Rep. Mike Colona update
By Cara | March 30, 2010
Greetings!
I’d like to thank the voters of the 67th District-City of St. Louis for electing me as your Representative. We are in full swing in this Second Regular Session of the 95th General Assembly. This week’s focus was Appropriation Bills. This was exceptionally difficult because our state, like all states, has many budgetary obstacles to overcome.
I pay for this newsletter from my own funds, so I can feel free to express my political opinions. Please call or e-mail me with your thoughts on improving this newsletter or any issues or concerns.
In This Issue
House Eliminates Education Icrease From Budget
Court Narrows Scope Of Medical Malpractice Cap
Kinder Seeks To Join Federal Health Care Challenge
Governor Floats Plan To Cut Tax Credits In Half
House Eliminates Education Increase From Budget
The Missouri House of Representatives on March 23 voted 80-68 to strip a $105 million funding increase for public schools from the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The action came on a near-party-line vote with most Republicans in favor of eliminating the funding and most Democrats opposed.
When he proposed his FY 2011 budget in January, Gov. Jay Nixon requested an $18 million increase in the formula for distributing state aid to local schools. Although a boost from current funding, the governor’s recommendation was $87 million short of what is deemed full funding of the formula for next year. In a surprise move, House Budget Committee Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, included the full $105 million when he brought the education appropriations bill before the committee despite not offsetting the increase with reductions elsewhere. The removal of the additional $105 million by the House would keep formula spending at current levels.
The House voted to send to the Senate the 13 appropriations bills that make up the $23.6 billion FY 2011 state budget on March 24. Because the FY 2011 revenue estimate recently was revised downward, lawmakers cut $224 million from the governor’s proposal to help put budget in balance. Although the House budget includes $300 million in federal funds the state expects to receive, Nixon wants to hold that money in reserve for FY 2012, which budget officials anticipate will be even more difficult.
Court Narrows Scope Of Medical Malpractice Cap
The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled on March 23 that a 2005 law lowering the caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits cannot be applied to cases in which the alleged malpractice occurred prior to the effective date of the law. The plaintiffs in the case also challenged the constitutionality of the damage caps, but the court didn’t reach those claims, leaving those issues to be decided in a future lawsuit.
As a part of HB 393 in 2005, the General Assembly lowered the cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases from $579,000 to $350,000 and imposed a single cap per incident. Previously each plaintiff was subject to a separate cap. Noneconomic damages compensate victims for things such as pain and suffering.
In this case, Klotz v. St. Anthony’s Medical Center,a husband and wife won a medical malpractice lawsuit over an incident that occurred in 2004. In addition to economic damages, the jury awarded non-economic damages of $760,000 to the husband and $329,000 to the wife. Although the injury took place more than a year before the lower cap took effect, the case was filed afterward. As a result, the trial judge reduced the husband’s non-economic damages to $350,000 and eliminated the wife’s damages.
The Supreme Court ruled that applying the lower cap and applying a single cap to both plaintiffs in this case would violate the Missouri Constitution’s prohibition against laws retrospective in operation. The court ordered the trial court to grant the plaintiffs the full noneconomic damages awarded by the jury.
In a concurring opinion, Judge Michael Wolff agreed with the principal opinion as far as it went but said the court should have found that statutory caps on damages violate the constitutional right to trial by jury since such caps overrule a jury’s determination of factual issues. In a second concurring, Judge Richard Teitelman said the court also should have found that the caps violate the Missouri Constitution’s equal protection clause.
Kinder Seeks To Join Federal Health Care Challenge
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder on March 23 said he will seek to join a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general in 13 states challenging the constitutionality of landmark health care legislation signed into law by President Barrack Obama. However, only Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has the legal authority to sue on behalf of the state. Koster, a Democrat, has not joined the lawsuit.
Kinder, a Republican, asserted legal standing based on his status as a constitutional officer of the state and Missouri’s official senior advocate. A spokeswoman for Koster’s office told The Associated Press that Kinder can join the lawsuit in his personal capacity but that it was unlikely the attorney general would represent him. Constitutional experts have said the lawsuit has little chance of success.
Governor Floats Plan To Cut Tax Credits In Half
Gov. Jay Nixon’s administration is proposing a radical overhaul of Missouri’s system of tax credits in order cut the amount of revenue the state forgoes from them each year from about $600 million to around $300 million. The state’s continuing budget problems has prompted calls to review Missouri’s 60-plus tax credit programs and eliminate those that fail to produce an adequate rate of return for the state.
Missouri Department of Economic Development Director David Kerr outlined the plan to a group of senators working on budget solutions on March 23. The plan includes consolidating the existing programs and capping those programs at $314 million annually combined to provide more predictability on how credits in impact the budget each year. All credits would be placed under the direction of the economic department, which would have some discretion to further limit issuing credits when revenue collections are down.
It is an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of the 67th District in the House of Representatives. If you have any issue or concern, please don’t hesitate to contact me and feel free to forward this update to friends, family, and colleagues. Working together with your opinions and input will help me be a better legislator for our community.
Sincerely,
Mike Colona
Missouri House of Representative
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