MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
JEFFERSON CITY - On a near party-line vote, Missouri's Senate sustained Gov. Bob Holden's veto of a bill to impose restrictions on lawsuits against home builders.
The measure fell two votes short of the two-thirds vote necessary for an override with 21 votes for the override and 11 against and two Senate seats empty.
Earlier this year, the bill had passed the Senate by a vote of 29 to 3.
The bill's sponsor - Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau - made the override motion.
"I would like to remind everyone that the legislation was sponsored by numerous Democrats and Republicans in the Missouri Senate."
Kinder argued that 23 states have laws that protect homeowners, "placing affirmative obligations on the home builder," according to Kinder.
Under the measure, a lawsuit could not be filed against a builder until the builder had been given the right to respond to a homeowner's written complaint.
No member of the Senate argued in support of the override -- although all but two of the chamber's Democrats voted to sustain the veto.
Some of the Senate's Democrats had co-sponsored the original bill, including the Senate Democratic Leader Maida Coleman from St. Louis.
Coleman said she voted to sustain the governor's veto because of her responsibilities to uphold the veto of her party's governor.
"I believe that my role is different now than when I was co-sponsor of the bill," Coleman said.
She said her new role as Senate minority leader and loyalty to Holden are reasons why she changed her vote to uphold the veto.
"As minority leader I feel that I am the leader of this caucus and you have do things a different way," she said.
Sen. Harry Kennedy, D-St. Louis, was one of only two Democrats to vote to override the governor's veto.
"I met with both sides, looked at the legislation again and voted for the consumer," Kennedy said.