Early this morning Senate Republicans cut off Sen. Chuck Graham's filibuster of the MOHELA legislation, using a rare move to previous question effectively ending debate on the bill.
Graham opposed the bill in its current form because a proposed life sciences program at the University of Missouri, in Graham's district, receives no funding.
"The Senate is now dead," Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman (D-St. Louis) declared just before the Senate adjourned at 12:52 AM. Coleman was more frustrated that Senate Republicans used the previous question motion to end debate. The motion has only been used on 7 bills since 1970, including this legislation last year. Republicans have now used the previous question motion 4 times since gaining control of the Senate in 2001.
"My caucus has been chastised" by the "Senator from Blunt," Coleman said in recognizing that the governor pushed the proposal to achieve a legislative success in his agenda as the session comes to a close in mid-May.
One provision in the bill, advocated by House Speaker Pro Tem Carl Bearden, limits tuition increases in the state to the rate of inflation, penalizing schools that exceed the consumer price index.
The bill still needs final approval before advancing to the House.
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Thursday, April 19, 2007
Senate Republicans shut off MOHELA debate
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