Greitens: Special session key to more area jobs; may call second session for drug-monitoring program

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens said he called a special legislative session “to fight for more jobs” in Southeast Missouri.

Lawmakers need to pass legislation that would bring hundreds of jobs to the area, Greitens said before weekend rallies he led to promote the measure.

One of the rallies Saturday was at the former Noranda aluminum smelter in New Madrid, Missouri, where an estimated 600 people showed up. Greitens also held rallies in Dexter and Sikeston, Missouri.

An estimated 600 people attended the announcement Saturday by Gov. Eric Greitens and other officials about the possible reopening of the former Noranda aluminum plant in New Madrid, Missouri, as a steel mill. Bob Greenlee ~ Standard Democrat

He also said he may call a second special session this year to deal with another failed bill — to establish a prescription-drug monitoring program to combat the opioid epidemic.

“We are keeping every option on the table as we fight for people across Missouri,” Greitens said Friday in a phone interview with the Southeast Missourian.

The special session that begins Monday is limited to addressing an economic development bill.

State Rep. Don Rone and his wife, Myra, introduce Gov. Eric Greitens to the crowd Saturday at the former Noranda plant in New Madrid, Missouri. Bob Greenlee ~ Standard Democrat

The measure would allow Ameren Missouri to charge lower electric rates for large industrial customers. The move would be key to reopening the former Noranda smelter and pave the way for establishment of a steel mill in New Madrid County, supporters said.

“I called this special session because we have the opportunity to bring a steel mill and hundreds of jobs to Southeast Missouri, but unfortunately we have some career politicians who failed to take action during the session and then went home,” the governor said.

Greitens said, “The people of Missouri sent me here to fight for them and fight for more jobs and higher pay every day. So we canceled the vacation of these career politicians, and we called a special session to fight for these jobs.”

Gov. Eric Greitens speaks during a rally Saturday at the Dexter Fire Department in Dexter, Missouri.Noreen Hyslop ~ SEMO News Service

Lawmakers adjourned the regular session May 12.

Greitens said he decided to bring lawmakers back into session as soon as possible because of the immediate opportunity for jobs in an economically depressed part of the state.

Nine of the 10 poorest counties in the state are in Southeast Missouri, Greitens said. The 8th

Leechia Wilder meets Gov. Eric Greitens after a Saturday to encourage support for the re-opening of the old Noranda Aluminum Plant. The rally was held at Three Rivers Community College in Sikeston, Missouri. Bob Greenlee ~ Standard Democrat

Congressional District is the 11th-poorest district in the nation, he added.

“The people of Southeast Missouri want jobs, and they deserve them,” Greitens said.

“It is essential that we get this done now, because if we get this done, Missouri will be in a leading position to compete for a steel mill and hundreds of jobs in Southeast Missouri,” the governor said.

Greitens said lawmakers “need to come up here and do their job.”

The House passed the measure 148-2, but it died in the Senate during the waning hours of the regular session.

Sens. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, and Gary Romine, R-Farmington, blocked the bill, arguing it could lead to higher electric rates for residential and business customers. Both men first were elected to the Senate in 2012.

Local lawmakers said they were dismayed at the actions of the two senators.

Greitens suggested a lot of public pressure will be brought to bear on Libla and Romine. He predicted “hundreds of people” will call the two senators to push for passage of the bill.

The governor said lawmakers “knew what was at stake” during the regular legislative session.

He praised state Rep. Don Rone, R-Portageville, for his efforts to pass the bill.

The governor said Rone’s speech near the end of the regular session was “one of the most impassioned, bold speeches about the need to bring these jobs.”

Greitens said, “This is not just about income. It is also about bringing jobs with a sense of purpose and dignity and meaning.”

The governor added, “These are jobs you can support a family on. These are jobs where you can pay a mortgage, and you can put the money away for your kids to go to college.”

Libla said in an emailed news release last week he wants to “safeguard” Missourians from being overcharged by utility companies.

He said the measure would have diminished the Missouri Public Service Commission’s authority in defending electric ratepayers.

But Greitens dismissed such concerns, calling them “petty political points.”

As for the possibility of calling a second special session, Greitens said it is important for Missouri to deal with the opioid crisis that “is tearing apart families and communities across Missouri.”

Greitens said he is well aware of the problem. His cousin died from a heroin overdose, he said.

Greitens supported a bill by state Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, that would establish a statewide prescription-drug database.

Missouri is the only state that hasn’t passed a prescription-drug monitoring program. The goal is to give physicians and pharmacists a tool to see whether patients recently have filled or received prescriptions for opioids or other addictive drugs, supporters said.

Rehder said implementing her bill could help doctors identify early signs of drug misuse and prevent doctor shopping, when patients visit multiple physicians to get drug prescriptions.

Rehder was unable to shepherd through a compromise between House and Senate bills on the issue before the regular session ended.

Rehder said she favors a special session to address the issue but has not yet officially called on the governor to do so.

The Sikeston lawmaker said she has been talking to other lawmakers in an effort to round up affirmative votes for the prescription-drug monitoring bill before asking for a special session.

“The governor’s office is working with me closely,” she said.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., also has urged Greitens to hold a special session on the issue.

Greitens said he is open to the idea, adding his administration is “not afraid to take bold action.”

mbliss@semissourian.com

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