The 2006 session of the Missouri General Assembly started out with great promise. Governor Matt Blunt identified three pieces of legislation as priorities to reduce the number of abortions in Missouri. Rather than proposing cuts to the state Medicaid and other programs for the needy, legislation was introduced to reinstate some of last year’s cuts, and the state budget for fiscal year 2007 proposed modest increases in the number of people covered. Early in the year, after the state Department of Health and Senior Services refused to expend more than half of the funds appropriated for the state Alternatives to Abortion program, the governor’s staff promised that all funds appropriated for program would be expended in fiscal year 2007, and the state budget contained an approximate 10% increase in funds for this program.

As the session progressed, however, the early promise of a productive session came unraveled. In January, Governor Matt Blunt unveiled his plan to sell some of the assets of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA), and use a large portion of the proceeds to construct life sciences buildings and laboratories on state college and university campuses. The MCC would time and time again offer amendments to legislation authorizing the sale and disbursal of the assets of MOHELA that would ensure that sale proceeds would not be used in connection with abortions or development of abortion-inducing drugs and devices, human cloning or research using tissue of destroyed human embryos or fetuses (including embryonic stem cells). Each time these amendments were offered, they were strenuously opposed by Governor Blunt’s representatives in the Capitol as well as the life sciences research community. The MCC opposed sale and distribution of the MOHELA assets without the restrictive protections, and eventually, the legislature did not enact any legislation authorizing the sale and expenditure of the proceeds.

Of the three abortion priorities identified by the governor, a bill introduced by Rep. Allen Icet (R-Wildwood) allowing contributors to crisis pregnancy centers to claim a tax credit for 50% of the value of their contributions was enacted into law. A second bill prohibiting Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from providing sex education in public schools was hotly opposed by BJC HealthCare (Barnes-Jewish-Christian), which sought to provide sex education while still performing abortions in its facilities. The public school lobby also opposed this legislation, claiming that local school authorities should make curriculum decisions. A third bill allowing health care providers to exercise rights of conscience when providing health care was twice voted out of the House Children and Families Committee, but both times was returned to committee by the House Rules Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Shannon Cooper (R-Clinton) and holds life or death power over House legislation. Therefore, it was never considered by the full House of Representatives.

Other significant abortion related legislation was given short shrift by the legislature in light of the governor’s priorities. A bill introduced by Rep. Belinda Harris (D-Hillsboro) to ensure annual funding for the state Alternatives to Abortion program was heard and voted out of committee, but never debated on the House floor. A bill that would have prohibited state funds from directly or indirectly subsidizing abortions introduced by Rep. Therese Sanders (R-Moberly) was contested by BJC HealthCare, which provides abortions in its facilities and did not want the accompanying restrictions on its financial activities while receiving state funds.

Legislation was introduced affecting state regulation and funding of life sciences. A bill was introduced by Rep. Jim Lembke (R-St. Louis County) that would have directed a portion of state funds be expended for development of umbilical cord blood banks and sources of adult stem cells for research. The bill passed the House of Representatives, but was never taken up for debate by the Senate. Another bill introduced by Rep. Belinda Harris (D-Hillsboro) would have prohibited sales of human eggs. The bill was passed out of House committee with substantial support, but never debated on the House floor. As in previous years, legislation that would have banned human cloning, although introduced in January, was not referred to committee by House Speaker Rod Jetton (R-Marble Hill) until the last day of session.

As the session progressed, anti-immigrant legislation was introduced in both the House and the Senate. This legislation barred students without appropriate visas from enrolling in state colleges and deputized the state Highway Patrol and local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws and policies. Each bill passed its respective house of origin, but after opposition from the MCC and other groups, neither bill was taken up and passed by the other house.

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Charles Portwood (R-Ballwin) would have restored Medicaid coverage for lower income disabled workers to allow them to be able to hold jobs when they might be otherwise unable to do so. The legislation passed the House, but was tied up after an amendment by the Senate to regulate Medicaid fraud by heath care providers. In the end the House would not take up the bill as amended by the Senate.

An amendment was offered by Rep. Margaret Donnelly (D-Richmond Heights) and adopted by the House Budget Committee to reestablish the state family planning program, which uses taxpayer dollars to provide contraceptives to women. In previous years, the MCC has worked to ensure that such funds are not paid to abortion providers. The MCC prepared an amendment that was adopted by the full House that eliminated state subsidization for contraceptives while ensuring that funding was provided for women’s health programs.

Legislation was introduced by Rep. Carl Bearden (R-St. Charles) in the House of Representatives to provide a tax credit for contributions made to not-for-profit scholarship funds, which would pay the costs of providing alternatives to public education in the St. Louis, Kansas City and Wellston school districts. This bill would have allowed true choice in education for school families in these failing public school districts. Debate was delayed on this legislation by House leadership for weeks, and the public school lobby conducted rallies around the state in opposition to the bill, claiming that it would lead to statewide school vouchers. In the end, the bill was not debated or voted on by the House.

Seizing the opportunity to make lemonade when given lemons, the MCC successfully sought an amendment to legislation reforming eminent domain that provided that not-for-profit organizations whose property was condemned by government authorities could receive relocation assistance as do displaced homeowners and tenants. This should provide assistance to parishes that may lose their property to condemnation, such as was the situation a few years ago when the City of St. Louis expanded its runways at Lambert Airport.

This issue of Good News contains several significant roll call votes relating to some of these issues. As you can see, debate and voting on many of these issues was completely avoided during the 2006 legislative session. Check and see how your legislators voted on these issues that affect the common good of all Missourians.