An attempt to roll back the minimum wage that was set by the voters in Prop B was defeated in the House this week. That has not stopped Rep. Stevenson, Judiciary Chair, from hiding a minimum wage repeal in the "omnibus Judiciary bill" but it is a good indicator of what will happen to that bill.

Our family celebrated Ingrid's birthday this week with a party for her Friday evening. Our recently married daughter, Nicki, shares the same birthday but she was celebrating at her new home in St Louis.

Three more weeks in the Legislative session. We adjourn May 16th at 6:00 P.M. not that I'm counting or anything.

Attempt by Republicans to repeal the minimum wage for tipped employees fails in House

House vote is 69-82 with all Democrats voting No on Minimum Wage cut

This week week we debated House Bill 1851 which would have cut the minimum wage from $3.325 to $2.13 for tipped employees - the base wage for such employees prior to Proposition B almost two years ago. When voters went to the polls on this issue 76% of voters approved the minimum wage raise. Now Republicans are trying again to roll it back.

This is the third major setback for the Republican majority in the past three weeks. On April 9 House Dems defeated school vouchers. Then on April 17 House Democrats led the defeat of House Joint Resolution 49 the destruction of the Missouri Non-partisan Court Plan. This type of defeat was unheard of in the House during the past six years and now three times in three weeks. A sign of thing to come I think.

The minimum wage for all employees is still $6.65 an hour as set by Proposition B and would not have been affected by the bill.

House Judiciary Committee votes out "Omnibus" bill on party line vote

Bill that normally carries routine court issues now has repeal of minimum wage hidden in it

Each year that I have served on the House Judiciary Committee, and as far back as institutional memory goes, there has been a bill proposed each year that carries routine issues for the Judiciary. It normally has such exotic things as tweaks on law library funds, court procedures, funding for the court system and such things that most reasonable people can agree upon and fall under such typical titles as "pertaining to the Court system." The procedure has always been that the committee would put the bill together late in the session and work in a bipartisan fashion to get it passed. The criteria for inclusion has always been that there has been no "serious" opposition to what is in the bill. In other words it does not require unanimous support as a Consent bill does but anything controversial has to stay out.

This year the bill has become a 400 page toxic waste dump that has the repeal of the Minimum Wage tucked inside. Two years ago the voters of Missouri raised the minimum wage and 76% of the voters approved it. Now Bryan Stevenson, the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, insists on putting this issue in the "Omnibus Judiciary Bill." I am the ranking Democrat on the Committee and I explained that the issue is so politically sensitive that even in the hyper-partisan Workforce Development Committee where I also serve the repeal is not taken up for a vote. I, and other Dems on the committee, argued that the issue will inevitably scuttle the bill but to no avail. So the bill was voted out of the committee with all Democrats voting No. There are lots of other problems in the bill but this one leads the list.

The bill goes next to the Rules Committee that controls what goes to the floor for debate. I am one of the three Democrat members of that Committee so I will get a chance to do some whistle blowing there but the real problem is that there are a long list of valid issues that will die with this bill. Will keep you posted on this one.

Ingrid celebrated a birthday this week with a party at the Happy Gillis Restaurant in Columbus Park as we discover long buried roots there

We celebrated Ingrid's birthday Friday evening with a small party at the Happy Gillis Restaurant. Our daughter Nicki shares the same birthday with Ingrid and this is the first year she has been married so she celebrated up in St Louis at her new home. But friends and family had a fun party for Ingrid at a new restaurant in the Columbus Park area. It is called Happy Gillis and is at 549 Gillis street.

My mother, Nadine, attended the party. She gave me some family history that I did not know. Mom was born in 1921 and in the years just before her birth her mother, my maternal grandmother, lived in the 400 block of Gillis. They moved before Mom was born up to the 500 block of Jackson. So our roots in Northeast go back over one hundred years. Interesting.

Anyway, the Happy Gillis at the corner of Gillis and Pacific is a great little restaurant with excellent food. Here is a link to a review in the Pitch newspaper.

