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DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
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This session of the Missouri Legislature wrapped up today at 6:00 in much the same way as it was conducted, with hard ball tactics by the majority and cries of foul from the minority.
After only being used a handful of times in the entire history of the Missouri Senate, the infamous "previous question" (or "PQ") motion was used twice in the last 24 hours to bring an end to debate and force a vote on two controversial bills — anti-abortion legislation and a largely irrelevant bill to make English the state's official language in all proceedings (was this ever a problem before?).
But even with the Republicans' control of both houses — not to mention the Governor's mansion — the legislature was still unable to wrap up all of its loose ends and a special session is expected to be called over the summer. UPDATE: Things got a little testy in the final hours. From Jason Rosenbaum of the Columbia Tribune:
The sour relations between Senate members of both parties were evident in remarks by Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman of St. Louis, who called the GOP leadership "punks … because I couldn’t use my other word that starts with a ‘P.’ "
Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White announced today that he will retire effective July 6, ending a week of speculation and rumors.
"I congratulate Judge Ronnie White for many years of service," said Gov. Matt Blunt in a statement. "I have certainly appreciated my opportunities to visit with him over the past few years. Melanie and I wish Judge White the very best in his retirement."
"I am committed to appointing a Missouri Supreme Court judge who will faithfully interpret our constitution and will not legislate from the bench," said Blunt.
The Missouri Senate has passed a controversial bill that greatly changes the requirements for sexual education instruction in public schools, bans organizations that provide abortion services from distributing information in school, and establishes a program called the Missouri Alternatives to Abortion Services Program
In addition, the bill controversially changes the definition of "ambulatory surgical center" in a manner that would require nearly all abortion clinics to operate surgery centers.
Senate Democrats largely opposed the bill, claiming that it would deny women not only information, but potentially access to legal abortions. Democrats continued to criticize the bill on the floor even after its passage.
Meanwhile, Gov. Matt Blunt issued a statement in support of the bill's passage.
"Missouri has again sent a strong message that we value the dignity of all human life and will continue to pass laws that will reduce the number of abortions in our state," said Blunt.
"I applaud the General Assembly for supporting my call to make the Alternatives to Abortion program permanent."
The governor specifically called out the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, saying it "should not be supplying our students with information about sexual health. This vital legislation ensures that our children get the information they need from their teachers, parents and physicians."
JEFFERSON CITY — The freshman senator who once proclaimed on campaign literature that if the Republican leadership was for something, he was probably against it, has now found more support on the other side of the aisle than his own.
State Senator Jeff Smith spent much of the night lobbying members of the State House to support his education legislation, which, among other things, implements mandatory testing for public school teachers and creates a system of voluntary merit pay to reward successful teachers who opt out of traditional tenure.
The measure passed the House as an amendment to a larger education bill with strong support from House Republicans who cut off Democrats wishing to debate the amendment.
Several St. Louis Democrats told PubDef.net that they felt betrayed by Smith, who often bills himself as a "progressive" Democrat. But Smith has found the progress of many of his proposals opposed by members of his own St. Louis delegation.
However, Smith did receive some support for his bill from some fellow St. Louisans, including State Representatives Ted Hoskins, Rodney Hubbard, Talibdin El-Amin, Tom Villa, and Fred Kratky. But it was only with strong Republican support that the amendment passed the House.
Most St. Louis area Democrats voted against the amendment, including State Reps. Jamilah Nasheed, Rachel Storch, Jeanette Mott Oxford, Mike Daus, Robin Wright Jones, and Maria Chappelle-Nadal, who was the only Democrat allowed to speak against the bill before debate was cut off. UPDATE: Though it passed the House, Smith's measure never made it to the Senate floor.
JEFFERSON CITY – Still receiving criticisms and praises alike, State Sen. John Loudon spoke with PubDef today about his passion for the controversial issue of midwifery and the fallout from his stealth legalization of the practice in Missouri.
From the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education:
At the request of Superintendent Diana Bourisaw, DESE has canceled an appeal hearing that had been scheduled for next Tuesday, May 22, regarding the accreditation status of the St. Louis Public Schools.
St. Louis school district officials intend to submit their appeal of the State Board of Education’s recent decision to de-accredit the St. Louis Public Schools in writing. In a letter sent to Dr. Bourisaw today, Commissioner of Education D. Kent King said he would allow the school district until May 28 to submit its written appeal.
The State Board of Education voted on March 22 to classify the St. Louis Public Schools as "unaccredited," effective June 15. Under state policy, the school district may appeal that decision to the commissioner of education, who will decide whether to ask the State Board of Education to reconsider its original decision.
