Bob Priddy of MissouriNet Adds Important Footnote to Travel Club Legislation

Missouri Legislature - Final Hours

Missouri's 2008 legislative session moved from months of stalemate to movement in the final hours.

Local Missouri Rep. Dennis broke down in tears as he described the final hours of the Missouri House to a local television station. "It was awful, 6 people holding up the democratic process but in the end the people won" creaked wood referring to the infamous village law which was pushed into action during the special economic development session last year.

The AP summed up Missouri's legislative session and the final hours yesterday. The article is posted on Branson Agent.

We tuned in live to the broadcast which was humorous, eventful and deserving of more in-depth analysis - which we hope to deliver as Branson Missouri moves into the political spotlight hosting the Republican Convention in days.....

Missouri Senate Opening Address 94th General Assembly

 

Senator Gibbons opened up the 2008 legislative session at high noon in Jefferson City.

Political pundits say nothing much will happen here this year. We owe it to the people of Missouri to prove them wrong. It is fitting that we begin in January, because this is the time of year that exudes hope and optimism.
The New Year is here, and all things are possible. We meet people every day who come here as advocates, regardless of past disappointments, who believe this is the year their issue will succeed. We owe it to the people who care so much that they travel here to share their ideas to listen to them and take action where we can. Were we elected simply to engage in political posturing? To test the wind or react to the latest poll? Or, are we here to give voice to the hopes and dreams of the people and look for those opportunities to make life better for the people we represent?

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Missouri District 64 Dennis Wood Down Time

Missouri District 62 House of Representative Dennis Wood has taught me a thing or two in my day. Wood promptly and purposely attends every community engagement possible. Though he's currently on sabbatical from correspondence with the Springfield News-Leader, his presence is certain at major public events.

From Wood I get tidbits and see him enough enough for these to translate to novels about Missouri's second most important legislative body. Wood shows up to everything and the largest complain I've heard about the man is that he'll tell you about "how he shows up for everything" - which he does.

The 14 day stretch where woods corresponded with the Gannet's Springfield News-Leader was taxing in most every way imaginable. Eventually, about the time Wood quit talking to the press, Governor Matt Blunt said he'd have to wait for the legislative session to fix it. Wood and Blunt have been in contact everyday since Lebanon resident Robert Plaster declared himself king of his village declaring independence from Stone County Commissioner's rule.

The company decided to override Stone County Commissioners objections to Plaster's development ideas on the Stone County shores of Table Rock Lake. Plaster did it through legislation and apparently Rod Jetton was the man who helped him do it.

Governor Matt Blunt made a statement which hit national newspapers via Gannet which was "It wasn't that important, I'll fix it."

Good enough for me. I'm not giving free political advice here, but if I was Wood, I'd keep saying that over and over- "Matt Blunt said he would fix it". If I was Wood I'd carry around photocopies of an apology letter from Matt Blunt and hand it out in case someone asked.

Any political error is correctable if handled with integrity.

Wood has been good to Blunt. Still, he fears what the backlash will be next session in Jefferson City.

On Taney County's proposed 90 million dollar sales tax - Proposition A - Wood says "it all comes down to how Eastern Taney County votes.

A lobbying organization has been selling the tax to Eastern Taney County residents saying the majority of a 72 million dollar cash cow will come from Branson.

If Proposition A passes it will some Branson area sales taxes will be above 11%.

The picture above is from the Presley's 40th Anniversary Celebration. I didn't think Wood attended until I looked at the photo of the Presley family and zoomed into the photo.

Missouri Senator from Columbia Democrat Chuck Graham arrested for DWI

Democrat Chuck Graham was arrested last night after crashing into a car. KOMU, a television station in Kansas City has the report:
In the probable cause statement, an officer says, "I believe that defendant poses a danger to the community or to any other person because while drunk, Graham drove his motor vehicle into the rear of another motor vehicle, thereby endangering countless innocent users of the roadway."

Police said they are treating this accident like any other, despite the high profile arrest.

"All accidents are handled the same," said Sgt. Dan Beckman of the Columbia Police Department. "I don't care who's involved in it. We're going to handle each accident the same. We're going to investigate it, find out what happened. We're going to issue the proper summonses if they need be, or we're going to make the proper arrests."

Full Story

Matt Bartle says Missouri Judicial reducing jail population

Word from Missouri Senator Matt Bartle - we have less people in jail by reducing sentences for first time non-violent offenders and 120 day shock-time sentencing.

Senate Bill 64 Inked to the Benefit of Branson Tourism Industry

Senator Goodman successfully lobbied the Missouri Legislature into passing a proposition that requires school district to hold a public meeting before starting school 10 days before labor day. We've covered this extensively but I'll rehash: the net result for Missouri tourism is millions of dollars every day schools are out of session.
School districts tend to be hardheaded about any detail requiring management of their multi-billion dollar coffers. Ironically, the Branson school district itself will have to hold a special meeting (I sincerely hope area citizens show up).
School districts tend to hold loyalty to the Jefferson City Bureaucrats before their local constituency. It's an administrative heavy industry with top down thinking. Parliament first, Teachers Second, Parents Third, Students .....
A good example of this is uber-blogger Randy Turner who is quick to post issues such as corruption and address candidate finance issues but seems to always avoid addressing the multi-billion dollar education lobbying industry. Education finance ethics is a hard issue to address but as susceptible to corruption as any other industry its size - but, less commonly reported.
Luckily, local residents are elected to school boards, slightly altering the balance of power.
The legislation made headway through the House with the help of educational proponent Maynard Wallace. A lot of work went into getting this bill passed, including funneling the initiative through the right committees. Big thumbs up to Jack Goodman and Maynard Wallace.

Senator Jack Goodman Senate Bill 64 Update - Branson - Missouri Senate

In an interview conducted by the Branson Edge Senator Goodman discussed Senate Bill 64 which is his second attempt to enact legislation aimed at discouraging early school start dates. According to Senator Goodman, administration backed by powerful education lobbyists and multitude of special interests overshadow who should have the ultimate say over how our children are educated. He states the priority should be the needs of students first, parents second, teachers third and administrators fourth - a reverse pyramid of the educational power as it stands.
Goodman anticipates the bill will graduate from the educational committee sometime over the next couple of weeks. He also anticipates a 17 day maximum clause will be removed. Under the current constructs of the bill Missouri school's wishing to start more than 10 days before the Labor Day holiday will have to hold a board meeting where parents can submit opinions to their elected school board representatives.
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Opinion/Backround/Perspective
Randy Turner, teacher, author, award winning blogger and education advocate failed to answer questions about the downside of the bill when engaged with questions several months ago. In fact, Randy, who does an excellent job of educating us about lobbying efforts consistently avoids the special interests which are so close to his heart. Though we understand not wanting to bite the lobbying hand that ensures his trough remains full, we find his "flaming" of anyone who dares challenge the dictatorial authority of highly paid bureaucrats by asking for a reasonable explanation....downright offensive.
As a result of my inability to obtain wisdom from my fellow blogger, several administrators were questioned in regards to the issue. To date, the most valid response came from an area superintendent who admitted the real issue is that “school's don't like to be told what to do.”
Branson has significant interest in the bill's passage as does the entire state of Missouri. As Senator Goodman pointed out Missouri experiences 1.5 million dollars a day in tax losses everyday school's choose to start before Labor Day. Many who live in Branson experience extreme poverty in the off-season. Though I'm inclined to support increased education funding - highly paid bureaucrat’s egotistical interests come second to ensuring my family and neighbors live without experiencing extended poverty.
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