Veto Session 2003 - The Making of History

Commentary by Kerry K. Messer,

President of Missouri Family Network

 

            Since Missouri became a state, hundreds of thousands of pieces of legislation have been proposed by state legislators with tens of thousands of those bills becoming law. The number of bills passed by both houses, which were vetoed by governors during our statehood, numbers in the hundreds. In the history of Missouri only seven vetoed bills have been overridden by a two-thirds vote of both houses; a situation which does not bode well for a sitting governor in light of the fact that a large portion of his own party must vote against him in order to successfully override a veto.

            In September, Missouri’s 53rd governor, Bob Holden, currently serving in the third year of his first eligible term in office, secured his place in state history by becoming the first and only governor of Missouri to have not one, not two, but three of his vetoes overridden in a single session.

            Under guidelines established by the authority of the Missouri State Constitution only the legislative branch of state government may adopt laws through an open public legislative process.  Within the checks and balances of our state constitution, the judiciary has no right to interrupt or enjoin these proceedings.  The courts may only prohibit enforcement of laws adopted by the legislature if it is deemed that such statutes exceed constitutional limits.  On the other hand, the executive branch, which cannot legislate nor pronounce judicial decisions, has the final arbitrary authority to veto any new legislation bearing the weight of law (certain nonbinding resolutions notwithstanding) which does not require adoption by popular public vote.

            Having established these, and other, cross checks and balances, our state forefathers also put into the constitution a requirement for the legislature to annually convene, for up to ten days if necessary, to consider overriding any gubernatorial vetoes from that year.  To enact legislation over the objection of a governor’s veto is very difficult.  It takes a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate to override.  Issues at hand are pushed aside as pure partisan politics take over.  Party members side with or against the sitting governor in order to preserve the credibility of their political affiliations.  Politicians then go home and play hero for having voted for or against the measure during the regular legislative session leading up to the veto.

            Since 1821 Missouri has seen over a hundred non-eventful veto sessions.  There have been a fair number of politically charged veto sessions where tempers and tensions were stretched.  There have also been some highly publicized sessions with a packed capitol building and front page headlines.  But in the end, seven, only seven vetoed bills have ever been approved by the legislature despite a disapproving veto of a sitting governor.  (Only three of which have occurred since the Civil War!)

            But this was before Governor Bob Holden started looking for a way to pull off a political coup in an attempt to endear himself to voters for the upcoming 2004 election cycle.

            Allow me to digress for perspective.

            When first elected as Governor in 2000, Holden’s victory was a coattail ride into office.  Former Governor Mel Carnahan (D) had just died in a plane crash while running for U.S. Senate against former Governor John Ashcroft (R).  The results of the tragedy was a suspension of Republican campaigning, while the Democrat party enjoyed millions of dollars of free advertising from the media. The emotional election symbolically handed the U.S. Senate seat to the deceased Carnahan and allowed Holden to narrowly ride the coattails of Carnahan’s pallbearers into the governor’s office.  (Two years later in 2002, Holden’s gubernatorial opponent, former Republican Congressman, Jim Talent, defeated Mrs. Jean Carnahan for U.S. Senate after she had been appointed by the stand-in Democrat Governor, Roger Wilson, to fill her deceased husband’s vacancy in the U.S. Senate.)

            Few independent political observers would disagree that without the death of former Governor Carnahan, Bob Holden would not be Governor of Missouri.

            Facing his unlikely reelection to a second four year term, Holden and his staff have, for quite some time, been well aware of his unpopular status with grassroots voters—even within his own Democrat party.  Following a long string of poor political decisions (starting with his inaugural ball fiasco) and desperate to salvage his political future, Holden engaged in a series of reckless political maneuvers—the most recent being the vetoing of as many politically popular bills as he could.

            One can only guess what his motives were. Perhaps he was trying to prove to Missourians that he really did possess a politically spunky personality. Maybe he thought that by vetoing so many bills voters would see him as a courageous defender of his issues and perhaps they could be persuaded to reelect him despite his plummeting popularity. Whatever was behind his reasoning this strategy was a dismal failure. After invoking a record number of vetoes, the bills he chose to kill turned out to be among the most popular issues with Missouri’s citizenry.

            Thirty vetoes – plus repeated additional vetoes of the new year’s state budget – set a record for Missouri political history writers. This included not one, not two, but three separate calls from Governor Holden for special sessions to pressure the legislature to raise taxes and expand gambling.  The budget vetoes strained the annual budget year clock and threatened to shut down state government.  By creating these crises over otherwise petty differences with legislative leaders, Holden not only wasted state resources but alienated his own supporters as well.