Election campaigns approaching as same opponent files for two offices

Filing for the 2008 elections has closed. I am challenged, again, by the same young man who has run against me the past four years. The district is over 80% Democrat so the race will be decided in the August primary. I will keep you posted on the campaign activities as they come up. For now I am concentrating on finishing the legislative session but after that will devote more time to the campaign.

Will Royster, my neighbor is running for Eleventh Ward Democrat Committeeman. Will's wife, Carol Royster, is the Eleventh Ward Democrat Committeewoman. The same young man has also filed to run for the same committee seat against Will Royster! So now he is running against both of us but for different offices.

I will update you on the election activities soon.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

State Rep John Burnett

This week was a high point of the year. HJR 49 was defeated in the House. Details below. Attorney General Jay Nixon came to Historic Northeast on Friday for a press conference with me about my payday loan reform bill. And. I received an award from the Associate and Probate Judge Association for service in the Legislature.

Attorney General Jay Nixon in Historic Northeast for second time in a month

Attorney General Nixon lends support to payday loan reform

Friday Jay Nixon was back in Historic Northeast again for another visit. This time it was to hold a press conference on the corner of Independence Avenue and Elmwood to speak out against payday loans and call for the legislature to pass House Bill 1462 which is my bill to reform the payday loan business in Missouri. We were joined by several ministers including Alvin Brooks and members of the City Council and County Legislature. Melba Curls, Sharon Sanders Brooks, and Jan Marcasson were there for the City Council while Theresa Garza represented the Jackson County Legislature.

This is Attorney General Jay Nixon's second visit recently to Northeast. Just a few weeks ago our neighbors Will and Carol Royster hosted a party for Nixon's run for Governor in the upcoming elections.

Attack on Missouri Non-partisan Court plan fails in House

Judge Selection plan survives attack

One of the most important issues of the year came to a head this week. On Monday the House gave first round approval to House Joint Resolution 49 by a wide margin 80-63.

The resolution would change the method by which appellate judges and circuit judges in the urban areas are chosen. The "Missouri Plan" is a national model for judge selection. This resolution would have given more power to the politicians and removed the judges who now chair the commission from the process. It has been hotly debated for month both in the House and in meetings around the state.

In order to pass the House it needed 82 votes on final passage. Since it got 80 on the first vote it looked to many that it would pass. But Wednesday night Republican leaders began doubting their support and it slipped away. On Thursday morning 68 Republicans and one Democrat (Juanita Walton D-St Louis) voted YES against 83 NO votes!

This was a stunning defeat for the Republicans in the House. This attack on "activist judges" was to have been part of their campaign this fall in the elections.

Judge Association gives Legislative Service Award to Rep Burnett

Award for outstanding contributions to the administration of justice

I was given an award for "outstanding contributions to the administration of justice" by the Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges. This award is give annually to State Representatives that are chosen by the organization. I was honored to receive the award this year.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. State Rep John Burnett

House Joint Resolution 49 failed in the House today


Only One Democrat voted for the Resolution attacking the Court Plan
After about an hour of debate the House Resolution that would have submitted to a statewide vote major changes to the Missouri Non-partisan Court Plan was put to what will probably be the final vote this year. It failed by a vote of 69-83


After garnering 80 Yes votes on first round approval the Resolution lost ground rapidly. Lawyers from around the state rang phones and filled email inboxes this week in Jeff City. The 63 No votes on Tuesday grew to 83 today.

Republican leaders seemed resigned early this morning to the measure failing. The debate was less direct today that earlier in the week. It seemed as if the proponents were just going through the motions and knew that they were losing.

In the end sixty-eight Republicans and one Democrat voted in favor of the resolution. The official House Journal will be posted online in the morning (probably) here is the link to the page where the history is posted.

Three lawyers supported the resolution. Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) the sponsor of the Resolution, Bryan Stevenson (R-Joplin) Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis) a candidate for the Congress.

I am so happy about this it is hard to express. I have served in the House for six years now and believe that this is the most significant vote where I have been on the prevailing side. So often from the minority side of the aisle where I serve we have to be content with modifying, amending, and negotiating less objectionable outcomes. It is exhilarating to have an outright win. Makes it all worthwhile. Maybe this is a sign of things to come?

