Less is more with this legislature

By NewsPress Now

Heading into this year’s legislative session, it might be worth examining one of the Missouri General Assembly’s accomplishments in 2023.

A law prohibiting texting while driving took effect on Aug. 28. This measure replaced the previous law that was limited to drivers under the age of 21, a piece of legislative nonsense suggesting that texting was somehow less dangerous when an older motorist was behind the wheel.

So when the Siddens Bening Hands-Free Law went into effect, Missouri became the 49th state to impose a ban for all drivers, regardless of age. It’s not the first time Missouri has come in 49th or 50th in bringing legislation across the finish line. It took years to pass prescription drug monitoring and a tax on the online sale of retail goods.

Many will point to this glacial pace of action as a sign of the Show-Me State’s stubbornness or legislative dysfunction. A strong case can be made on both points, especially in the Senate, but a weary electorate should consider the opposing viewpoint.

It’s better to let bad bills die than to let them pass. A good measure of legislative success isn’t just the number of bills headed to the governor’s desk but the passage of measures that actually improve the lives of Missourians, protect the state’s most vulnerable citizens or move the state’s economy forward.

There is little chance of this happening because of two realities in 2024. The first is the election, not the one in November but the August primary. The threat of a challenge from the far left or the extreme right will temp more than a few lawmakers to grandstand or bog the process down on issues with no real chance of passage.

The second limiting factor involves money. Despite their political differences, Democrats and Republicans seem to agree that it makes for good politics to send loads of dollars back to the district.

An unprecedented amount of federal money allowed lawmakers to approve a record $51 billion budget in 2023. As any family knows, the really good fights are about money. Missouri will have plenty of that in 2024 as billions of dollars in federal stimulus dries up, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for voters who expect fiscal discipline. Lawmakers will have no other option in 2024.

Just across the river in Northwest Missouri, Nebraska is known for its unique one-chamber legislature. But Nebraska has another feature that’s lacking in Missouri. Its unicameral is allowed to bring up carryover bills much where they left off in the previous odd-numbered year.

No such provision exists in Missouri, where the session started with a clean slate on Wednesday. That’s for the best given the way that bills get loaded up with amendments and poison pills during the four-month process every year.

Let’s judge the legislature not on quantity but quality. If an issue like sports gambling fails to pass, take solace in the knowledge that it could be worse.

It could have passed with an oddball amendment like in Missouri’s previous attempts at a ban on texting while driving.