Sen. Wayne Goode of the Senate Transportation Committee says that he has worked with quite a few transportation directors and Hungerbeeler is one of the best.
Sen. Wayne Goode, D-St.Louis County, who voted against the ban in 1999, says he believes a bill using the term civil union rather than marriage "may the best and most acceptable avenue at this time."
The chamber's senior member -- Sen. Wayne Goode, D-St. Louis County -- introduced the governor's package, but conceded it had an uphill change in the GOP-controlled legislature.
Democratic Senator Wayne Goode added that although he believes the state needs more revenue, he doesn't think a 90-day education budget will the situation:
At the start of the session, Senate Democrats narrowly elected Jacob minority leader over Caskey by a vote of 7 to 6. Jacob's election represented a change in leadership from veteran senators to relative newcomers who originated in the House. And this new leadership style may be causing some of the problems, said Sen. Wayne Goode, D-St. Louis County.
The bill would cut forty million dollars from Medicaid coverage by eliminating funding of dentist and vision appointments. Bill sponsor Senator Wayne Goode of St. Louis County says senior citizens will be affected the most since they are the primary users of Medicaid. But he says something had to be done to address Missouri's budget crisis.
With moderate Democrats such as Sen. Wayne Goode of St. Louis County and Sen. James Mathewson of Sedalia voting with Republicans on several budget bills, it is evident that Holden does not have the support of his entire party. Holden's budget plan is based on nearly $700 million in tax increases, which would require the approval of Missouri's voters. Holden's tax proposals have made little headway in the Republican controlled legislature.
Democrats on the committee, with the exception of St. Louis County Sen. Wayne Goode, voted against the major budget bills. Sen. Pat Dougherty, D-St. Louis City, said the proposed budget does not meet the needs of Missourians.
Besides the sharp ideological differences between lawmakers when it comes to the formula, another obstacle stands in the committee's way -- the state's budget crisis, said committee member Sen. Wayne Goode, D-St. Louis County. Although he agrees that the formula needs to be revisited, Goode said it costs a lot of money just to get a new formula approved by lawmakers.
Sen. Wayne Goode, D-St. Louis County, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee said borrowing to balance the budget was not a habit the state should get into.
"It costs more in the long run in money and lost experience," said Sen. Wayne Goode, D-St. Louis County. "You lose the people you don't want to lose because they can find jobs somewhere else and take the state retirement with them."