Parson vetoes bill with local implications

Mike Parson: Bill contained too many subjects that deflected from original purpose.

Ken McClure says he's disappointed by the veto.

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Gov. Mike Parson vetoed a bill that had local implications for the creation of community improvement districts and potential taxes benefiting tourism and early childhood education.

Parson said in his veto letter yesterday that he could not sign House Bill 1854 and its Senate substitute because multiple subjects were added that are not consistent with the original purpose. The bill originally was presented to eliminate outstanding penalties and fees for political subdivisions that are delinquent in filing financial disclosure statements, Parson said.

He said the bill containing 37 subjects violated Missouri Constitution rules on bills with single subjects.

"The constitutional requirement that a bill maintain its original purpose was intended to guard against hasty legislation and afford legislators and the public an opportunity to fairly consider and comment on a bill's provisions and amendments," Parson wrote in the letter.

Among its provisions, the bill would have required a vote of a municipality for CIDs beginning Aug. 28, rather than a vote by those in the district area. The bill came up at Springfield City Council's July 13 meeting, as members heard three new CID proposals.

In a statement, Springfield Mayor Ken McClure said the bill also would have allowed for ballot issues on a new lodging tax for tourism purposes and a tax supporting early childhood education.

"We are disappointed that Gov. Mike Parson found it necessary to veto House Bill 1854 for reasons unrelated to the city of Springfield," McClure said in the statement. "We would like to commend Sen. Lincoln Hough, Rep. Craig Fishel and the entire Greene County legislative delegation for their tireless work on these important priorities for Springfield.

"We pledge to continue working to make these a reality."

In his veto letter, Parson said he would "look forward to working with the General Assembly" on future provisions related to early childhood education and property tax reforms.