Legislators, observers debate how and when Amendment 10 can be used

Months after 56.8 percent of voters approved Amendment 10, legislators and observers are still debating how and when the measure can be used.

Amendment 10 allows the legislature to override a governor's decision to freeze or slow spending on items in the state budget.

"It raises so many questions that have to be answered that nobody's really quite sure how to play out," said University of Missouri-Columbia political science professor Peverill Squire. "The mechanics of it are probably a little more daunting than most members think."


One of the key questions is whether the General Assembly can override withholds made to the fiscal year 2015 budget, which the Legislature approved in May.

Opponents have argued the Legislature can't retroactively apply Amendment 10, as it was only added to the Missouri Constitution in December, months after the passage of the current budget.

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, however, thinks Amendment 10 is "clearly applicable" to fiscal year 2015 appropriations because that cycle hasn't ended and because the governor is still withholding approximately $480 million from that budget.

As much as Schaefer would like to use Amendment 10, the clock is running down for the Legislature to do so, he said. Legislators can invoke their power to override withholdings during the regular session, which, according to the Missouri Constitution, can run from early January until mid-May.

The General Assembly is reviewing Gov. Jay Nixon's supplemental budget request for fiscal year 2015, Schaefer said. This means the Legislature might not get a chance to bring up Amendment 10.

In theory, the Legislature could make room in its schedule to override withholdings. As Republicans have a super majority in both chambers, they could push more withholdings at a faster pace "than they would if they had to scramble more for votes," Squire said. That would buy lawmakers time to invoke Amendment 10.

If the Legislature decided to invoke Amendment 10 during the session, some other bills might not get time on the floor, said Rep. Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City and assistant minority leader.

"The one thing that the Legislature has to do is the budget," McCann Beatty said. "We don't have a choice in that matter."

However, that's not a concern for Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City and vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who said taking up a line-item veto wouldn't kill a lot of time, especially in the Missouri House of Representatives, where debate can be easily ended.

Whether Amendment 10 causes other bills to get less time on the floor might not be an issue for Missouri residents. Squire said most of the state won't pay close attention, unless issues that generate public interest, such as education, come up.


Amendment 10 is not dead if legislators don't use it during the regular session.

According to the Missouri Constitution, the General Assembly also can override withholdings during veto session, which happens in September.

The Legislature usually passes the budget on or very close to the deadline set by the Constitution: 6 p.m. on the first Friday, following the first Monday in May. This year, that's May 8.

If the Legislature passes the budget around that date, the governor would have until July 14 to return the bills with his vetoes. The Legislature then could attempt to override these blocks during veto session. This year's session is set for Sept. 16.

However, this year, lawmakers at the helm of the majority party are trying to pass the budget by the end of April. Then, the Constitution would compel the governor to return the budget with his signature - and any vetoes - within 15 days. That would give the Legislature enough time to override the governor's vetoes before the regular session ends May 15.

The goal? Use veto session to override withholdings instead of vetoes.

"If we override him on some of the withholds in September, it will be much more useful for those entities that were targeted to get the money, to have it that much earlier," Schaefer said.

The new timeline also serves another purpose. Last year, Nixon vetoed approximately 120 budget line items. Because the General Assembly passed the budget by its usual May deadline, it had to wait until September to act on the vetoes. Silvey said the new timeline would change that.

"Overriding those vetoes upfront sends the message that these are priorities of two-thirds of the legislature, and he should be funding them," Silvey said.

Last year's veto session was "dominated by budget line items," Silvey said. In addition to the budget vetoes, Nixon blocked about 30 other bills. Taking care of budget vetoes earlier would allow the Legislature to focus more on policies during veto session, Silvey said.

Democrats are not on board with passing the budget by April, said Senate Minority Leader Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis. The new timeline would make it easier to invoke Amendment 10, which the senator opposes. He said Amendment 10 might lead to an unbalanced budget because it doesn't require the Legislature to make cuts if it releases withholds.

"I support my governor as a Democrat," Keaveny said. "I think the chief executive of the state has a very real responsibility, and I think this chief executive takes it seriously. Now, he has to make some very hard decisions, and it's easy for the General Assembly to second guess him.

"But I think we need to keep in mind that it was constructed this way, for just the reason that it is - to maintain a fiscally responsible state," he added. "I think it's very dangerous for the General Assembly to be able to override his decisions."

Silvey, who sponsored Amendment 10 in the Senate, has a different view.

"It's not about the Legislature trying to bust the budget or the Legislature trying to put things out of balance," Silvey said. "It's more a matter of the Legislature dictating what the priorities are. So if we say you have to let this money go, we all assume by default that he'll withhold from something different."


After veto session, lawmakers would have yet another opportunity to use Amendment 10: a special session.

Governors can restrict funds at any point during the fiscal year if revenues are less than expected. If the Legislature wanted to override a withhold after the end of veto session, it could call itself back for a special session.

The chief executive has always had the authority to summon the General Assembly for an extraordinary session to deal with emergency issues, but the Legislature only got the right to call itself back in 1988. That power has never been used.

Calling a special session requires a petition with signatures of three-fourths of the members of each chamber. Coordinating the effort could be difficult, Squire said.

"Republicans have very large majorities they get to work with, but they can't always get everybody to agree," he said.

Calling special sessions is generally not popular among lawmakers, Squire said. Missouri legislators are not paid full time, and many have other obligations while the Legislature is not in session, he said.

There's another potential issue: the cost. The state reimburses legislators a daily fee for lodging and meals, and provides a weekly stipend for fuel for a round trip from their district to Jefferson City. The cost of a session is determined by the number of members present and the number of days the Legislature meets.

The 2011 special session, which lasted 23 days, cost the state approximately $275,000. For the five days of the 2013 special session, the state paid approximately $89,000, according to emails from Senate Administrator Marga Hoelscher and Chief Clerk of the House Adam Crumbliss.

If the governor announced withholds after the end of veto session in late September, the Legislature is likely to wait until it comes back for regular session in January to override, Silvey said. And although there might be issues important enough to compel the Legislature to call itself back, he said he doesn't see that happening in practice.

Overall, there are a lot of "ifs" regarding Amendment 10, Squire said.

"I know the governor has withheld money that irritated (the Legislature) - that irritated a lot of people that work for the state government," Squire said. "It's not clear whether the time and effort that would be required to invoke Amendment 10, put it into action, withstand any legal challenges that there might be - is really going to be worth fighting over, what is generally a not terribly large sum of money."