Missouri legislative veto session: The Latest

The Missouri State Capitol.
The Missouri State Capitol.

Follow @NewsTribune on Twitter for live updates from the Missouri Legislature's veto session.

7:59 p.m.

The Senate joined the House in overriding Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill (HB 2030) that authorizes a tax deduction for 50 percent of the capital gain from the sale of employer securities to employees.

The Senate vote was 26-4.

The Senate also joined the House in overriding the governor's veto of a bill that requires the Natural Resources Department to inform municipalities of various ways to treat water.

The governor vetoed it because it changes the make-up of the Clean Water Commission from no more than two representatives of affected businesses to at least two members.

The vote was 25-5.

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7:43 p.m.

The Missouri Senate overrode Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill providing that parties in a lawsuit may introduce evidence showing the actual costs of medical care rather than the value of that care.

The vote was 24-6. The Senate originally passed by a 25-7 margin. 

It goes to the House, which passed in 95-57 earlier this year.

- Bob Watson

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7:16 p.m.

A 110-45 vote in the Missouri House of Representatives has overridden Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the medicaid bill that would require health care providers to provide estimates of all services and procedures to patients within three days of their request.

The bill also will allow health care providers to charge patients in the event they miss their second, third and any future appointments. The bill will go into effect starting inJanuary 2017. 

- Brittany Hilderbrand

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7:13 p.m.

The Senate voted 24-6 to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill that creates an income tax deduction for payments received as part of an agriculture disaster compensation program.

The bill originally passed the Senate by a 29-3 margin.

It now goes to the House, which passed it by a 97-52 margin during the regular session.

- Bob Watson

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7:00 p.m.

After a more than two-hour debate, the Missouri Senate voted 24-6 to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill making changes to the state's Concealed Carry laws.

Opponents argued the bill would make the state less safe, because it would change the current requirements that Missourians seeking to carry concealed weapons would no longer need to get fingerprints taken for background checks or take instructional classes before getting a concealed-carry permit.

The Senate had approved the measure by a 24-8 margin during the regular session.

The bill now goes to the House, which approved it by a 114-36 vote margin last spring.
 

- Bob Watson

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4:55 p.m.

State Sen. Will Kraus, who handled HB 1631 in the Senate, has released a statement applauding the General Assembly's decision to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the bill requiring photo voter ID.

"People expect integrity in their elections, yet an election seldom goes by without accusations of some type of fraud," Kraus said Kraus. "With election fraud possibly occurring in every other aspect of elections, it is hard to believe voter impersonation fraud is somehow non-existent; unfortunately, there is no real mechanism to be sure. House Bill 1631 gives our election officials a tool to help detect and prevent voter fraud."

The measure passed with a companion referendum, House Joint Resolution 53, which will be on the ballot in November. House Bill 1631 will only take effect if voters pass the referendum.

"House Bill 1631 is the culmination of nearly a decade of work on this issue in the Legislature," Kraus added. "As the cornerstone of our democratic process, protecting the integrity of our elections is of the utmost importance, and I am hopeful Missouri voters will approve the photo voter ID measure in November."

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4:50 p.m.

The state Senate has joined the House in overriding Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the photo voter ID bill.

The vote was 24-7.

Senators invoked the "previous question" in order to end the nearly two-hour debate on the bill and force a vote on it.

This law can not go into effect unless voters in November approve a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to pass an ID requirement. Voter approval is needed because the Missouri Supreme Court has previously found voter photo ID laws to be unconstitutional.

The Senate then began debating the bill that would end the state's current concealed carry law.

- Bob Watson

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4:15 p.m.

The Missouri Senate continues to debate the voter ID bill, which the House voted to override earlier in today's veto session. The Senate's voter ID debate has now spanned an hour and a half.

- Bob Watson

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4:05 p.m.

A newly enacted law will exempt Missouri livestock owners from having to pay for damage caused by wandering cattle and horses unless they were negligent.

The House voted 114-40 Wednesday to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the bill, following a 24-7 vote in the Senate.

Under previous law, livestock owners were responsible for covering the costs of any damage caused by their escaped animals.

The new law will hold them financially responsible only if they are negligent. Nixon says it wrongly shifts the repair costs to innocent people whose property gets damaged by someone else's livestock.

Sen. Mike Parson is the sponsor of the new law. He says it's not fair to make farmers pay if their animals get loose because a fence has been damaged by someone else.

- AP

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3:35 p.m.

Dance classes and karate lessons could become tax-free under a bill enacted by lawmakers over Gov. Jay Nixon's veto.

The legislation approved Wednesday adds "instructional classes" to a list of items exempt from sales taxes.

The Democratic governor had vetoed the bill because he said it could cost the state $8 million in lost taxes this year and an equal amount for local governments.

Some lawmakers dispute that estimate. An analysis by legislative research staff put the potential cost at over $100,000.

Sales tax already is charged at places of amusement and recreation.

The bill seeks to reverse the effects of a 2008 state Supreme Court ruling, which said a fitness center needed to pay taxes on fees for personal training services.

- AP

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3:06 p.m.

A bi-partisan vote of 113-42 in the Missouri House of Representatives has overridden Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of House Bill 1432. The bill would allow state employees who are granted administrative leave to be paid up to 60 days prior to having a hearing. The bill will be sent to the Senate for a two-thirds vote to complete the override.

- Brittany Hilderbrand

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2:46 p.m.

The Missouri Senate has overridden Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of Senate Bill 608, the Medicaid changes bill, by a 24-7 vote.

