We are halfway through the legislative session and the Budget is nearly half done. This is spring break week in Jeff City. When we return we will debate the Budget on the House floor and send it to the Senate.

Quick Links

Twitter
@JohnburnettKC

Facebook

Wikipedia link to "Birthers"

Budget shell game as Half time nears
Education cuts and shuffles are best example

The numbers on the Education are still in flux but the programs that have been cut in the House Budget are becoming clear. All teacher training, called professional development has been eliminated. Also the program called Career Ladder that encourages veteran teachers to learn new skills for their careers and provide services to students beyond the normal school day. Parents as Teachers was first trashed then partially restored when it became clear that the program had wide support. But Parents as Teachers suffers huge and disabling cuts under the current budget. The Safe Schools program has been completely eliminated from the budget. Urban Flight and Rural Needs Scholarships are gone.

So with these cuts you would think that given the Proposition A funds the budget should be in good shape with education right? Wrong. It is called fund shifting. In November 2008 voters approved lifting the loss limits for casinos and imposed new fees on the gambling industry. That money was promised to be used all for education. But instead the $108 Million was shifted to General Revenue and the "new money" vanished. Voters were furious last time this happened to the promised money for education but it is yet to be seen if House Republicans can get away with this shell game this time.

When we return from Spring Break on Monday, March 23rd, the House will take up the Budget, debate it on the Floor and send it on to the Senate. Hopefully saner minds will prevail there.

"Birthers" take over tinfoil hat wing of the Republican Party in the Missouri House

Birthers Conspiracy Buffs take over Missouri House Republicans.

Wikipedia covers Mo House conspiracy buffs:

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, covers the "Birther Conspiracy". Click on the headline above to go to Wikipedia for the full story. Here is the part about the Missouri House:

"Fifteen Republican members of the Missouri House of Representatives sponsored an amendment to the Missouri Constitution in March 2009 that would require "candidates who are required by the Constitution of the United States to be natural born citizens" to provide a birth certificate to the Missouri Secretary of State to confirm their eligibility. A certificate of live birth would not be accepted. Failure to comply would result in the candidate being deemed ineligible to stand. The only political office to be affected would be the presidency, which is the only position for which there is a specific constitutional citizenship requirement. The proposed amendment is part of a "voter's bill of rights," which would serve "as a defense against corruption, fraud, and tyranny." Political commentators interpreted the proposal as being "aimed at advancing the claims of the fringe movement that doubts President Barack Obama's eligibility to serve as president".[103][104]"

And here is the list of the sponsors from the March 3, 2008 House Journal:

INTRODUCTION OF HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
The following House Joint Resolution was read the first time and copies ordered printed:
HJR 34, introduced by Representatives Cooper, Brown (149), Stream, Lair, Schoeller, Scharnhorst,Fisher (125), Brown (30), McGhee, Bivins, Funderburk, Nieves, Ervin, Nance, Wells and Davis, relating to a voter's bill of rights.

Tweeting on Twitter in the political world

"Unbelievable." That is the only way to describe this week in Jefferson City. The House refused to accept stimulus money for Children's Health Care and talk now is that will only get worse.

Budget bill voted down on party lines

House Republicans reject Federal Stimulus Money for SCHIP

This week brought back memories of 2005 when the Legislature threw 10's of thousands of Missouri children off health care and rejected federal money that would have paid for it. The bill this week was the supplemental budget bill that is used to adjust the current years budget. It is also commonly used for policy decision such as the MOHELA student loan issue a couple of years ago. This year Governor Nixon asked for $1.9 million in the supplemental which would have brought in $5.5 million from the Federal Health Insurance Program. This would have put 2,000 children on immediately, cut premiums for 19,000 others and taken the first step to put 20,000 new children on health care.

The debate was ugly. The Republicans used every procedural device at their disposal to prevent any meaningful debate. They refused to even permit debate on most proposed amendments and were blatantly rude in their debate that they did permit. When the final vote came it split on exact party lines. Every single Republican voted against the children of the State and every single Democrat voted for them. Even the great Medicaid slashing of 2005 was not so blatant. But this time they all joined hands and refused to accept the Federal money.

To call this unbelievable is an understatement. Granted most people do not follow these issues and Republicans think they are safe if they all stick together. Still, dont you think they have to know that people will eventually see what they did? They are trying to frame it as "rejecting welfare" but it is obvious that the other states will get our dollars that are sent from the Feds for health care if we reject them. Do they think people are stupid?

Utility bills would rise to pay for Nuclear power plant in Mid Missouri

The "Construction Work in Progress" (CWIP) law says that consumers cannot be charged, in advance, for the construction of new power plants. The cost of the construction can only be included in rates after they go online. But the House Utility Committee has voted "do pass" on a bill that would do exactly that. This will be a huge issue in the coming weeks. Stay tuned. The bill is House Bill 554 here is the link.The "Construction Work in Progress" (CWIP) law says that consumers cannot be charged, in advance, for the construction of new power plants. The cost of the construction can only be included in rates after they go online. But the House Utility Committee has voted "do pass" on a bill that would do exactly that. This will be a huge issue in the coming weeks. Stay tuned. The bill is House Bill 554.  Here is the link.

Freshman Republican from Cape Girardeau wants Mo to opt out of the war on terror

Resolution to forbid Gitmo detainees from passing through Missouri debated in House.

We debated whether or not to ask the Federal Government not to bring the Guantanamo prisoners through Missouri. Now we have absolutely no power to prevent such a thing but the Republican party has decided that they do not like President Obama's decision to close the prison in Cuba

Interesting take was from another Freshman legislator who took offense at the resolution. He pointed out that the resolution was essentially saying the military cannot protect the public from the prisoners. As a veteran who had been in charge of prisoners he felt that the military was perfectly capable of security. To argue this is a matter of "public safety" as the sponsor was urging says the military cannot provide security. The Resolution will not go anywhere or ever become law but was merely a political statement by the Republicans designed to criticize Obama.

Tinfoil Hat Issue - Mo Constitution should be amended to reject Obama

Fifteen Republican House members have requested a Constitutional Amendment that would keep Obama from running for reelection in Missouri. House Joint Resolution 34 says:

"The secretary of state shall determine that each person is qualified for the office he or she seeks, according to the law, before placing his or her name on the ballot. For candidates who are required by the Constitution of the United States to be natural born citizens, the secretary of state shall request an official copy of the candidate's birth certificate. Other certifications, such as a certificate of live birth, shall not be accepted."

Obama who was born in Hawaii has a "certificate of live birth" which is what Hawaii issues under their State law. Some claim Obama is somehow therefore an illegal alien and should not be President. Fifteen Republican Members of the Missouri House have signed onto this issue.

Here is the link to House Joint Resolution 34.

Join me on Twitter.... @JohnBurnettKC

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

State Rep John Burnett