State Rep John P Burnett

House Joint Resolution 49, the attack on the Non-partisan court plan, advanced today in the House.

House leaders closed debate with Reps lined up to talk

After a brief debate House leaders closed debated by moving the "previous question". I was left standing at the microphone with a proposed amendment in my hand unable to get recognized to offer it. My friends consoled me that it was something I should be proud of. The Majority clearly did not want to hear what I had to say.

By a vote of 80-63 the House gave first round approval to the resolution. All 11 Democrat Lawyers in the House voted against it. Burnett, Bringer, Donnelly, Grill,Jeff Harris, Connie Johnson, Rachel Storch, Mike Talboy, Mike Vogt, Terry Witte and Jake Zimmerman.

On the Republican side only Flook, Pratt and Lipke opposed it. Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) was the sponsor and handled the bill on the floor. Judiciary Chair, Bryan Stevenson (R-Jasper) gave a speech that some thought was hilarious talking about how he loved all judges, young or old and in fact hopes to be a judge himself someday soon. Then he joined Cox, Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis), and Tim Jones (R-Eureka) in supporting it.

Final approval in the House requites 82 votes but it appears that they will be there. Will keep you posted on the vote there too.


State Rep John P Burnett

With five weeks to go in the session we debated one of the big issues of the year. Each year we have a school voucher bill that is a major debate. This year was no different. Tempers flared during the debate - all in all a very fun week.

Vouchers are vouchers by whatever name

House Bill 2040 would raise teacher pay and oh by the way...

House Bill 2040 is a bill sponsored by the Speaker of the House to raise beginning teacher pay from $24,000 to $31,000 per year. Sounds good and that issue has wide support in the House. But tied to it was a provision that granted tax breaks to donors to a scholarship fund that would enable autistic children or others with special needs to attend private and parochial schools.

The supporters of school vouchers this year packaged it with not only a teacher pay raise but started the voucher program with special needs children. The thinking was that to prevent vouchers we would have to vote against not only teachers pay raises but special need children. But even with both of those hammers the bill failed.

The key vote was on an amendment to strip out the voucher provision from the rest of the bill. That passed 80-58 sparking heated debate that trickled over into the next day. The strategy this year avoided the 82 vote threshold that has been a barrier in past years to passing vouchers. By putting the issue in a popular bill the proponents only had to field a simple majority to hold it in. So the fact that they could only muster 58 votes was a humiliating defeat.

So much so that the next day the debate turned ugly when Republican leaders physically confronted one of the Democrat critics and had to be restrained. The confrontation took place in the left rear corner where I sit. The Republicans had to cross the entire Chamber to play school yard games. Fortunately one of the elder Repubs, a retired sheriff, had experience dealing with hotheads and forcefully escorted the offender back to the other side of the aisle.

Payday Loans, Bus tax and Smoking ban all pass

KC election passes smoking ban narrowly

The smoking ban for bars except casinos passed very narrowly. The $1,000 fee for payday loans operators and the renewal of the bus tax passed by wide margins. New School Board members were elected and will choose a President at the first meeting this Wednesday. More on that next time.

Spending Limit Resolution squeaks by House

HOUSE PROPOSES AMENDMENT TO RESTRICT SPENDING

On an 84-65 vote, the House of Representatives on April 10 approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would severely restrict state spending. If also approved by the Senate, the measure would go before Missouri voters on the November ballot.

HJR 70 sponsored by House Budget Chairman Alan Icet, R-Wildwood, would limit annual growth in general revenue spending to the rate of inflation with a further adjustment for population increases. Supporters say the amendment is needed to further control state spending. Opponents counter that it would hamstring the ability of government to provide necessary state services. Colorado suspended a similar constitutional provision after it caused a state budget crisis.

This has been a recurring issue for several years now and has been rejected in the past but perhaps this year it will get some traction. I voted No.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. State Rep John Burnett

The House Judiciary Committee, where I serve as the Ranking Minority Member, has a long tradition of professionalism and bipartisanism. This year it has become a place for debate of hot button issues such as abortion and NAFTA. It is still the only committee in the Legislature that is composed of (almost) all attorneys so is still one place where debate is actually on the merits for the most part. I do a frequent newsletter that covers all the topics we work on but some of our work is really mostly of interest to attorneys. So, thought I would share a few of those topics.

