On a day which saw the introduction of the first bills for this spring's session, House majority leader Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, said fixing the budget will dominate the next session and require a lot of cooperation between political parties.
Rep. Catherine Hanaway, R-St. Louis County and in line to become speaker of the House is a 39-year-old lawyer. Rep. Rod Jetton, R-Marble Hill, is a 35-year-old in line to become speaker pro tem. And Rep. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, is a 30-year-old lawyer who expects to be elected majority floor leader.
With Missouri's economy stalled and the state facing a sizeable budget shortfall, incoming House Majority Leader Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, said it's likely the commission will be ignored again. Crowell said state employees should take priority over politicians.
House Republicans also chose Rod Jetton of Marble Hill to be speaker pro tem, Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau to be majority floor leader and Mark Wright of Springfield as assistant majority floor leader. All the nominations, including that of Hanaway as speaker, must be approved by the full House when it convenes in January.
Republicans are pushing Richard Byrd of St. Louis County, Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau and Merrill Townley of Chamois for floor leader if they become the majority party.
Rep. Rod Jetton of Marble Hill said he is the only Republican planning to run for speaker pro tem. But the position of floor leader, which decides the order in which bills are debated, is expected to be a race between Rep. Richard Byrd of St. Louis County and Rep. Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau.
"Immigration was a contributing factor to Sept. 11," said Rep. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, who is involved in drafting the bill. "Many of those who were terrorists came on student visas."
"He put himself back behind the eight ball," said Rep. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau. "And it's a good indicator that people are not happy with his performance."
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