher projection proves accurate, K-12 education would get an additional $278-million on top of the current $3.1-billion in state support.

Either outcome would put state support for education below the amount needed to fund schools as required by state law. That would require an increase of more than $550-million.

Representative Margo McNeil (D-Florissant) criticized the decision to go with the lower revenue projection, and says the budget does not go far enough for education.

“We should have decided for a higher number. We should have prioritized education more,” said McNeil. “I’m going to be voting against this budget because basically we’re not putting our priorities where we should be.”

Representative Mike Thomson (R-Maryville) says the budget includes the biggest increases in state history for education and higher education.

“We have gone way above what was expected, I think, for education funding,” said Thomson. “This body gets accused a lot of picking on education, of not fully funding the formula and not doing the best we can, and I would like to point to these numbers and say this is a very good effort, the best we could do.”

Public colleges and universities would get an increase of $43-million to be distributed based on the meeting of performance goals.

The legislature has built into the budget a plan to pay for the replacement of the state’s only maximum-security mental hospital, Fulton State Hospital. The 25-year bonding proposal would cover the cost of buidling the new hospital, estimated at $211-million. The first payment on those bonds of $14-million is included in the proposed budget.

See our earlier story on the legislature deciding on Gov. Nixon’s plan to fund a new Fulton hospital

It also includes $1.5-million for renovation of the Women’s Building at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia and $2-million to rebuild levees protecting Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph.

The plan includes an across-the-board 1-percent pay raise for state employees. Child abuse caseworkers within the Department of Social Services would get an additional two-to-three percent increase in salary, as part of $5.1-million aimed at recruiting and retaining good investigators and improving the state’s response to reports of child abuse.

House Budget Committee Chairman Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood) said of the Children’s Division increases, “That’s one of the most important parts of this budget.”

See our earlier story on the increases proposed for the Children’s Division

The highest “no” vote totals in the House came on the budgets for the Departments of Mental Health, Health and Senior Services, and Social Services, as Democrats objected to those bills not including expansion of Medicaid eligibility using federal dollars.

Representative Judy Morgan (D-Kansas City), called that exclusion disappointing.

“I do believe, though, one day the General Assembly will wise up and will rise up and we will vote for Medicaid expansion,” said Morgan. “I just wished it were sooner than later and that’s why I will be voting ‘no’ on this bill.”

Representative Noel Torpey (R-Independence), who participated in a committee that traveled the state taking testimony on Medicaid expansion in the interim, said he hopes that the legislature will act to reform and expand Medicaid.

“I ask that we keep an open mind when discussing this issue in the future,” said Torpey. “At some point in time it’s going to become law, so why not sooner than later?”

The legislature’s proposed budget would increase spending by 6.4-percent, compared to the Governor’s budget proposed in January that would have increased state spending by 11.6 percent.

Criminal Code path forward could hinge on federal transportation money concern

April 14, 2014 By Mike Lear

Whose version of criminal code legislation will advance could depend on how each might impact federal transportation money.

House and Senate lawmakers who have spent years working on an update of Missouri’s system of criminal laws and punishments must now decide which chambers’ version of that rewrite to go with.

Representative Judy Morgan (D-Kansas City) says one issue that must be considered was raised by the Transportation Department.

“What we found out in fiscal review,” says Morgan, “with the House bill we may be out of compliance with that mandatory minimum sentencing and it may cause us to lose $18-million in funds as a result of that.”

The sponsor of the House criminal code bill, Representative Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia), says he thought the issue had been resolved.

“We have distributed this and encouraged various state agencies,” he tells Morgan, “and really I thought that we had made MODOT happy, but we’ll certainly continue working on it.”

The sponsor of the Senate legislation, Senator Jolie Justus (D-Kansas City) says that issue has been dealt with in her chamber’s version.

“They brought that concern to us months ago. We fixed it months ago on the Senate side. It is not a problem.”

The Senate version of the bill is also smaller, having been reduced to about 700 pages while the House version is still around the 1000-mark.

