A veteran state lawmaker who represents mid-Missouri’s Cooper County in the state Senate confirms he is considering whether to seek an override of Governor Mike Parson’s (R) veto of $100,000 in funding for Boonville’s Boonslick regional library.
State Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg) and Governor Parson are both Republicans. Senator Hoskins tells 939 the Eagle that he’s disappointed by the veto:
“I know that (Speed State) Representative Tim Taylor had worked diligently in order to get that money for the Boonslick library, and I was very disappointed that the governor did not think that that was a worthwhile project,” Hoskins says.
He says lawmakers are still reviewing Governor Parson’s numerous line-item vetoes:
“We’ll continue to evaluate what exactly the governor (Mike Parson) has vetoed and just take the temperature of my fellow legislators in the House as well as in the Senate and see if there’s an appetite to override any of those vetoes,” says Hoskins.
Governor Parson has signed a $50.5 billion operating budget. He also issued 173 line-item vetoes totaling $1-billion. The Boonville library money was a line-item veto.
“The use of the veto pen is not something I do eagerly, but today these vetoes represent the elimination of unnecessary pets projects and the protection of the taxpayer dime,” Governor Parson said in a June 28 written statement.
Missouri lawmakers return to Jefferson City for their annual veto session on Wednesday September 11 at high noon. It’s difficult to override a veto, regardless of who the governor is and the governor’s political party. An override takes a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers.