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In surveying this years legislative session, Im not sure if I feel like a radical or a moderate.

After decades of our motor fuel tax eroding to inflation, last year a mild gas tax restoration was passed. Now those inclined to cut any tax in sight want to repeal it, often citing the flood of federal transportation dollars.

MoDOT says we have many years of catching up to do.

We should keep the fuel tax as is. To dream a bit, we should add modern electronic tolling to all the interstates, particularly for semitrucks .

Abortion bills have been filed, including one that would replicate Texas infamous bounty hunter provision. But you may have noticed, dear reader, that the Supreme Court is pondering a big abortion case. Missouri already has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Short of changing hearts and minds, or voters approving a Personhood Amendment, its hard to say what more pro-life folks can tangibly achieve for now.

Speaking of voter approved amendments, there is talk of limiting well-heeled advocacy groups from selling their packaged issues to the people. This is a tough one, to balance this legitimate process with its perceived overuse or abuse.

Which leads to the issue of our new medicinal marijuana regime, which right out of the gate was obviously too restrictive, and has lead to alarming transparency issues on how the limited number of licenses were approved or denied.

Now, recreational marijuana polls well, and there is a well-funded and organized group with an initiative petition brewing to put the issue on our November ballot. This is coming one way or the other, so our state legislature should show leadership and finally decriminalize marijuana through the legislative review process and do it the right way, right away.

No more cartels, no secretive approval process, no favoritism to deep pocketed insiders over local entrepreneurs. Maybe it can roll out in stages. Further procrastination in the Capitol could make things worse in the end.

One splinter issue has cropped up since gun rights advocates finally achieved the passage of the Second Amendment Preservation Act last year. A squad of law enforcement voices are now pooh-poohing it as if it disallows them from talking to the feds at all, which sounds exaggerated.

Deep-thinking constitutional advocate Ron Calvone who promoted this issue for nearly a decade defends it now, again, as already vetted by law enforcement, and as a Tenth Amendment states rights issue as much as a Second Amendment gun rights one. Keep the Second Amendment Protection Act, and educate the public and law enforcement about what it actually does and doesnt do.

Redistricting has come to a head, after the U.S. Census was delayed. Missouri retained eight seats in Congress, but adjusting the districts with population shifts has gotten super-partisan.

Voices from both sides of the aisle are brazenly debating for a map that favors their party. The GOP debating whether it could pull off a 7-1 or just a 6-2 map (that is, to construct areas to predict only one or two Democrat congressional victories).

Meanwhile, numerous Missouri Democrats fight tooth and nail against a 6-2 map but openly concede that a 5-3 map might be the best they could hope for these days.

What disgusting open corruption all around. Instead of unveiled gerrymandering, how about draw a fair map grouping nearby communities and let the chips fall where they may?

The proposed map actually looks pretty good on the surface: Start in central St. Louis with a second district for its populous suburbs; then have another radiating out from downtown Kansas City. Then, the Springfield area grouped with Joplin and Branson makes sense. Then a swath of northern Missouri, the southeast region and a chunk of east-central from Wentzville to the Lake. Boone Countys 4th stayed pretty similar.

Election reform gets people worked up. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft cant point to widespread voter fraud in the Show-Me State. On the other hand, where are these phantom individuals who would supposedly be unable to score a simple photo ID to go vote?

Maybe start with security enhancements for mail-in voting, which might be here to stay; and have better protocols for county clerks to clean up voter rolls when people die or move.

To dream again, lets wish for ranked choice, aka instant runoff, election reform for local non-partisan races and party primaries. A gaggle of folks are putting in for CoMo mayor again, so one of them might win with less than a clean mandate or split the vote, causing voter stress come April.

The GOP primaries this August for U.S. Senate and Congress have crowded fields, too. This is a great common sense issue, but do we have to wait until Eric Grietens gets elected again to inspire motivation?

Steve Spellman hosts Mid-Missouri This Week on 89.5 FM KOPN at 5 p.m. every Wednesday. He writes twice monthly for the Missourian.

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Legislative session and elections ramp up, likely will create voter stress - Columbia Missourian