Missouri veto session roundup

An extraordinary year in the Missouri legislature came to a close last week, as the legislature overrode 10 of Governor Jay Nixon’s 33 vetoes in its annual veto session, the most veto overrides in the state since 1833. That’s not all that surprising though, with the interesting setup in the state right now: a Democratic governor, and Republicans controlling a veto proof majority in both the state house and senate. But that veto proof majority didn’t always stick together along party lines in the veto session: there were attempts to override 7 other vetoes that were unsuccessful, including the two most high-profile bills: a tax cut bill and a bill that would nullify federal gun laws. 

This week on the show, we’re going to dissect that veto session, and talk about what it means going forward – what we learned about the political divisions in our state, and what we can expect next year.

Panelists:
Representative Chris Kelly represents Columbia and much of Boone County in the House.

Republican Representative T.J. Berry is from Kearney – his district is northeast of Kansas City. 

Marvin Overby is a political science professor at the University of Missouri.

Phill Brooks is the director of the Missouri School of Journalism’s State Government Reporting Program, otherwise known as Missouri Digital News.