Missouri General Assembly

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Missouri General Assembly


General Information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   2 terms (8 years) in Senate, 4 terms (8 years) in House
2012 session start:   January 4, 2012
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Peter Kinder (R)
House Speaker:  Steven Tilley (R)
Majority Leader:   Tom Dempsey (R) (Senate),
Timothy Jones (R) (House)
Minority leader:   Victor Callahan (D) (Senate),
Mike Talboy (D) (House)
Structure
Members:  34 (Senate), 163 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art III, Missouri Constitution
Salary:   $35,915/year + per diem
Elections
Last Election:  November 2, 2010
17 seats (Senate)
163 seats (House)
Next election:  November 6, 2012
17 seats (Senate)
163 seats (House)
Redistricting:  Missouri Legislation Commissions have control
Meeting place:

Contents

The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of the 34-member Missouri State Senate, and the 163-member Missouri House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are subject to term limits. Senators are limited to two terms, and Representatives to four; a total of 8 years for members of both houses.

According to the Missouri Constitution, "The general assembly shall meet on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January following each general election. The general assembly may provide by law for the introduction of bills during the period between the first day of December and the first Wednesday after the first Monday of January.

The general assembly shall reconvene on the first Wednesday after the first Monday of January after adjournment at midnight on May thirtieth of the preceding year."


As a part-time legislature, compensation is low, and most senators and representatives hold jobs outside their legislative duties. Law makers are paid $31,351 per legislative year.

The General Assembly meets at the State Capitol in Jefferson City.

Sessions

Article III of the Missouri Constitution establishes when the General Assembly is to meet. Section 20 of Article III states that the General Assembly shall convene its regular session on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January of each year. Section 20 requires the General Assembly to adjourn its regular session by May 30th.

Section 20 of Article III also allows for a special session of the General Assembly to be convened by a joint proclamation of three-fourths of the members of both houses.

Pre-Filed bills may be filed in the House as early as December 1 of the year prior to the session and in the Senate as early as July 1 of the year prior to the session. [1]

2012

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

In 2012, the General Assembly will be in session from January 4 through May 30.

Major issues

The budget is expected to be the main focus of the session as the state faces a $500 million spending gap. The agenda also includes economic development, Workers Compensation reforms, and overhauling public school funding.[2]

2011

In 2011, the General Assembly was in regular session from January 5 through May 30. [3] Governor Jay Nixon called for a special legislative session for September 6, however, the session was called off when Republicans hesitated on a push to overhaul state tax credits and authorize several new incentive programs, including one for a China freight hub in St. Louis. Assembly members were sent home so that they might read the revised 219-page measure over the weekend. According to Senate President Pro Tem Robert Mayer, the "important" bill "needs the attention of every member of this body."[4]

Session highlights

Budget cuts

Lawmakers passed a $23.3 billion budget for the 2012 fiscal year in May 2011, representing a $500 million spending cut compared with the previous year. Governor Jay Nixon cut an additional $172 million through "withholds" and $30,000 using his line-item veto before signing off on the budget plan. Withholds are an exercise of the governor's veto authority, but can be restored to the budget if revenues become available.

Education and culture were the big losers in the budget plan, with state universities and community colleges absorbing an average 7 percent cut in state support, and funding completely cut for state arts, public TV and radio programs. The General Assembly itself saw its budget cut by 4.6 percent, while spending on the Missouri Housing Development Corporation housing assistance program was halved.

Still, some programs did see substantial funding increases, including school bus transportation (21 percent), two state higher education scholarships (7 percent) and aid to service providers catering to people with developmental disabilities (2 percent). A new pharmacy partnership between Missouri State University and UMKC was also instituted, receiving $2 million in funding.[5]

2010

In 2010, the General Assembly was in session from January 6th to May 14th. [6][7]

Senate

The Missouri State Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members. Each member represents an average of 176,145 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[8] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 164,565.[9] Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two years.


Party As of February 2012
     Democratic Party 8
     Republican Party 26
Total 34


House of Representatives

The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members. Each member represents an average of 36,742 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[10] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 34,326.[11]

Party As of February 2012
     Democratic Party 54
     Republican Party 105
     Independent 4
Total 163


Standing committees

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These are the yearly recurring committees that hold hearings on legislation filed by Representatives. Once filed, legislation is assigned to a specific committee by the Missouri Speaker of the House. Legislation is typically assigned to the committee whose province envelopes the subject matter of the bill. However, there are frequently multiple relevant committees to which a bill can be assigned, and it is at the Speaker's discretion to choose which committee receives the bill. Politics can also play a part, as the Speaker may assign a bill he or she wants to fail to a committee with an unfriendly chair or membership, or may select a more friendly committee if he or she wishes the bill to pass.

The partisan makeup of each committee is intended to reflect as closely as possible the partisan makeup of the entire House. Each Party caucus selects which of its members will serve on the Standing Committees, and the Chair of each committee is chosen by the Speaker of the House.

Legislators

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

As of 2011, members of the Missouri House of Representatives are paid $35,915/year. Per diem is $98.40/day tied to the federal rate. Roll call is used to verify per diem.[12]

The $35,915/year that Missouri representatives are paid as of 2011 is an increase over the $31,351 they were paid during legislative sessions in 2007. Per diem has increased from $79.20/day in 2007 to $103.20/day in 2010 and decreased to $98.40/day in 2011.[13][14]

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Missouri legislators assume office the first day of the legislative session.

General Assembly Joint Committees

There are 20 joint legislative committees in the Missouri Legislature.

Joint Committee on Legislative Research - Oversight Subcommittee

Special Committees

Special committees are new to the Missouri House. In 2007, Speaker of the House Rod Jetton disbanded several Standing Committees, which had previously been the norm in the Missouri House, and instead established the Special Committees. The subject matter of these committees is more specialized than the Standing Committees, so most of these committees have been assigned less bills on average than the Standing Committees.

Another distinction between Special and Standing Committees is that the Minority Party selects which members of its caucus will sit on Standing Committees. The membership of Special Committees, however, is decided exclusively by the Speaker of the House. The partisan breakdown of both Standing and Special Committees, however, is established by standing House Rule and is intended to closely reflect the partisan breakdown of the entire Missouri House.

External links

References

  1. ↑ Senate Rule 44 and House Rule "Bills - Pre-Filing"
  2. ↑ St. Louis Beacon, "Missouri legislature opens, with last session's issues at top of agenda," January 4, 2012
  3. ↑ 2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar, NCSL
  4. ↑ STLtoday.com, Missouri Senate puts hold on economic development bill, Sept. 9, 2011
  5. ↑ The Missouri Budget Project, "FY 2012 Budget Approved with Additional Spending Reductions," June 24, 2011.
  6. ↑ 2010 session dates for Missouri House
  7. ↑ 2010 session dates for Missouri Senate
  8. ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
  9. ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
  10. ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
  11. ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
  12. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislator Compensation Data"
  13. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislator Compensation Data"
  14. ↑ Empire Center, "Legislative Salaries Per State as of 2007"
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