Guest’s anti-Real ID bill passes Housec/o Jefferson City Press
Monday, April 20, 2009
A King City legislator last week began to see major opposition to his crusade against the Federal Real ID Act of 2005, but he still clinched support from the Missouri House of Representatives.
The House on Thursday, in a 83-69 vote, endorsed HB 361, which would keep the Missouri Department of Revenue from selling off driver’s license information to outside parties. The bill also in a less direct way rejects Real ID, an effort from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to streamline identification requirements among the states to prevent immigration fraud.
Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, leads a national coalition of lawmakers who argue that Real ID is a movement toward a national driver’s license, the federal government will abuse the information and that it will open up the country to identity theft.
The bill prohibits the Department of Revenue from changing any of its procedures to comply with Real ID, a much stronger stance than the resolution approved by prior Missouri legislatures that simply called on Congress to repeal the act.
Opponents this year have gained in numbers, saying that Missourians will need access to Real IDs, which the federal government will require for citizens to board airplanes or enter certain federal buildings.
“It seems to me a senseless, huge inconvenience on our citizens,” Rep. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, said during floor debate. “There’s no reason to overreact right now.”
Countered Mr. Guest, “Homeland Security says it’s not a national ID, but they know it’s false.”
In the end, Mr. Guest was successful and the bill moves to the Senate for consideration.
Local representatives voting “yes” were Republicans Mike Thomson of Maryville, Jason Brown of Platte City, Dr. Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph, Mr. Guest and Mike Lair of Chillicothe.
Voting “no” were St. Joseph Democrats Ed Wildberger and Martin Rucker, and a Bethany Republican, Casey Guernsey.
Long schools bill
to grow even more
Legislation that started out as an avenue to expand virtual classrooms and then snowballed into an omnibus education bill may pick up some more layers.
The bill from Sen. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, also addresses a technical glitch with the Proposition A gaming money, enrollment for foster children, charter schools, school capital improvements and teacher performance, among other proposals.
The chairman of a House education committee that considered SB 291 last week said the group likely would take out some of the Senate provisions and add some of its own. With four weeks remaining in the legislative session, Rep. Maynard Wallace, R-Thornfield, opted to wait on a vote. Already passed in the Senate, the bill needs approval from the House before it can go to the governor’s desk.
“It’s too important of a bill to hurry,” Mr. Wallace said.
Nixon looks
to keep Blunt’s pick
for Western board
Gov. Jay Nixon re-appointed a former Platte County commissioner to the Missouri Western State University Board of Governors last week.
Former Gov. Matt Blunt in December had appointed Diza Eskridge, a 67-year-old Democrat from Weston, to the post, but her term was subject to confirmation from the Senate. Since the Senate didn’t convene until January, she served in that capacity, but her membership wasn’t official, according to the university.
When Mr. Nixon became governor, as is a tradition of most governors, he withdrew all of the unconfirmed nominations from the prior administration so he could consider them himself. Mr. Nixon last week announced he decided to stick with Ms. Eskridge.
The board sets university rules, bylaws and regulations. Ms. Eskridge also has served on the Mid-America Regional Council’s board of directors. Her term, which is subject to Senate confirmation, would end Oct. 29, 2014.
Alyson E. Raletz covers the state Legislature for the News-Press in Jefferson City. She can be reached at alysonraletz@npgco.com or (573) 636-2307.
The House on Thursday, in a 83-69 vote, endorsed HB 361, which would keep the Missouri Department of Revenue from selling off driver’s license information to outside parties. The bill also in a less direct way rejects Real ID, an effort from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to streamline identification requirements among the states to prevent immigration fraud.
Rep. Jim Guest, R-King City, leads a national coalition of lawmakers who argue that Real ID is a movement toward a national driver’s license, the federal government will abuse the information and that it will open up the country to identity theft.
The bill prohibits the Department of Revenue from changing any of its procedures to comply with Real ID, a much stronger stance than the resolution approved by prior Missouri legislatures that simply called on Congress to repeal the act.
Opponents this year have gained in numbers, saying that Missourians will need access to Real IDs, which the federal government will require for citizens to board airplanes or enter certain federal buildings.
“It seems to me a senseless, huge inconvenience on our citizens,” Rep. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, said during floor debate. “There’s no reason to overreact right now.”
