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Interim committee heads talk big tasks before next session

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — While the legislative session may be only a few short winter and spring months, the work of lawmaking doesn’t ever stop for those Senators and Representatives chosen to work on interim committees.

In the House, interim committees have been called for election procedures, agricultural issues and government responsiveness. But the most widely publicized House interim committees: those dealing with Medicaid transformation and public education, have been tasked with specific duties.

Republican Rep. Steve Cookson of Poplar Bluff said his education committee is responsible for writing a report and filing legislation to deal with public education priorities before the regular session begins.

Rep. Steve Cookson
Rep. Steve Cookson

“So many bills come through education every session that we don’t always get a chance to take the time we need to really get into the big issues,” Cookson, who also chairs the regular House Committee on Primary and Secondary Education, said

Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, is the chairman for one of two interim groups called to handle the task of Medicaid reform, transformation or expansion — depending who you’re talking to. Rep. Noel Torpey, R-Independence, is chair of the citizen’s commission on the Medicaid issue, which has over 50 members and is conducting hearings across the state.

Barnes will be tasked with leading a committee to draft legislation in response to the report Torpey and his committee will be required to submit in September.

The Senate has two non-joint interim committees. One dealing with Medicaid and another handling “capital improvement assessment and planning.” David Pearce, R-Johnson County, is chairman for the latter.

“For a committee like mine, we want to go see these 6,600 buildings across Missouri that the state government owns,” Pearce said. “We don’t have time to really pound the pavement, go to a site, take the time we need, during the 18 weeks or so of regular session. You need this off time to really put the work in.”

Pearce said the biggest challenge to leading an interim committee is scheduling. Many lawmakers that are not retired have full-time jobs when they aren’t legislating. Furthermore, bringing folks in form all different parts of the state can be tricky

Sen. David Pearce
Sen. David Pearce

“Our job is to focus on the cause of a problem, not necessarily on a piece of legislation which might be the solution,” Pearce said. “Focusing on the solution is what we do during the legislative session.”

Both Cookson and Pearce said that, more important than accomplishing the task of filing a report, was having a report that there was a large consensus on.

“I’d like to get five or six (out of seven) signatures on my report for this committee, ideally,” Pearce said. “You know everybody maybe doesn’t agree, but we should all have the time to discuss things and work out our issues and compromise so we have a report that is the best product we could get.”

Cookson said his committee is comprised entirely of representatives who requested membership, and that his position as chair of the regular House education committee placed him in a good position to follow up on whatever his interim committee produces.

“I’ve got plenty of ideas from my time as Chairman,” Cookson said. “But part of the point of doing this during the off time is to let all these other people and departments and legislators and citizens come and tell us their ideas, because you don’t always get the time to do that, and it can be helpful in how you make the law.”

Cookson, who said he was personally asked by House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, to be prepared to draft and pre-file education legislation once his committee had done its work, said he wanted a consensus and he wanted to make sure everyone felt represented.

Cookson said he has a personal mission during the interim for himself and his 21-member committee.

“I want to do more listening than talking,” Cookson said. “That’s kind of my mission.”