            Holden’s veto pen red inked major bills overwhelmingly supported by both Republicans and Democrats.  He surprised even his own defenders with the scope of his ‘strategic’ slashing.  Not only pro-life measures and bills supportive of the Second Amendment, the Governor vetoed some bills just to cover-up his motives on others! Vetoes laid to rest bills to reform unaccountable government (run-a-muck Department of Family Services (DFS) agencies and the state’s beleaguered Department of Transportation), economic health, stabilization and development, bills in areas of tort reform, small business, funds for unemployment, and agriculture. Holden even vetoed bills he himself had requested the legislature to pass!

 

Vetoed Bills among those NOT Overridden 

 

            The following are just a few of the many pieces of legislation which Governor Holden was successful in killing with his veto pen.

 

Senate Bill 280, the Job Creation and Healthcare Act, also known as the tort reform bill, focused on stopping fraud and abuse in Missouri’s legal system. Legitimately injured parties would still receive fair access to the courts. However, the act could have put an end to frivolous and expensive lawsuits plaguing our legal system, a number of which have forced many doctors to close their practices. SB 280 offered relief to the medical crisis we now have because of these lawsuits, benefiting businesses, jobs and our state budget. 

Senate Bill 69 would have created the Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board to serve as a liaison between state agencies and small businesses. This act would have required state agencies to prepare a small business impact statement when proposing new rules affecting small businesses.  SB 69 would have helped small business owners struggling to survive burdensome bureaucratic rules and regulations, and encourage the growth of small businesses in Missouri. It would have brought accountability to state agencies and encouraged economic development by establishing a small business friendly climate in Missouri.

 

Senate Bill 199 would have required criminals to help pay part of the cost of local law enforcement.  Judges would have been able to issue fines to first-time, non-violent offenders as a condition of their parole.  This crime fighting tool was once a common practice and could have served to help fund such efforts as the war on methamphetamines. The reduction in local funding options for law enforcement has placed sheriff and police departments at the mercy, and under more control, of state and federal sources of funding.  On top of obvious financial benefits, SB 199 could have provided stronger local control of law enforcement – where it belongs.

 

House Bill 679 would have reformed Missouri’s foster care system from the moment a call came into the hotline through the reunification of a family or permanent placement of a child.  Dubbed the Department of Family Services (DFS) Foster Care Reform Act, it included the Dominic James Memorial Foster Care Reform Act of 2003, named after one of the more highly publicized cases of a child being killed while under state ‘care.’  HB 679 placed higher priorities on sustaining family units and created penalties for state employed ‘advocates’ who all too often place children in harms way by violating their own guidelines. Additionally, the bill prohibited DFS or school officials from performing strip searches on students without written permission of a parent or guardian.  Juvenile officers would have been restricted from knowingly harassing home schooled students as public school truancies and would have required DFS to annually identify and account for ALL children in DFS’s custody receiving foster care services.

 

House Bill 327 was a total transportation package including provisions to suspend any commercial driving privileges for first time convictions of driving under the influence of alcohol or other controlled drugs.  The legislation prohibited offenders from being eligible for a suspended imposition of sentence when charged with alcohol-related incidents.  HB 327 contained several measures addressing the state’s beleaguered Department of Transportation and its ongoing problems.  The bill even addressed private property rights by requiring the Highways and Transportation Commission to use honest calculations of property values and lost assets when taking private property by eminent domain.

 

Three Historic Veto Overrides 

 

            As mentioned earlier, Governor Holden now holds the record as being the only Governor in the history of the State of Missouri to have three of his vetoes overridden in one legislative session. The following are the descriptions of the three overridden vetoed bills which now become law.

 

Veto Override #1: HB 156 prohibits any abortion unless the woman seeking the procedure has had at least a 24 hour waiting period from her initial visit to arrange it.  There must be a detailed medical consultation between the woman and the abortionist, which provides specific details to the woman.  This conference on the risks associated with an abortion must be verified as occurring not less than 24 hours in advance of the abortion and that the procedure is in compliance with detailed informed consent requirements.  This new law now gives women the opportunity to face more of the true facts of abortion before it is too late.

            As with many other choices in life, folks often regret making snap decisions. Most retailers regularly accommodate patron remorse.  In fact, by law, there are even grace periods which enable people to change their minds about major purchases such as a home or a used car. Even a lot of elective surgery is reversible. An abortion however, is permanent.  Nothing can be done to undo the finality of an abortion.

