However, some Democrats worry that experience won't carry over into the future. The next class of Republicans to enter the Senate from the House will have spent the last eight years in the majority, which worries Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County. He will become the Senate's longest-tenured member next year.
Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County, said he thinks all government departments and agencies need to cooperate with the essential changes in government structure, even if those changes are small.
Sen Tim Green, D-St. Louis County, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he thinks this would be contrary to the duties of the General Assembly.
In a prepared statement, Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County, questioned the accuracy of some facts in the Republicans' report and said the issue at hand had become overly politicized.
St. Louis County Democrat Tim Green says the amendment would give lawyers the opportunity to plea their clients down to a charge which would not put points on their liscence.
Shields said he opposes limits and the majority of the GOP-controlled Senate does too. He said campaigns have gotten significantly more expensive since he was elected in 1990, and that limits would actually make campaigns less transparent. Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County, agreed.
Shields' provision to create an independent commission that could file ethics complaints on its own seemed to get support from the two Democrats on the Senate committee. Sen. Tim Green, D-Spanish Lake, said it would be a dramatic improvement over the current system, which requires an outside party to file a complaint before an investigation can begin.
Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County, also expressed reservations about the governor's plan. He said efforts to attract companies from out of state could jeopardize the success of Missouri businesses.
Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County, gave an impassioned speech in favor of the amendment. Green recounted the suffering experienced by his mother at the end of her life.
Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County, gave an impassioned speech in favor of the amendment. Green recounted the suffering experienced by his mother at the end of her life.
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