Chores aren't done

All year we’ve heard immigration would be one of the major issues in a Missouri General Assembly session that hasn’t really tackled that many major issues at all.

And here we are, a day before legislators adjourn for the year, and the bill hasn’t been passed. A couple of things are going on. One is that this is getting caught up in a House-Senate dispute over shenanigans in the House last year in which special language was secretly inserted into a bill aiding landowner in southwest Missouri. That mess still hasn’t been undone.

The other is just how far to go in requiring employer documentation about the status of employees. The line between common sense and onerous has been hard to define.

It seems likely that Governor Blunt will have to follow through on his threat to call a special session later in the year to deal with this. He also wants a property tax measure. It might take some time, but maybe the immigration issue will get tackled after all.