            The universal practice of pressuring women to have an abortion the very first time they enter an abortion facility is a deliberate tactic to make money.  Abortion promoters know they will never have to give any money back to a woman. Now, once a woman enters an abortion facility, consults with the abortion provider(s) face to face, and begins the formal steps to have an abortion the next day – they will have a 24 hour window of opportunity to reflect on the gravity of their decision without the overt professional pressure of an abortion ‘counselor’. This 24 hour standard is expected to greatly reduce the number of abortions in Missouri.

            HB 156 also requires minimal medical malpractice insurance coverage for anyone performing an abortion in Missouri.

 

 Veto Override #2: House Bill 349, the citizen’s right to personal protection, makes Missouri the 45th state to allow law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed firearm. [Editors note: Missouri is the 35th state with ”shall issue” type legislation and nine others have ”may issue” laws. One other state allows any non-criminal citizen to carry concealed without any permit required.]  

            Since 1991, the year when Missouri officially started debating this proposal, sixteen states have taken up and passed similar conceal and carry legislation.  To date not one state is moving to repeal any concealed carry law and arbitrary violent crime is down in these states.

             Missourians will shortly have a legal ability to protect themselves when they are placed in life-threatening situations.  Permits costing $100 will be valid for a period of three years if not otherwise revoked for any one of a myriad of reasons.  To qualify for a concealed carry endorsement, individuals must:

* Be at least 23 years of age; a U.S. and Missouri State citizen;

* Not have been found guilty of a felony;

* Have a clean record, for at least five years, of any crime involving violence, alcohol-related   driving offenses or possession of a controlled substance;

* Not be a fugitive from justice;

* Not be currently charged with a felony;

* Not be dishonorably discharged from the armed forces;

* Comply with training requirements established by the bill;

* Not have a documented pattern of behavior that causes the sheriff to have a reasonable belief that the individual presents a danger to himself, herself, or others;

* Not found mentally incompetent or released from a mental health facility for five years prior to the application;

* Not be the respondent in a valid full order of protection;

* Be fully fingerprinted, and;

* Clear a criminal background check by the state and the FBI.

            Applicants for a concealed carry endorsement must complete a full firearms safety course provided by a certified instructor, which includes classroom work and live firing exercises.   Sheriffs must perform complete criminal background checks before issuing a certificate of qualification.  They must also keep records of all applications and report the issuance of all certificates of qualification to the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System.  A permit holder must notify the Department of Revenue within 30 days of any change in their name or address.  Sheriffs can deny an application if there is reason to believe an individual has lied on the application.  False statements will constitute perjury, a class D felony.

            Limitations and prohibited places include: polling places; correctional facilities; courthouses; airports; bars; hospitals; stadiums; amusement parks; anyplace where otherwise prohibited by federal law; police stations, schools, child care facilities, gambling facilities, and churches (without explicit consent); the meeting place of any elected officials; any private property where the owner has posted that the premises are off-limits to concealed firearms; and the bill also allows governmental units to limit concealed firearms in their public buildings.

            Media misinformation is swirling about the details of HB 349.  First, it does go into law thirty (30) days after the veto override, plus a few days for a weekend and a state holiday - (October 14, 2003).  Second, is that permit holders from other states are now legal in Missouri as in most other states.  Third, open car carry was already legal in most areas of the state but not concealed car carry.  Legally possessed “concealable” firearms (rifles and shotguns excluded), loaded yet hidden in an automobile are now legal with or without a permit to carry on one’s person.  This is how crooks and violent offenders operate – except they do not possess “legally.”  Any illegal possession of a concealable firearm is not protected under this new law.  Finally, the bill increases the penalty for possessing a firearm while intoxicated.

 

Veto Override #3: Senate Bill 13 stops harassment lawsuits against gun and ammunition makers.  The bill says the lawful design, marketing, manufacture, distribution or sale of firearms or legitimate ammunition is not an abnormally dangerous activity and does not constitute a public nuisance.  This prohibits political subdivisions, as well as the state from instituting a lawsuit against any firearms or ammunition manufacturer relating to design, marketing, manufacture, distribution or sale to the public.  The act does allow for actions regarding breach of contract or warranty for firearms or ammunition purchased by a state or political subdivision.

             Any other judicial action could be initiated if a political subdivision or government agency first asks for authorization from the state legislature.  This measure applies to any current lawsuit in progress as well as in the future.  However, nothing in this bill restricts the rights of individual citizens to go to court to ask for or recover damages from any injury or death caused by the negligent or defective design or manufacture of firearms or ammunition.

Additionally, nothing in SB 13 shall prevent the state, a county, city, town, village or any other political subdivision from bringing an action against a firearms or ammunition manufacturer or dealer for breach of contract or warranty as to firearms or ammunition purchased by the state or such political subdivision.