Gary Nodler

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Gary Nodler (born August 10, 1950) is a Missouri politician currently serving as a Republican in the Missouri State Senate, where he is Assistant Majority Floor Leader. He is a resident of Joplin, Missouri, married to the former Joncee Edwards with one child, Justin.

He was raised in Neosho, Missouri, and attended Crowder College and Missouri Southern State University, where he received his B.A. degree in political science. He has served in the United States Army and in the Missouri National Guard. He is a member of the First United Methodist Church, the American Legion, the National Rifle Association, Farm Bureau, and Rotary Club. In 1985, he was selected as one of the Outstanding Young Men in America.

He served as Congressman Gene Taylor's district staff director from 1973-1988. He became an administrator of the Small Business Administration in 1989, serving through 1992. He was also a member of the Rural Economic Policy Working Group of the White House Economic Policy Council from 1991 to 1992. He served as staff for the Missouri Congressional delegation from 1997 through 2000. He was first elected to the Missouri State Senate in 2002. He serves on the following committees:

Education (chair)
Appropriations (vice chair)
Ways & Means
Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight.

[edit] Sponsored Bills

Nodler introduced a bill in early 2007 which would "conform to a specific part of a federal budget law that emphasizes abstinence."[1]

"When Nodler told Columbia Senator Chuck Graham his bill was intended to make Missouri eligible for federal sex education funding, Graham forced him to admit the state had been getting that funding for a decade. And when Senator Chris Koster of Harrisonville asked him to name the forms of contraception that could be taught under his bill, Nodler refused to answer."

In February 2007, Nodler introduced a bill that would require independent candidates to file at the same time as the political parties declare their candidates.[2] He admitted that he decided to do at after (successfully) defending his seat from an independent challenger in 2006. The challenger, Kim Wright of Joplin, Missouri, had only entered the race because the Democratic Party had declined to field a candidate against Nodler in what was seen as a safe Republican district.

At the same time, he introduced a bill that would "[change] one word in the law to specify that voters have an opportunity to cast 'an actual ballot.'"[3] This was a response to a shortage of ballots in his district in the 2006 general election. Some voters left rather than waiting for replacement ballots to be supplied, & many had to use photocopied ballots.[4] Nodler said his proposal would prohibit the use of photocopied ballots. However, as written, it would not solve any shortage problems.