Jobless benefit cuts could test state constitution

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's governor says they can't do it. So does a former chief justice.

Still, Republican senators are making plans to enact one of the nation's most restrictive unemployment laws later this year.

State senators ended their annual regular session in May without taking the final vote needed to override Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill that could cut the duration of unemployment benefits to as few as 13 weeks -- a measure that was part of a Republican push to make Missouri more appealing to businesses, whose taxes finance the unemployment system.

"They had their chance," Nixon said. "That chance is gone now."

But top Republican senators said last week they intend to try to override the veto during a September session, a move that could test the Legislature's powers under a vague section of the Missouri Constitution. A veto override could trigger a legal challenge on behalf of unemployed workers.

Missouri's current 20-week maximum ranks as one of the shortest benefits nationally. The vetoed bill would reduce that further whenever the statewide unemployment rate falls, setting a lower ceiling than all states except Florida and North Carolina.

The Republican-led House voted May 12 to override Nixon's veto, so all that's needed to enact the law is a two-thirds vote by the Republican-led Senate. But senators never took that vote, as their session ended May 15 in disarray: Democrats blocked almost all action in retaliation for GOP passage of a right-to-work bill limiting union powers.

State Sen. Mike Kehoe, a Jefferson City Republican who handled the unemployment bill, said he plans to bring it up in September, when lawmakers gather to consider overriding Nixon's other vetoes, including his pledged rejection of the right-to-work measure. Kehoe has the support of other top Republicans, including Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey.

But questions remain about whether an override vote on the unemployment bill would be legal.

The Missouri Constitution says if a governor vetoes a bill during the final six days of the regular session or after it ends, lawmakers shall reconvene automatically in September to consider overriding his action.

Nixon's office says that implicitly creates a cutoff, meaning bills vetoed before then can be overridden only during the regular session. He vetoed the unemployment bill May 5, a full 10 days before the session ended.

Former Missouri Chief Justice Michael Wolff, dean of the Saint Louis University School of Law, said the constitution appears to show a preference for veto overrides to be handled during the regular session, allowing September consideration only when vetoes occur late in the normal session. Wolff said he's not aware of any prior court cases on the issue.

"But sticking to the text (of the constitution), I would say the window is closed" for senators to vote on the unemployment bill, Wolff said.

Republican Senate leaders note the constitution doesn't explicitly say they can't vote in September on bills vetoed before the final week of session.

"Unless the constitution prohibits us specifically from doing something, we're allowed to do it," said attorney Todd Scott, who is Dempsey's chief of staff.

Scott points to a 1998 Florida Supreme Court case as the closest parallel to Missouri's situation.

The Florida Constitution at that time said vetoes made after the end of a legislative session shall be presented to the Legislature at its next regular or special session. When Gov. Lawton Chiles vetoed an anti-abortion bill in 1997, legislators chose not to take it up during a subsequent special session and overrode his veto during the 1998 regular session. Chiles sued, claiming lawmakers had missed their chance during the special session, but the state's high court upheld the legislature's action.

While perhaps of interest, the Florida ruling isn't binding for Missouri judges, who may have to settle the issue if Republican senators override the veto of the unemployment bill.