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Vetoes By Nixon Set Table For Hectic Mo. Veto Session In September

Tim Bommel, Mo. House Communications

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon's record number of vetoes this year is expected to set up a very busy and hard-fought veto session this September.

According to the Associated Press, the Democratic Governor struck down 29 of the 145 non-budgetary bills sent to him by the Republican-dominated House and Senate.  Dave Robertson is a political science professor at the University of Missouri – St. Louis.

"They're going to have to hold together, because even though they have a 2/3rds majority, not everybody in the Republican caucus is going to agree with all of the bills the majority would like to see passed," Robertson said.  "They may have to scramble to get enough votes."

This year's list of vetoed bills include the controversial income tax cut measure (HB253) and the bill forbidding enforcement of federal gun control laws in Missouri (HB 436).

"Opposing gun control laws is pretty popular in this state, so I'd expect that has a better chance (of being reversed) than the effort to override the tax bill veto," Robertson said.

In addition, Robertson says the high number of vetoes this year can be blamed on both the Republicans daring the Governor to veto conservative-issue bills, as well as Nixon seeking to strengthen his Democratic credentials for his next political run.

Missouri's 2013 veto session is scheduled for September 11th.  Robertson says it's very likely that it will take longer than one day to handle this year's override attempts.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:  @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2013 St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.
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