THE EGGLESTON REPORT – HALFTIME

By the time you read this, the Missouri legislature will be on its spring break.  Regular session is between early January and mid-May, with a one-week break about halfway through.  Most members will spend that time at home with family, meeting with constituents, and just decompressing from the high-pressure atmosphere of the capitol.

While there is nothing special about the halfway point, it is a good indicator of whether a bill may pass if it has made it through either the House or Senate, or if it may fail because it has not and will likely run out of time.  So I thought I would offer you some stats on the progress of the legislature’s bills this session.

In the House, this year our members filed 1537 bills.  There is no way we have time to address that many bills in one session, so there is a referral and committee process to separate the grain from the chaff, so to speak.  This process can also amend bills to make them better and more passable.  So far, 320 of those bills have passed through a committee (usually about 12 members are on a committee), and 64 of those have received a successful vote in the full House.

This year, I filed 11 bills, with six making it through committee.  Two of those (HB1083 & HB554) were passed by the House and sent to the Senate, and the other four are teed up for consideration when we return from break.  That’s actually a pretty successful percentage, and I am pleased with how the session is going.

On the Senate side, 677 bills were filed, 82 have passed committee, and 22 have been perfected by the whole Senate.  Bills that have completed their journey in the House will now move over to the Senate for consideration there, and vice versa.  If the opposite chamber approves a bill as is, it goes to the governor for him to sign into law.  If the opposite chamber amends a bill, it then goes back to the original chamber for reconsideration.  Once both chambers have approved the exact same language, it goes to the governor’s desk for him to either sign or veto.

Until next time, health, happiness and prosperity to you and your family.