"Children's Bill of Rights" will change courtroom procedures for children under 18

Court Procedure bill HCS HB 1611 passes House

On the floor when this bill was debated the lawyers in the House criticized it roundly but the Majority refused to permit any amendments. Interestingly the bill, although it deals with court procedures, came through the Family Services committee instead of Judiciary. Not one lawyer serves of the Family Service Committee. The bill, now that it has passed the House, is on its way to the Senate where it has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee.

Four lawyers voted in favor of the bill - Flook (R-Clay), Lipke (R-Cape Girardeau), Yates (R-Jackson) and Pratt (R-Jackson) Here is a summary of the bill as it passed the House by a vote of 100-48:

HCS HB 1611 -- CHILDREN'S BILL OF COURTROOM RIGHTS (Dixon)
COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: Special Committee on Family Services

This substitute establishes a children's bill of courtroom rights that applies to all children testifying at a judicial proceeding. In its main provisions, the substitute:

(1) Assures a child the right to understand the oath administered in court and requires the court to present the oath in a developmentally appropriate manner;

(2) Grants the child the right to understand all questions asked of him or her;

(3) Requires the court to allow the child to testify at a time of day when the child is best able to understand the questions asked of him or her and to allow frequent breaks from testifying;

(4) Grants the child the right to have a comfort item that is approved by the court, such as a blanket or stuffed animal, when testifying;

(5) Grants the child the right to have a person present during his or her testimony to provide emotional support. The support person must abide by the rules established by the court;

(6) Requires the child to be questioned in a manner that is neither intimidating nor frightening which includes disallowing any attorney from raising his or her voice while questioning the child or making an argument; and

(7) Grants the child the right to be comfortable when testifying by adjusting the courtroom layout, conducting the proceedings outside of a courtroom, and relaxing the formalities of normal courtroom proceedings.

Bill to abolish the Failure to appear Driver License Suspension "do pass" from Judiciary

I am the sponsor, together with a very interesting set of co-sponsors, of House Bill 1641 that would repeal the statute that authorizes traffic courts to suspend the drivers license of persons who fail to appear or pay traffic tickets.

The statute RSMo 302.341 provides that the Dept of Revenue suspend the license of drivers who fail to pay tickets. That suspension remains of their record for life. This results in severe employment difficulties for some drivers whose job depends on having a clean driving record. And all drivers who suffer this Draconian sanction for being late paying a ticket end up paying higher insurance rates for years.

Not surprisingly many traffic judges and court clerks love the statute because it gives them a huge hammer to collect tickets. The problem is that the hammer leaves permanent scars on thousands of people annually. And, of course, the insurance companies love it because it runs up insurance premiums for safe drivers. The bill has an interesting set of co-sponsors ranging from some of the most conservative to most liberal House members.

House Joint Resolution 49 - the Non-partisan Court Plan attack

The attack on the Missouri Judiciary continues and will likely be debated this week in the House.

House Joint Resolution 49 would submit to the voters of Missouri changes to the non-partisan court plan that would give politicians greater control over the selection of judges. The issue has been on the front burner all session and is about to go the floor of the House for debate. Lawyers Weekly reported this week that both Republican candidates for Governor support changes to the plan while Attorney General Jay Nixon, the presumptive Democratic candidate opposes change and supports the current plan.

Mountains of paper have been passed out and hearings have been held. I will not try to summarize the arguments but give you the links below to look them over. Chip Robertson has been in the front of this debate defending the current plan and has been a presence this year in the hearing rooms.

Opponents of the plan have upped the ante a bit this week by submitting ballot language now approved by Secretary of State Carnahan to completely overhaul the plan. Here is the link to the ballot language and here is the link to the complete text of the changes . The threat is that if the HJR is defeated the issue will still be submitted to the voters via the petition process. This is interesting because this lays out what changes the proponents really care about.