UPDATED: The following statement is from St. Louis Public Schools:
State education officials have agreed to postpone their hearing regarding the accreditation status of the St. Louis Public School District (SLPS) at the request of Diana Bourisaw, superintendent of SLPS. The hearing had been scheduled for May 22. "The postponement will provide us the opportunity to meet with DESE staff regarding the data and formulas they used to make the determination on our accreditation status," Bourisaw said. In lieu of a public forum, the Commissioner of Education, D. Kent King, has also agreed to allow SLPS to submit evidence and testimony in writing. The Board of Education will file its appeal material on or before May 28.
JEFFERSON CITY – Mayor Francis Slay and his aides are still fighting to get the power to open more charter schools in St. Louis.
While a bill that would give the mayor to power to sponsor new charters has not moved since it was introduced earlier this year, the same language has found itself into at least two bills during these final days of the legislation.
But the out-of-town sponsors of those bills were quickly informed by St. Louis Senator and Minority Floor Leader Maida Coleman that that language would mean a fight on the senate floor — one that would likely mean death to their bills during these final hours.
While Coleman fights against the measure in the senate chamber, Slay's Education Liaison Robyn Wahby is lobbying for the measure in the halls. And to add to the fray, Byron Clemens and Ray Cummings of the St. Louis teachers union today joined the fight to kill the language.
With only hours left before the end of session, will the Mayor's hopes be thwarted, or will the charter bandwagon keep rolling?
JEFFERSON CITY – The State Board of Education voted today to sponsor a new charter school in St. Louis. This is the first time the Board has elected to sponsor a charter school itself.
The new CAN! Academy of St. Louis will be operated by the same firm that runs 15 CAN! charter schools in Texas. Its stated mission is to "provide a second chance for at-risk youth and their families to achieve economic independence and hope for a better life through relationship-based education and training."
No word yet on the location of the St. Louis school or when it is scheduled to open. UPDATE: Superintendent Bourisaw today issued the following statement regarding today's decision:
"I am very disappointed in the decision of the State Board of Education to sponsor a charter school in St. Louis. As I’ve shared with the State Board, we have several initiatives aimed at dropouts and at-risk youth that we are launching, or expanding, next school year. For example, three new Big Picture alternative schools, an expansion of our contract with a well-known dropout recovery program, and expansion of our contract with a proven credit retrieval program for dropouts. "We have already recognized the need for programs aimed at reducing the dropout rate in the St. Louis Public Schools, and we have responded."
One of the earliest supporters of Public Defender, the newspaper and precursor to PubDef.net, was Marti Frumhoff. Her excitement, enthusiasm, and support in those early days helped keep that short-lived and underfunded venture going for as long as it did.
But those who knew Marti know that her support for such underdog efforts was a staple of her personality and her effort to help rebuild this city which she loved. She will be missed.
Education and school quality are two of the most talked about issues in St. Louis these days, especially in the wake of the Show-Me Institute's somewhat controversial poll, released May 7, concerning school vouchers in Missouri.
In related news, six St. Louis High Schools announced today that they will seek independent accreditation with the North Central Association – Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA). The applying schools are Beaumont, Carnahan, Clyde C. Miller Career Academy, Gateway I.T., Northwest Transportation and Law Academy, and Vashon.
“NCA accreditation is recognized across state lines, which not only eases the transfer process as students move from accredited school to accredited school, but also assures parents that the school is meeting regionally and nationally accepted standards for quality and successful professional practice... This is the accreditation standard that most colleges and universities rely upon when admitting students," said SLPS Superintendant Diana Bourisaw, in a statement released to the press.
Six other St. Louis High Schools are already accredited with the NCA: Central VPA, Cleveland @ Pruitt NJROTC, Metro, Roosevelt, Soldan, and Sumner.
St. Louis University Administrators have reached a compromise agreement with student staff and editors of the University News concerning the newspaper's charter.
Earlier this month, PubDef reported on efforts by the SLU administration to replace the paper's existing charter with a new version.
Students objected to the first proposed revision of the charter because it would have given university officials the power to appoint the paper's editor. Students argued that this power of appointment would prevent the paper from maintaining an independent editorial position.
In the compromise agreement, the student staff of the paper retain the ability to elect the paper's editor. However, this candidate will now be subject to ratification by the school's Office of Student Development, giving the administration a degree of oversight.
The St. Louis Schools Watch newsletter reports that St. Louis Public Schools Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Support, Mulugheta Teferi, has resigned.
According to the Watch, Teferi has been hired by DESE for a role in the Wellston School District, which continues to be operated by the state.
In other news... The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this week to rename the University City Post Office after former Missouri Lieutenant Gov. Harriett Woods, who passed away earlier this year.
H.R. 1617, introduced by St. Louis Congressman Russ Carnahan, would name the post office located at 561 Kingsland Avenue "The Harriett F. Woods Post Office Building." According to a release from Carnahan's office, the location was chosen due to the fact that Woods began her political career in University City and it was the post office that served Woods for nearly 50 years.
