Friday marked the end of the most productive, and strangest, legislative session of my five years of service. Along with passing more substantive legislation than any other year, this year's session included a tragic death and a resignation.
On Thursday, Speaker John Diehl resigned from the House. His seven years in the House were marked by big accomplishments. His decision to resign was the right one for him, his family, and our state.
The House then elected Rep. Todd Richardson from Poplar Bluff as the new speaker. Todd possesses all the tools of a true public servant and will be an effective speaker.
In a moving moment Friday, the House also witnessed the engagement of Rep. Shelly Keeney, as her fiancé popped the question in front of the entire House.
The list of substantive legislation is long. This week's column will stick to three:
No more taxation by citation
For far too long, St. Louis area municipalities have funded their governments via traffic citations instead of taxes. The most flagrant examples surround Interstate 70 near the airport, where a few municipalities are run more like organized troll guilds than legitimate governments. In January, I sponsored legislation to cap the percentage of revenue any city could receive from traffic tickets at 10 percent of their budget.
Senate Bill 5, which was truly agreed and finally passed by the General Assembly, caps the percentage at 20 percent in most areas of the state and 12.5 percent in St. Louis County. Cities that collect more than this must turn the money over to schools for education. When this legislation was first proposed, municipalities complained that it would limit their ability to legitimately enforce traffic laws. Interestingly, after the bill passed, the chief complaint has nothing to do with law enforcement, but instead city budgets that had been padded by preying on motorists rather than holding spending in line or making honest tax assessments.
The critics miss the mark. Under the Missouri Constitution, the right amount of traffic citation revenues a city should use for the budget is not 10 percent, 12.5 percent, or even 30 percent. It's zero. The purpose of our criminal justice system - including municipal courts - is to punish, deter, and, in some circumstances, rehabilitate. It's not to raise revenue. Senate Bill 5 removes the incentives for tiny governments to fund themselves through their justice systems.
Welfare reform
A recent report from a non-partisan think tank revealed Missouri was last in the nation in implementing Clinton-era welfare reforms. Less than one in six able-bodied Missourians on welfare actually participate in work activities. Senate Bill 24 requires recipients to either work, attempt to find a job, or further their education. It also limits lifetime benefits to 45 months and reinvests TANF funds received from the federal government into child care, transportation and job training.
Student transfers
Once again, the General Assembly passed a comprehensive education reform bill to "fix" the student transfer law impacting failing school districts. Gov. Nixon vetoed last year's bill because of a "private option" that would have allowed poor children in failing districts some of the same opportunities enjoyed by privileged children. In this year's version, the "private option" was replaced by increasing available spots in charter schools for the same students. I'm hopeful Gov. Nixon will sign this year's bill.
I'm looking forward to a break from the Legislature. So, there will not be a Capitol Report next week.
State Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, represents the 60th District.