I plan to offer amendments this week to remove political influence rather than increase it. I am considering an amendment that would disqualify commission members from serving if they make political contributions to the Governor. That would decrease the amount of "political" influence that is required to be a commission member.

Here are the links:

Here is the link to Protect Justice website of the Missourians for Fair and Impartial Courts. The starting point for anyone getting up to speed on the issue.

Here is the link to Justice at Stake Justice at Stake a national organization supporting an independent judiciary and their view of Missouri.

Here is the link to the Missouri Law Institute a not-for-profit formed to promote awareness of the State's judicial system.

Daubert and the destruction of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act stalled

Chairman Bryan Stevenson's House bill 2241

Here is the link that would impose Daubert and essentially destroy Chapter 407 - Missouri Merchandising Practices Act - seems stalled for the moment. If you like Daubert and hate consumers you will love this bill.

Here is the link to watch the bill.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. State Rep John Burnett

The pace is picking up with 6 weeks to go. We were in session from early Wednesday morning until 12:45 A.M. Thursday morning. You will be happy to know that after more that fourteen hours of debate and voting we took up the issue about 12:30 of the official State Desert. Some school children who had championed the issue were in the upper gallery with their parents. They had waited the entire day and were the only people left in the gallery. We did pass the bill but only after the sponsor gave a long impassioned speech that, frankly, most of us were not particularly interested in. I did feel good for the kids who got a standing ovation from the body.

Constitutional Amendment to limit Court Jurisdiction passes House with bare minimum 82 votes

House Joint Resolution 41 would severely limit the jurisdiction of Courts

The most difficult issue this week was the Resolution to put to a vote of the people an amendment to the Missouri Constitution that would limit the power of Courts to rule on disputes with both the State and local governments. The sponsor claimed the resolution was to prevent judges from ordering tax increases. But she could not name even one instance of a State Judge ordering a tax increase. The language of the amendment was much broader and would prevent citizens from recovering damages from State or local government on any claim.

This was the resolution that debate was cutoff on when it was first brought to the floor. This time some discussion was allowed and eventually the measure passed with the bare minimum of 82 votes. The vote was largely along party lines with two Democrats voting Yes and 5 Republicans voting No.

The Senate now gets the issue and the buzz is that it faces an uphill battle there because of the difficulty we gave it in the House.

Motorcycle Helmet law repeal given the same approval of the House it always receives

This week, in what has been an annual ritual for about 30 years, we approved a bill to repeal Missouri's motorcycle helmet law for riders age 21 and older. The bill typically passes each year in the House, where most lawmakers believe wearing a helmet should be a personal choice and not a government mandate, only to be blocked in the Senate by safety advocates. The House sent the measure, HB 1393, to the Senate on 94-52 vote. Here is the link to the bill if you want to follow it.

Effort to float a new casino boat in Sugar Creek flops

House bill 1929 would prevent any new casino licenses from being issued for at least two years. This is a setback for the Sugar Creek casino effort. If this passes the Senate it is likely that this will end the casino dreams of Sugar Creek. When casinos first entered the KC market Sugar Creek opposed any effort to to place a casino in their town but now the city elders have had second thoughts and have been trying to build interest in a casino .

April 8th City election features Payday Loans, Bus tax and Smoking ban

Kansas City proposes to impose an annual fee on payday loan lenders of $1,000 per year to pay for the regulatory enforcement of the city. Seems like a reasonable fee on an industry that can well afford it but they are fighting it. Check out this phony "blog" that supports the loan shark industry.

Also the renewal of the tax that pays for bus transportation is up. There has been opposition to that popped up at the last minute. It is merely a renewal of an existing tax to fund buses. Makes me wonder who could oppose that?

The No smoking - Question Three is a heated debate. Tobacco has put money in the race and is opposing Question 3. Will be interesting to see what happens there. I know I am supposed to be opinionated but this one really has me torn. On the one hand smoke free restaurants would be great and very healthy but the arguments that we are driving business away makes me stop and think. Then the casinos got exempted. That is not fair. Don't think I will vote for this one.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. State Rep John Burnett