The House just passed legislation saving Fourth of July celebrations around the state. Senate Bill 835, sponsored by Senator Mike Kehoe and carried in the House by Cole County’s own Mike Bernskoetter, makes Missouri law compliant with new federal regulations – and allows us to continue to have large fireworks at Fourth of July celebrations. 

Though this bill was related to the federal health care law, it was much bigger than that. For centures, before even the founding of our country, western society has benefited from a quaint little concept called the rule of law. We are a nation of laws and not men – and one manifestation of that is the first rule of administrative law – that executive agencies cannot take any administrative actions without some grant of legislative authority.

Unfortunately, Governor Nixon spent $2 million to begin the process of creating administrative rules relating to a health care exchange before the legislature ever gave him authority to do so. Just last year I voted for a bill to give such authorization. I think its the smart, and mature, thing to do because, if we don’t do it, the federal government will do it for us. Just because we don’t like the rules imposed by the federal government doesn’t mean we should just flout them when the consequences are to give up all of our own authority. But, despite my own belief that creating the rules for the exchange is the right thing to do, until the legislature grants the authority to do so – the Governor CANNOT take steps to adopt such rules. 

In today’s debate I was reminded of a powerful scene from the movie “A Man for All Seasons,” about Saint Thomas Moore: 

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down, and you’re just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!

Over the past four years, only 33 students have requested transfer from a special committee set up under current statutes. But the requests are rarely granted. In committee, we heard testimony from parents who spoke of their children wetting their pants because the school bus ride was so long – and of course getting bullied as a result. We heard other testimony about how, where the student was involved in extra-curricular activities, they consistently leave home before the sun comes up and get back home after it goes down. We heard other testimony about the negative impact that hour-long bus rides each way have on academic performance.

And yet, despite the bill affecting just a tiny number of Missouri school children, school administrators oppose the bill. One family supporting the change explained what it’s about very well in the P-D: 

Kraft has two daughters whose tuition in Rockwood schools is provided by the Washington district. He successfully argued to the state education department that the 18.8 miles and lengthy bus ride from his home to the Washington schools made them worthy of a hardship transfer. But, concerned that his home district and others would continue to fight such arrangements, he hired a lobbyist to push the bill.

“If you’ve got some families around the state who have a huge commute back and forth and it’s a real hardship … and they’re lucky enough to have a school that’s a lot closer and in the right direction and that school has room for them, why in the world wouldn’t we try to make that happen?” said Kraft, who also has two elementary school-age children enrolled in private schools.

“I’ve listened to hours of arguments by superintendents who are against this. I don’t remember hearing one time where they ever brought up the kids. … Its all about, ‘What if the kids leave? What if we lose too many students?’ It’s all about money.”

Unlike Kraft, Massman’s pleas to the state for a transfer have thus far failed. But like Kraft, Massman has asked legislators to change the law and recently testified in favor of the bill.

“It’s an issue of the students going to the closer schools so they don’t have to have their brain rattled on the bus and then come home all tired to do homework,” Massman said. “And then they can attend extracurricular activities with their friends because they’re close enough. … The bottom line is the kids.“

It’s disappointing to me that a bill like this can’t get across the finish line – and it goes to show the extremism of the people who oppose any change whatsoever to education. 

Some audio from the debate in available here.

Here’s an apt metaphor for the last week of session. All those little pebbles are ideas folks are trying to make into state law and each legislator must decide whether each individual pebble is good to keep or should be discarded – and there’s a whole lot of pebbles. They’ll akk be dumped on the concrete slab this week.

In case anyone’s wondering what I’ll be doing once session’s out, now you know. I’ll be working on the chain gang with these two.

And just for good measure, since we’re talking about chain gangs, there’s not much better than the combination of Cool Hand Luke and Johnny Cash.