By SUMMER BALLENTINE , Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers passed several items on Gov. Eric Greitens’ list of priorities this year, even as legislative leaders called for his resignation and prepared for a special session to consider impeaching him.
But top lawmakers said they didn’t pay much attention to Greitens’ agenda and chalked up any legislative victories for the governor to shared priorities between the Republican-led Legislature and the Republican governor.
“The budget and the legislation passed and discussed was the Senate and the House’s legislation and budget,” Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard said. “We knew what we had to do, we knew there (were) distractions and we worked through it.”
Greitens’ spokesman Parker Briden called it a “very successful year” and said the administration has been “cruising” through a list of specific policy goals outlined at the start of the governor’s first term in office last year. When asked about lawmakers’ chilly take on the passage of the governor’s agenda items, he said the two branches were able to work together productively at times throughout the session.
“Our main goal every single day is just to get good things done, and where those goals align, we’re really glad to be able to work with them,” Briden said.
Lawmakers within minutes of the mid-May annual session’s end reconvened for a special session to consider trying to impeach Greitens, who faces trouble on multiple fronts.
While a St. Louis prosecutor earlier this month dropped a felony invasion-of-privacy case against him related to a 2015 extramarital affair, the case has been referred to a special prosecutor for reconsideration. The grand jury indictment dealt with allegations that Greitens took an at least partially nude photograph of the woman he was having an affair with and threatened to release it if she spoke about their encounter.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner later charged Greitens with a felony tampering-with-computer charge for allegedly using a donor list, without permission, from a veterans charity he founded. Greitens allegedly used the list to fundraise for his gubernatorial campaign.
His troubles have largely overshadowed his policy goals for the session, which included overhauling state personnel law, changing policies to help children in foster care and “the boldest state tax reform in America.” Within hours of delivering a State of the State speech in January outlining his priorities, a St. Louis television station reported about Greitens’ extramarital affair.
Still, lawmakers in the final hours of the session passed bills to cut both individual and corporate taxes, pare down a federal income tax deduction, change how some multistate companies calculate their taxable income and narrowed a personnel law aimed at shielding state workers from political influence, favoritism and arbitrary firing — proposals the governor called for. A number of provisions dealing with foster care children also passed.
Richard said regardless of who the governor is, he agrees with their policies about half the time. When asked whether lawmakers took Greitens’ goals into account, he said simply, “No.”
“We work pretty well by ourselves,” Richard said.
House Speaker Todd Richardson also gave lawmakers credit for the tax changes, which he said have been a priority “long before this governor was in office.” Voters elected Greitens in 2016 to replace former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, who often clashed with the Republican-led Legislature and frequently vetoed top GOP bills.
“This was a Legislature-driven effort,” Richardson said, later adding: “Certainly, there are commonalities between some of the things the governor was advocating for, but this was the Legislature doing what it does best, which is working together to find common ground and coming up with a good proposal.”