As a further testament to Woods' legacy, said Carnahan, H.R. 1617 was cosponsored by 74 Representatives, including nearly every female Member of Congress from both sides of the aisle and the Missouri delegation.
The latest bill in Missouri's war on drugs would make distributing controlled substances in a park a specifically defined offense, punishable by up to life in prison.
Senate Bill 107, sponsored by Senator Yvonne Wilson, would create a specific crime entitled "distribution of a controlled substance near a park." Such unlawful distribution or delivery either on, in, or within 2,000 feet of a public or private park would become punishable as a class A felony.
According to the Missouri Attorney General's Office website, a class A felony is punishable by a sentence of 10-30 years or life in prison. For comparison, other class A felonies are crimes such as second-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
Critics of the bill find the level of punishment startling for such a broadly defined crime. In addition, they say the bill does not directly combat drug dealing, but merely pushes it out of parks and into other locations.
The right to defend your home with lethal force is an established part of Missouri law. This term, however, some lawmakers are seeking to extend the authorization of defensive lethal force to cover Missouri's drivers as well.
There are two similar bills in the legislature right now that address this issue, Senate Bill 62 (sponsored by Sen. Jack Goodman)and House Bill 189 (sponsored by State Rep. Kenny Jones). Both bills authorize the use of deadly force against intruders into a home, residence, or motor vehicle.
The bills also provide exemptions to the "intruder" definition for persons removing their children, persons that have a right to be on the property, and law enforcement personnel.
Most lawmakers PubDef spoke to seemed fairly comfortable with the bills. "It's basically a minor extension of the existing law," said Sen. Jeff Smith.
The bills' sponsors could not be reached for comment, as they were in session.
Sources in the Missouri State Senate have told PubDef that the President Pro Tem of the Senate, Michael Gibbons, has relieved Senator John Loudon of his position as Chair of the Senate Small Business, Insurance, and Industrial Relations Committee following his deceitful actions on the Senate floor last Thursday.
See PubDef's story on Loudon earlier today for background information.
Heard "Loudon Clear": Senator Lies! [Updated with Audio]
By Dan Martin
A slick move by a Republican senator to pass his controversial legislation while even members of his own party weren't paying attention has left many of his colleagues red-faced and further harmed the integrity of the body.
Last Thursday, the Missouri Senate and House voted on House Bill 818, a fairly ordinary document dealing with Health Insurance and Tax Credits. The bill had come back from committee recently, and the bill's handler in the Senate, West County Senator John Loudon, assured his fellow senators that the bill had only minor technical changes from its previous versions. The bill was quickly approved.
What his colleagues soon discovered, however, was that there had been changes to the bill that were neither minor nor technical.
Loudon, who in his failed bid for State Auditor last year billed himself as the honest "Taxpayers' Watchdog", had secretly slipped language from his own failed legislation, Senate Bill 303, into the document and lied to his colleagues about it.
Senate Bill 303 would have made major changes to laws regarding the practice of midwifery in Missouri, and was called by one senator "one of the most controversial bills of the session."
Between a section specifying dislaimers for informational documents on health insurance and a section renaming earlier sections of earlier legislation, Loudon slipped in the following language:
"Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who holds current ministerial or tocological certification by an organization accredited by the National Organization for Competency Assurance may provide services as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1396 r-6(b) (4) (E) (ii) (I)."
What is tocological certification? Well, "tocology" is the medical term for the practice of midwifery.
Senate and House colleagues have expressed degrees of disapproval with Loudon's deceit. "I'm really disappointed in the way this happened," said State Sen. Jeff Smith.
"This body operates on trust... there's clearly no way we can read over 2,000 bills word for word, and so when a Senator announces that his bill only has some minor technical changes, we all trust that," said Smith.
State Rep. Rachel Storch told PubDef that she voted against the measure in the House precisely because of the speed with which it was being pushed.
"They had added so many provisions and [State Rep.] Doug Ervin, who was handling the bill on the House floor, was not giving us time to discern the new language," said Storch.
Smith also indicated that Loudon's actions may very well impact the Senator's ability to pass future legislation, as many of his colleagues have been expressing a reluctance to work with Senator Loudon in the future.
"All we have is our word," said Smith.
UPDATE: Now really hear it "Loudon Clear". Click here to listen to the actual floor debate (link via nikkisimmons.com).
This week, PubDef.net turns its eye towards the State Legislature. In the final days of the 2007 session, all the rhetoric and flowery phrases begin to fall to the ground and the true character of Missouri's 94th General Assembly reveals itself — and we'll be there to snap the picture!
Stay with us this week as we bring you stories, interviews, photos, and videos of what our state senators and state reps are doing, and what the consequences will be.
