The senate got underway last week in almost normal fashion with a filibuster from the democrats over the banning of critical race theory. You would have thought it was 2007 or something.
Last night the senate went about the normal process of laying over controversial bills and taking up non controversial legislation.
They started with laying over the charter expansion bill and another dealing with getting charter schools paid Morey then rolled through several bills including something about paying for things with gold pieces from Senator Eigel, and paying state employees every two weeks by Senator Bernskoetter.
The senate was moving right down the calendar until Senator Brown’s bill dealing with dead folks that had passed the chamber twice was on the floor. Then Senator Moon stood up and began filibustering over a grievance from committee.
With the republican on republican bickering you would have thought it was 2022, or 2021, or 2020, or 2019.
You just assumed that Senator Moon would read from his history books for a few hours until they laid the bill over. Then there would be retribution, then that retribution would be reciprocated by more revenge until Senator McCreery would wonder what was so hard about being a democrat in the Missouri Senate.
About the time the temperature was rising to its typical boil, Senator Bean stood up and made the motion to stand at ease.
Senator O’Laughlin and Senator Rowden pulled both Senator Moon and Senator Brown into the back room to try and hash out their differences like…well like senators.
In the back room Senator Moon laid out his objection to his bill dealing with transgender Missourians wasn’t being heard in Senator Brown’s emerging issues committee.
It pretty well known that Senator Rehder’s bill dealing only with women’s sports will be the only one that has a chance of passing without disgracing the senate with a PQ, and her bill is already on its way to the floor.
Senator Moon was unhappy with some of the way he was spoken to over the scheduling of his bills. As it turns out one his bills was set to be heard next week.
He had some demands that really weren’t gonna be met, and you would assume this is where the story breaks down and there are four months of journal fillibusterization.
However, after a relatively short back and forth the two senators and the two leaders of the chamber talked through the issue, and they ended up on good terms and headed back out to the floor as colleagues.
Almost like…well almost like senators.
The bill was perfected and the senate adjourned relatively early in the evening, with a decent list of bills being perfected and everyone on speaking terms.
Now there is a long way to go. There has been too much money shelled out for those education bills to be laid over for long, and the difference between a senate leader and a house leader is how they respond when they don’t get their way.
Further who knows if there is a legislative Houdini move our there to craft a transgender bill that either extreme will allow to come to a vote.
But still, not a bad start for Senator Majority Floor Leader O’Laughlin.
Scott Faughn is the publisher of The Missouri Times, owner of the Clayton Times in Clayton; SEMO Times in Poplar Bluff; and host of the only statewide political television show, This Week in Missouri Politics.
