Missouri House Speaker Rejects Call for Healthcare Special Session July 6, 2012

From the KC S tar:
JEFFERSON CITY — There is no reason to call a special legislative session this year in order to opt out of any portion of federal health care law, the leader of the Missouri House said in a statement Friday.

House Speaker Steve Tilley, a Perryville Republican, said he is unaware of any action being taken between now and January that requires the legislature to act. Additionally, a special session will cost taxpayers $25,000 a day and likely would result only in grandstanding and filibustering due to the fact that it is an election year.

“There is nothing the legislature could do with a special session that cannot wait until the legislature returns for regular session,” Tilley said.
More: midwest democracy.comJEFFERSON CITY — There is no reason to call a special legislative session this year in order to opt out of any portion of federal health care law, the leader of the Missouri House said in a statement Friday.

House Speaker Steve Tilley, a Perryville Republican, said he is unaware of any action being taken between now and January that requires the legislature to act. Additionally, a special session will cost taxpayers $25,000 a day and likely would result only in grandstanding and filibustering due to the fact that it is an election year.

“There is nothing the legislature could do with a special session that cannot wait until the legislature returns for regular session,” Tilley said.
more: midwest democracy.com

Former House Democratic Leader Talboy Joins Burns & McDonnell May 23, 2012

Former Missouri House Democratic Leader Mike Talboy has joined the Burns and McDonnell engineering firm as it’s first Director of Government Affairs.
Talboy announced earlier this week he was retiring from the legislature He was eligible to serve one more two-year term in the Missouri House.
“I could not be happier to join Burns & McDonnell,” Talboy said. “The commitment they have to the state, our city, our communities and the people of Kansas City is without question. This is a company with endless potential", Talboy said in a news release oases by the company Wednesday morning.
The statement says Talboy starts his new job in early June.
“We are excited to have Mike join our team,” said Burns & McDonnell Chairman and CEO Greg Graves in the same statement “As we have grown, it has become increasingly obvious that we need to be more proactively engaged with the legislative process at all levels of government."
Talboy also was complimented by his opposite number in the House, retiring Speaker Steve Tilley.
"Mike has always been great to work with even when we disagree,” said Tilley.in the release.
“He is a straightforward communicator and has always worked well with all sides of an issue to break through impasses and find consensus."

Limbaugh Bust Installed at Hall of Famous Missourians May 14, 2012

(AP) – Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians.

Limbaugh, a native of Cape Girardeau, was honored Monday during a ceremony at the Missouri Capitol that was open to the media but not the general public.

As a member of the Hall of Famous Missourians, Limbaugh will have a bronze bust displayed in the Capitol alongside the likes of President Harry Truman, Mark Twain, Walt Disney, George Washington Carver and Stan Musial.

Republican Missouri House Speaker Steven Tilley selected Limbaugh for the honor but kept the timing of the ceremony secret until shortly before it was to start. Tilley has been trying to avoid a public spectacle for the event after Limbaugh’s selection was criticized by Democrats, some women’s groups and other political opponents.

Tilley Earmark for SEMO State, His Future Employer, Has Hung Up Missouri Budget Talks May 9, 2012

KC Star:

A $2 million earmark for a university in Cape Girardeau included in Missouri’s $24 billion budget has effectively derailed the state Senate.

House Speaker Steven Tilley, a Perryville Republican, (right)wants the money added to the budget of Southeast Missouri State University. He points out that the school has the second lowest funding-to-student ratio among state universities and argues that he’s simply trying to fix the inequity.
But Sen. Jason Crowell, a Cape Girardeau Republican, has demanded the funding be removed.
Southeast Missouri State shouldn’t be the only public university that gets an increase in funding during a difficult budget year, Crowell said. And until the issue is resolved, he said he will block votes on every other bill for the remaining week and a half of the legislative session. That includes the state budget, which must be passed and sent to Gov. Jay Nixon by Friday.
“I know how to tie up the floor, and I’ll do it,” Crowell said.
He accused Tilley of only pushing for the funding because he’ll be a lobbyist for the university when his legislative career ends this year.
Tilley called Crowell’s accusations a lie. Both lawmakers are alums of Southeast Missouri State.

Read more here: http://midwestdemocracy.com/articles/schools-earmark-stalls-missouris-whole-budget/#storylink=cpy

Liberal Group Accuses Some Missouri Republicans of Having Deep Ties to Conservative Group April 17, 2012

KC Star:

A study released Monday by the liberal group Progress Missouri purported to detail how the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, has “exerted extraordinary and secretive influence in the Missouri legislature and other states.”
Nearly 50 current and former legislators in the Show-Me State have ties to ALEC, including House Speaker Steven Tilley, House Majority Leader Tim Jones and Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer.
“Missouri legislators have a right to belong to any organization they want to,” said Bob Quinn, executive director of the Missouri Association for Social Welfare and a former state representative. “But in the interest of transparency, it’s important we be able to point to how ideas from ALEC are translated into proposals here in Missouri.”
Tilley, who is serving his last term in the House due to term limits, dismissed allegations of undue influence. He said he can’t remember ever attending an ALEC meeting.
“I may have gone to one,” he said. “If the leader of the Republican Party in the Missouri House doesn’t remember ever going to an ALEC meeting, that should answer your question that we’re not on the puppet master’s strings.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/16/3558883/study-accuses-alec-of-secretive.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/16/3558883/study-accuses-alec-of-secretive.html