

June 5, 2008 Volume 4, Number 23
In This Issue Sopranos Pizza Pro-Life Bill Farmers Market Scholarship A Little Bit of Humor… Contact Me *Representative* *Cynthia Davis* 19^th District *Majority Floor Whip* Missouri State Capitol Room 112 201 W. Capitol Ave. Jefferson City, MO 65101 Phone: 573-751-9768 Website http://www.cynthiadavis.net/ E-Mail cynthia.davis@house.mo.gov Committees Interim Committee on Poverty *Chair* Health Care Policy *Vice Chair* Family Services *Vice Chair* Elections State Links State of Missouri *Official Homepage for Missouri State Government* Missouri General Assembly *Official Government Homepage for your Missouri Senator and Representative* House of Representatives *Look up Missouri House Bills – View Entire Text, Summary, and Last Action* Missouri State Senate *Look up Missouri Senate Bills* Attorney General's Office *Consumer Complaints & Fraudulent Activity, No-Call List* Local Links St. Charles County Government City of O'Fallon City of Dardenne Prairie City of St. Peters City of Wentzville City of St. Charles Federal Links Congressman Todd Akin Congressman Kenny Hulshof Senator Kit Bond Senator Claire McCaskill Other Links Missouri State Constitution Missouri State Jobs		Sopranos Pizza and Pasta Representative Cynthia Davis welcomes Sopranos Pizza and Pasta to O’Fallon. It is located in the Hillmann Farm Plaza at 1266 Bryan Road. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: What Happened to the Pro-Life Bill? This session was a disappointing one for unborn babies in Missouri. The House worked on a pro-life bill to address a serious problem for pregnant women. According to a report by the Elliot Institute, 64 percent of the women studied who aborted their unborn child felt pressured by others. The report provides numerous examples of coercion. (If you wish to read the entire report, click here: Forced Abortion in America.) Forced abortion should distress everyone. Even those who are abortion proponents should want it to be the clear choice of the woman. This is our opportunity for everyone to come together with true compassion and side with civil reasoning and dignity for all involved. The House passed our bill (HB1831) on April 21 and sent it to the Senate with plenty of time for the senators to debate and pass it. However, the Senate debated the bill for about five minutes and then put it on the informal calendar, never to take it up again. The Senate has two tools for operating: "The filibuster" is used to stop a bill. When a senator doesn't like a bill, he can talk, or filibuster, for as long as his strength holds out. Calling of "the previous question" is used to achieve progress when a minority is filibustering. If enough senators want to end the filibuster, they can do so by voting to call the previous question. This session, Senate leadership did not use the previous question tool to accomplish anything. Without using it, the two tools are not balanced. Here is a link to an article in the St. Louis Beacon that explains their agreements: Fate of Controversial Bills. I sent a letter to Governor Blunt to request a special session on the pro-life issue. He has called a special session in the past for this reason, and it was very productive. The benefit to a special session is that it allows legislators to use their full concentration on the issue at hand. Missouri Right to Life is also calling on the governor to convene a special session. If you would like to read their version of what happened and what they are doing about it, click here: Missouri Right to Life. I thank all of you who contacted my office asking me to support HB1831. House members did all we could to pass this bill. It passed out of our chamber with 113 votes - clearly a supermajority. Stay tuned for the next chapter. *Your thoughts are important to me, so please let me know what you think about* *our efforts to protect women who are being forced to have an abortion. You can send me your opinion by clicking here: Cynthia Davis.* Eat Fresh from a Farmers Market or Your Own Back Yard Wouldn’t it be nice to bring a farmers market to O’Fallon? I would like to find a way to make this happen. Other cities have done this successfully. Currently, the closest one to us is in St. Charles, the St. Charles Lions Club Farmers Market located on the riverfront. To find it, take Riverside Drive one block north of Frontier Park in downtown St. Charles. Experts say that 17 percent of our food expenses are transportation costs. If we can reduce the expense of transportation, farmers will be able to lower their costs and consumers can buy their produce at a lower price. This could be a win-win situation for all of us. Finding a farmers market in Missouri has become easier in recent years. Last year, Missouri was home to more than 130 markets, compared to just 53 markets 10 years ago, according to the state Department of Agriculture. A directory of farmers markets in east central Missouri can be found at: Farmers Markets. Shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables at a local farmers market or growing your own in a backyard garden is a great way to add flavor to your meals and improve your health. The most economical way to consume more fruits and vegetables is to eat seasonally by shopping for produce that’s in season and grown locally, if possible. For the do-it-yourselfers, a small backyard garden can produce many pounds of fruits and vegetables every year. Even planting a couple of tomato plants in containers on a deck or patio can provide fresh tomatoes for salads and sandwiches all summer long. Cherry tomatoes are especially easy to grow and make a healthy snack. More information about the benefits of fruits and vegetables can be found at: Fruits and Veggies. Reminder: Scholarship from Women Legislators Don’t forget that the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) is sponsoring an essay contest for young ladies on "The Great Enfranchisement: Women's Suffrage." Winners receive financial help with college and attend NFWL's Annual Conference. I would be delighted to sponsor a student and attend the conference with her if she wins. The application deadline is Tuesday, August 19, 2008, by which date essays must be received in the NFWL office. To download the application, click here: NFWL application form. A Little Bit of Humor… Headlines from the Future IRS sets lowest tax rate at 75 percent. Baby conceived naturally! Scientists stumped. Couple petitions court to reinstate heterosexual marriage. France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica. No other country comes forward to help the beleaguered nation! Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking. Postal Service raises price of first class stamp to $17.00 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only. 85-year $75 billion study: Diet and exercise is the key to weight loss. Abortion clinics now available in every high school in United States. Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights. Average height of NBA players is now nine feet, seven inches. New federal law requires that all nail clippers, screw drivers, fly swatters and rolled-up newspapers must be registered by January 2030. Florida voters still having trouble with voting machines. This Capitol Report is a weekly newsletter by Representative Cynthia Davis, from the 19^th District, covering events in the Missouri Legislature and district-wide issues. J If you know of anyone else who would like to receive my Capitol Report, please send an e-mail to Cynthia.Davis@house.mo.gov with the person’s name and e-mail address. We’ll add them to the list. L If you would like to stop receiving the Capitol Report, email us at Cynthia.Davis@house.mo.gov with “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

Eat Fresh from a Farmers Market or Your Own Back Yard