This week I took a special interest in HB1751.

The bill would stop the development of a landfill in Kansas City.   Those wanting to stop the development say the landfill will do environmental harm, have a huge impact on personal property values, and reverse economic development in the Kansas City region.

The developers of the proposed site have said the new landfill could accommodate the needs of the region for many years into the future, however as you can guess, nobody wants to live near a landfill.

The legislative action to stop the development of the landfill passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 112 in favor and 30 opposed. I was one of the legislators that voted against the proposition.

It is my position that the Kansas City region should deal with their own waste. If this bill crosses the finish line, the folks in Kansas City will be looking for other places to haul their trash and I do not want it either. I worry that urban waste will be hauled to the rural areas where there are fewer folks to complain.

This was a busy week moving legislation forward.

In total, the members of the House have filed 1,684 bills and 197 have passed out of committee.  Thirty-three bills have been sent to the Senate. All of the bills moving forward are the product of Republican legislation. Eleven bills have made their way out of the Senate but none of the legislation has been debated in both Chambers.

Speaker Dean Plocher had hoped the budget would be debated and passed on to the Senate by mid-March.  Unfortunately, the budget committee is still working and it is unlikely the Senate will address House budget issues until April 1.

Our week-long Spring break begins March 18. We will have only six weeks following spring break to finish the work we started in January. The last day of session is May 17.

As we get closer to the end of session there will be this mad rush to get it all done. The hours in our seats in the chamber will get longer and longer and the blur of legislation may never be completely understood. It will require the skills of leadership to keep our work from being added to the trash heap.

I look forward to hearing from you. Please email me with any questions or concerns to bruce.sassmann@house.mo.gov or call Jill Ryals in the office at 573-751-6668.