Countered Mr. Guest, “Homeland Security says it’s not a national ID, but they know it’s false.”
In the end, Mr. Guest was successful and the bill moves to the Senate for consideration.
Local representatives voting “yes” were Republicans Mike Thomson of Maryville, Jason Brown of Platte City, Dr. Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph, Mr. Guest and Mike Lair of Chillicothe.
Voting “no” were St. Joseph Democrats Ed Wildberger and Martin Rucker, and a Bethany Republican, Casey Guernsey.
Long schools bill
to grow even more
Legislation that started out as an avenue to expand virtual classrooms and then snowballed into an omnibus education bill may pick up some more layers.
The bill from Sen. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, also addresses a technical glitch with the Proposition A gaming money, enrollment for foster children, charter schools, school capital improvements and teacher performance, among other proposals.
The chairman of a House education committee that considered SB 291 last week said the group likely would take out some of the Senate provisions and add some of its own. With four weeks remaining in the legislative session, Rep. Maynard Wallace, R-Thornfield, opted to wait on a vote. Already passed in the Senate, the bill needs approval from the House before it can go to the governor’s desk.
“It’s too important of a bill to hurry,” Mr. Wallace said.
Nixon looks
to keep Blunt’s pick
for Western board
Gov. Jay Nixon re-appointed a former Platte County commissioner to the Missouri Western State University Board of Governors last week.
Former Gov. Matt Blunt in December had appointed Diza Eskridge, a 67-year-old Democrat from Weston, to the post, but her term was subject to confirmation from the Senate. Since the Senate didn’t convene until January, she served in that capacity, but her membership wasn’t official, according to the university.
When Mr. Nixon became governor, as is a tradition of most governors, he withdrew all of the unconfirmed nominations from the prior administration so he could consider them himself. Mr. Nixon last week announced he decided to stick with Ms. Eskridge.
The board sets university rules, bylaws and regulations. Ms. Eskridge also has served on the Mid-America Regional Council’s board of directors. Her term, which is subject to Senate confirmation, would end Oct. 29, 2014.
Alyson E. Raletz covers the state Legislature for the News-Press in Jefferson City. She can be reached at alysonraletz@npgco.com or (573) 636-2307.
1 comment:
Now that the anti-science, superstition-based initiative presidency ends, we need several public works science Manhattan projects to make us great again and boost us out of this Grotesque Depression. First we must provide free advertising-based wireless internet to everyone to end land line monopolies. Then we must criscross the land with high speed rail. Because bovine flatulence is the major source of greenhouse gases, we must develop home growable microbes to provide all of our protein. Then we must create microbes which turn our sewage and waste into fuel right at home. This will end energy monopoly by putting fuel in our hands. We must address that most illness starts from behavior, especially from parents. Since paranoid schizophrenia is the cause of racism, bigotry, homelessness, terrorism, ignorance, exploitation and criminality, we must provide put the appropriate medications, like lithium, in the water supply and require dangerous wingnuts who refuse free mental health care to be implanted with drug release devices. Churches should be licensed to reduce supersition and all clergy dealing with small children should be psychiatrically monitored to prevent molesting. Osama bin Laden and Timothy McVeigh were the ultimate superstition based initiatives. Aborting future terrorists and sterilizing their parents is the most effective homeland security. Widen navigation straits (Gibraltar, Suez, Malacca, Danube, Panama and Hellspont) with deep nukes to prevent war. In order to fund this we must nationalize the entire financial, electrical and transportation system and extinguish the silly feudal notion that each industry should be regulated by its peers. Technology mandates a transformation of tax subsidies from feudal forecloseable debt to risk sharing equity. Real estate and insurance, the engines of feudalism, must be brought under the Federal Reserve so we may replace all buildings with hazardous materials to provide public works. Insects, flooding and fire spread asbestos, lead and mold which prematurely disables the disadvantaged. Disposable manufactured housing assures children are not prematurely disabled and disadvantaged. Because feudalism is the threat to progress everywhere, we must abolish large land holdings by farmers, foresters or religions and instead make all such large landholding part of the forest service so our trees may diminish greenhouse gases. We must abolish executive pay and make sure all employees in a company are all paid equally. We must abolish this exploitative idea of trade and monopoly and make every manufactured disposable cottage self sufficient through the microbes we invent.
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