Historical February 1995 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
The current session of the Missouri State Legislature opened January 4th with a partisan battle over the office of Speaker of the House. Representative Nancy Farmer, whose district includes the Skinker-DeBalivere area, fears that this partisan bickering may continue throughout the session. “I think there will be more gridlock than in past sessions,” Farmer said.
But she believes that progress can be made “in areas where there is strong bipartisan agreement such as juvenile crime, and tax limitation.” Farmer is co-sponsoring the Youth Opportunities and Violence Prevention Act with Representative Pat Dougherty, a measure which she hopes will help prevent juvenile crime.
The bill would allow organizations that serve youth at risk to receive tax credits from the state.
These tax credits would then be distributed to individuals and businesses who donate money to that organization. Farmer believes that the bill will help “foster cooperation with the private sector.” Farmer said, “I hope my colleagues will begin to focus on prevention, so that a few years from now we don’t have to build another new prison.” Farmer also hopes that this session of the legislature will bring about increased local control of the St. Louis Police Department.
A bill that would have given St. Louis total control of its police department did not pass committee during the last session of the Legislature.
This session, Farmer has co-sponsored a bill with Representative O.L. Shelton, which would return control of the police department’s budget to the city. “I am a strong advocate of local control.” Farmer said. ‘While this bill is not the whole loaf, it is a step in the right direction.” On another issue of local control, Farmer is co-sponsoring a bill that would allow municipalities to regulate outdoor advertising, such as billboards. Currently, the state regulates billboards along interstate highways. ‘The City of St. Louis, and other cities in this state, regulate most other zoning issues,” Farmer said. ‘Why should outdoor advertising be controlled by the state?’ she asked.
Another issue that Farmer believes will be popular this session is tax limitation. Farmer is wary of many of these proposals. ‘The state of Missouri is already very fiscally conservative. Article X of our state constitution, the Hancock Amendment, prevents state government from growing at a faster rate than the state’s economy.
The Legislature is required to pass a balanced budget, and the Governor already has a lineitem veto.
I believe that these measures sufficiently contain the growth of state government.” Farmer says she will research any tax limitation proposals that are introduced this session, and could support them, depending on the details of the legislation. Farmer serves on 5 committees this session: Natural and Economic Resources Appropriations, Ways and Means, Corrections and State Institutions, Government Organization and Review, and Municipal Corporations.
Her newest committee assignment is Government Organization and Review, of which she is ViceChair.
She is also Vice-Chair of the Municipal Corporations Committee, which she said, “deals with much of the legislation concerning St. Louis.” The Legislature will be in session until May 12th.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, February 1995.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1995_02.pdf, printed page(s) 3; PDF page(s) 3.