House version of tax reform legislation passed

April 25, 2013 By Mike Lear

The House has passed its version of legislation Republicans hope will level the playing field for Missouri among neighboring states. The proposal would cut income taxes for individuals and businesses will increasing the state sales tax.

Representative Andrew Koenig (photo courtesy; Missouri House Communications)

Estimates from legislative researchers say the plan would eventually cut state revenue by $438 million annually. The changes wouldn’t kick in unless state revenue collections grow by at least $100 million year-to-year.

See the legislation, SB 26.

Representative Judy Morgan (D-Kansas City) and other Democrats say the bill will hurt the poor by shifting the tax burden.

“The reduction of the personal and corporate and business income tax, increase of the sales tax, guess who’s going to benefit from that. Not the people that make less than $33,000 a year. They will pay more in taxes because of the sales taxes and the people who will benefit will be millionaires.”

The House handler of the bill, Representative Andrew Koenig (R-Manchester) says the claims the bill will hurt the poor are “false” and “scare tactics.”

“In this bill there’s a $2000 deduction on income tax. We have a sales tax code that is laced with exemptions on the basic necessities of life … on food, gasoline, mortgage, rent, etcetera.”

The plan would cut the top personal income tax rate by two-thirds of a percent over five years. The corporate income tax would be gradually reduced by three-quarters of a percent, while a new 50 percent deduction would be phased in for business income reported on owners’ individual tax returns.

Personal deductions on individual income taxes for those with incomes under $20,000 annually would nearly double and the first $25,000 of corporate income from taxation would be exempted.

The sales tax would be gradually increased by three-fifths of a cent to pay for roads and education. The plan would set aside part of that increase to pay to replace the Missouri State Mental Hospital in Fulton. An amendment added on the House floor would also send part of the increase in sales revenue to the state’s schools.

The House version of the plan includes tax amnesty language that its budget writers and Governor Jay Nixon assume the passage of to balance their budget proposals.

The package passed the House 90-68, well short of the support needed to overturn a veto by the Governor who has opposed an earlier version of the bill. 19 Republicans voted with Democrats against it.

It goes back to the Senate.

House budget subcommittee shuns Medicaid expansion, finds mental health money

February 26, 2013 By Mike Lear

A House budget subcommittee has rejected including federal money for Medicaid expansion in the budgets for the Departments of Mental Health, Social Services and Health and Senior Services.

Representative Sue Allen (R-Town and Country)

Representative Judy Morgan (D-Kansas City) proposed a return to Governor Jay Nixon’s plan to use $1 billion in federal dollars for those departments, freeing up general revenue to use in other areas. Her amendments were defeated in 9-5 partisan votes.

Nixon says if Missouri accepts Medicaid expansion the federal government will pay for it for the first three years, then Missouri will begin picking up a portion of the cost that would eventually grow to ten percent. Democrats say Medicaid expansion will save the state money, extend healthcare to an additional 300,000 Missourians, create jobs and keep rural hospitals from closing.

Chairwoman Sue Allen (R-Town and Country) says Missouri can not afford to accept that plan.

“There will be a time the feds will back off. Missouri is in as good a shape as we are financially because of hard decisions that were made in 2005 to reign in cost, and we have a natural growth of Medicaid which we struggle with every year anyway within the current eligibility.”

The state legislature approved and then-Governor Matt Blunt signed a cut back in Medicaid in 2005. At that time, 100,000 people lost eligibility.

Allen says Medicaid reform would be the more responsible route.

“I would say, first of all, we improve and we correct where you could have greater benefits. You get that taken care of and you move forward, and you do it one step at a time but you don’t jump in a swimming pool without any water in it.”

The plan approved by the committee does shift about $25 million to the Department of Mental Health. Allen says that money came from places in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget where Governor Nixon had withheld money, or where money that was appropriated was not spent.

She says in finding that $25 million, “I don’t know if any services that were cut.”

Allen says she hopes more money can be found for mental health when her committee’s proposal reaches the full budget committee.