Minimum wage increase to face challenge
Of the St. Louis American
State Rep. John Bowman sponsored House Bill 43 during the 2006 Missouri legislative session, which proposed to raise the state’s minimum wage.
While it faced long odds in the Republican-dominated House and was not adopted into law, the wording in his bill was almost identical to that on the statewide ballot initiative that passed on Nov. 7.
Protecting key parts of the newly passed referendum will be one of the key legislative battles during the 2007 session.
“We are faced with the possibility that there will be an attempt to repeal or modify the ballot initiative that was supported by 70 percent of those that voted,” said Bowman, chair of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus.
He said the automatic annual cost-of-living increase to the minimum wage would almost certainly be challenged.
Another past battle that was lost by Republicans in the courtroom will also reappear, says Bowman.
“The voter ID bill will come up again,” he said.
State Sen. Delbert Scott, a rural Republican, told the American that reintroducing the bill would be “a priority” days after it was defeated in the courts.
Bowman listed the overhaul of Medicaid as an issue of importance to black legislators, saying that if the “sunset date” is not extended there could be a major decrease in funding for thousands of poor, uninsured and under-insured people.
Bowman said there will be “total opposition” to any legislation endorsing the flying of the Confederate Flag on state property. State Rep. Connie Johnson was a leader in opposing that legislation last session and already has reported to her constituents that there is movement afoot by rural Republicans to pass the bill this year.
“There is also the question of how we will handle the illegal alien question and things such as making English the official language of the state,” Bowman said.
Maida Coleman, state Senate minority leader, has joined those calling for some kind of public hearing on the future possibility of a state-controlled three-member panel to run the SLPS district.
She and state Sen. Jeff Smith issued a joint statement to that effect, but did not appear at a press conference last week called by state Rep. Jamilah Nasheed and others. Nasheed and state Rep. T.D. El-Amin were among the new state legislators sworn in at the state capitol yesterday.
“Public input will be essential to forming a consensus about the direction of our schools in the important weeks and months ahead,” said the joint statement from Coleman and Smith.
“Ultimately, we all want the same thing, which is for our children to have a safe environment to gain a quality education. To help achieve this goal, the public should feel it has been involved in the process.”
Last week, Coleman told the American that she is “mostly pleased with the state advisory committee’s recommendations.”
That committee is co-chaired by William Danforth and Frankie Freeman and includes American Publisher Donald M. Suggs as one of its members.
“The state should participate in stabilizing the district, not taking it over,” Coleman said.
“My intent is to offer legislation that helps SLPS. We are going to come up with ideas and play a very active role.”