It originally passed 24-8, but Joe Keaveny no longer is a state senator, after he accepted an administrative law judge's appointment earlier this summer.

It originally passed the House by a 92-47 vote, short of the 109 needed to override.

The Senate is now taking up voter ID.

- Bob Watson

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2:05 p.m.

Legislation to allow big trucks to drive closer together using new technology has died in Missouri.

The Republican-led House on Wednesday voted 100-57 in favor of the bill, nine votes short of what's needed to override Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's veto.

The measure would have allowed the state Highways and Transportation Commission to create a testing program in which trucks can drive within 50 feet of each other using technology that syncs the trucks to brake or accelerate with each other.

Nixon says that could be dangerous, and isn't worth the risk to highway drivers.

The legislation also would have allowed transportation vehicles to flash red and blue lights on highways. The goal was to protect workers by signaling to other drivers to slow down, but Nixon said that's confusing.

- AP

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1:28 p.m.

The Missouri Senate has voted to override Gov. Nixon's veto of Senate Bill 844, 24-7 (needed 23), which would prevent animal owners from being held liable for damages caused by livestock that get off their property, unless the owner can be shown to be liable.

The bill originally passed 24-5, and passed the House 111-33.

- Bob Watson

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1:15 p.m.

The Missouri House has taken the first step toward overriding Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls.

The House voted 115-41 Wednesday to override the veto. That sends the measure to the Senate, where a similar two-thirds vote is needed to complete the override.

The legislation would require voters to show a photo ID starting in 2017, if a separate proposed constitutional amendment authorizing a photo ID mandate is approved on the November ballot.

Missouri's proposed requirement contains numerous exceptions. If voters swear they don't have photo IDs, they would still be allowed to vote by showing other forms of identification. The bill also requires the state to pay for photo IDs for those lacking them.

- AP

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12:53 p.m.

The Missouri Senate has voted to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of Senate Bill 1025, 29-2.

The bill would exempt instructional classes, like yoga, pilates or karate, from state sales taxes.

The bill passed the Senate 32-0 during the regular session.

It now goes to the House, which passed it 137-7 during the regular session.

- Bob Watson

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12:33 p.m.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder have released statements regarding Nasheed's "sit-in" during the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the Senate's veto session today.

"I decided to not stand for the pledge of allegiance today to stand in solidarity with the cause of injustice that Colin Kaepernick has shined a bright light upon. I am not anti-America, and in fact, it is because I love this country that I take this stand," Nasheed said. "I am doing so not because of past transgressions by America, but to call attention to current injustices here in this state and country."

Kinder called the demonstration an "occasion for great sorrow."

"The Pledge of Allegiance, like the National Anthem, is an occasion for all Americans to stand together in national unity," Kinder said. "There is no question of the senator's right to remain seated during the Pledge, but it's a question of the propriety of her action. I worry about the example she is setting, particularly for our young people. I have stood with Sen. Nasheed on issues facing the African American community, fighting alongside her to restore funding for low-income housing tax credits in St. Louis, as one example. I believe our best hope for tackling the tough issues of racial unity and economic opportunity is through the shared commitment to the principles and ideals that make America great. Standing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and for the National Anthem symbolize our unity of purpose to keep America the 'land of the free, the home of the brave, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'"

But, Nasheed said in her statement, "The pledge of allegiance and the national anthem stand not just for what America is, but for what it should be. 'Liberty and justice for all' are not just words they are our country's ideals. We must commit ourselves to honoring those principles not just by speech, but also through our actions."

Nasheed listed the "current injustices" facing Missouri and the United States as including the injustice of police brutality the refusal to mandate police body cameras; the injustice of poverty the underfunding of our public schools; the injustice of voter suppression passing voter ID laws; the injustice of not having health care not expanding Medicaid; the injustice of unlivable wages refusing to raise minimum wage and the right-to-work attack on labor; the injustice of unequal pay for women; the injustice of mass incarceration; and the injustice of economic disparity.

- News Tribune

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12:20 p.m.

Missouri lawmakers have convened to consider overriding Gov. Jay Nixon's vetoes of a high-profile guns bill and a voter photo identification requirement.

The two bills are among about 20 vetoed measures on the agenda Wednesday for lawmakers in a short session devoted to overrides.

One bill would allow most people to carry concealed guns, even if they haven't gone through training required for permits. The measure also would expand legal protections for those who use deadly force to defend themselves.

Another bill would require voters to show photo identification at the polls, if a separate proposed constitutional amendment also is adopted on the November ballot.

Veto overrides require a two-thirds vote of both chambers. Republicans hold supermajorities, so they can override the Democratic governor if they stick together.

- AP

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12:19 p.m.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, sat during the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the Senate's veto session today.

In a news release, Nasheed said she wanted to "stand in solidarity with the cause of injustice that Colin Kaepernick has shined a bright light upon."

She added: "I am not anti-America, and in fact, is is because I love this country that I take this stand."

- Bob Watson

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11 a.m.

Gun control advocates and gun rights supporters are fanning out through the Missouri Capitol, lobbying lawmakers on a bill that would allow most people to carry concealed weapons without needing permits.

Missouri lawmakers are to consider Wednesday whether to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of the high-profile legislation.

The National Rifle Association set up shop in the Rotunda between the House and Senate and dispatched scores of volunteers to talk to lawmakers in support of the legislation. The organization distributed signs saying, "NRA. Stand and Fight."

Meanwhile, about 150 people rallied with the Missouri chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Participants spoke about family members who were fatally shot, and chapter leader Becky Morgan says the group will oppose lawmakers who vote to enact the bill when they're up for election.

- AP