The regular and special sessions are finally over. All legislative and political eyes in Jefferson City have been focused on the bills that would ultimately survive Gov. Holden's scrutiny and become law on Aug. 28.

After the dust and smoke finally cleared last week, a near record of 30 bills out of a total 254 were vetoed by the governor.

Although some of the bills vetoed were anticipated such as the concealed weapons bills, tort reform and the bill that would create a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions. Other bills dealing with things such as specialty license plates and the complete overhaul of the foster care system were a complete surprise.

In retrospect, I feel that the 2003 Legislative Session was a banner year for myself and the residents of the 26th Senatorial District. Six of the 13 Senate bills I sponsored this session, along with another six bills that I handled for various Representatives, passed the Legislature and the governor's veto pen and will become law on Aug. 28.

While I am not gloating, I am very grateful for the opportunity to be part of this year's successful session.

Listed below are the six bills that I sponsored in the Senate and the Representatives who sponsored them on my behalf in the House:

• SB 54 - Allows biennial testing in Franklin County - Rep. Brian Nieves
• SB 228 - Allows the City of Warrenton to levy a tourism tax - Rep Mike Sutherland
• SB 296 - Modifies the teacher certification process - Rep. Mike Sutherland
• SB 298 - Revises liquor control requirements and enforcement procedures - Rep. Bob Johnson
• SB 426 - Modifies paid leave procedures for state employees who volunteer for Red Cross disaster relief service - Rep. Kevin Threlkeld
• SB 562 - Authorizes the conveyance of state property between the Department of Corrections and the City of Pacific - Rep. Jack Jackson Listed below are the six House bills that I sponsored in the Senate and the Representatives who originally introduced them in the House:
• HB 60 - Changes the time period in which a taxpayer may claim a refund of taxes mistakenly or erroneously paid - Rep. Mike Sutherland
• HB 131 - Modifies certain provisions in the Local Government Employees' Retirement System - Rep. Bill Deeken
• HB 267 - Allows first, second and fourth class counties to adopt ordinances relating to the administration of county government - Rep. Todd Smith
• HB 348 - Makes revisions to the Local Government Employees' Retirement System - Rep. Tom Dempsey
• HB 392 - Makes revisions to the Motorcycle Dealer Franchise Act - Rep. Jim Avery
• HB 574 - Authorizes the conveyance of state property between the Department of Corrections and the City of Pacific - Rep. Jack Jackson

There were several other bills that I successfully added amendments to, only one of those, HB 598 sponsored by Rep. Charlie Schlottach, was vetoed.

I am proud to be your new state senator and I am also proud of the legislative successes we had this year. Additionally, I would like to thank my Administrative Assistant Carolyn Case and my Legislative Assistants Gus Wagner and Christopher Sutherland for making my first year in the Missouri Senate such a memorable one.