Sen. Dan Hegeman returns to Politically Speaking to talk with St. Louis Public Radio’s Julie O’Donoghue and Jason Rosenbaum about Missouri’s finances and his proposal to change state legislative redistricting.
The Cosby Republican represents Missouri’s 12th Senate District, which takes in a huge swath of northwest Missouri. It's the largest Senate district in the state.
Hegeman talked about:
- The significance of not being able to come up with a consensus revenue estimate for the fiscal 2021 budget. That’s the figure that the House, Senate and governor typically agree will be the amount that lawmakers can spend in a given year.
- An ongoing effort to overhaul Missouri’s low-income housing tax credit program. Hegeman sponsored legislation last year to reduce the number of state tax credits issued every year — but that proposal failed to pass by the end of the 2019 legislative session.
- His measure that would change how Missouri’s state legislative redistricting system works. Under a plan that voters approved in 2018, a demographer holds much of the power to draw House and Senate lines. Hegeman’s legislation, if approved by voters, would give either bipartisan commissions or appellate judges the responsibility. It also would change the criteria for drawing districts and how maps can be challenged in court.
- His proposal to alter the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan. Currently, a governor can select a judge from three nominees put forward by a commission. Hegeman’s plan would forward all qualified nominees to the governor.
Hegeman is one of the few lawmakers who served before term limits went into effect. He also was in office before Republicans took over control of the Legislature. After leaving office in 2003, Hegeman became U.S. Rep. Sam Graves’ associate district manager. He also served as president of the Andrew County Farm Bureau.
He ran unopposed in 2014 for state Senate. And in 2018, Hegeman defeated his Democratic opponent by nearly 45 percentage points. He will be barred from running again for his seat in 2022 due to term limits.
Follow Julie O’Donoghue on Twitter: @jsodonoghue
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Music: “Beyond the Visible Spectrum” by Thursday
