Power Profile: Michael O'Donnell, Missouri State Representative

“What problem are we fixing?” is what Rep. Michael O’Donnell (R-95, St. Louis County) wants to know about proposed legislation. Because, ultimately, that is why he is in the Missouri General Assembly.

“I didn’t come here to fix blame; I came here to fix problems,” said O’Donnell. He added that with term limits, there is only a limited time to do so.

By trade O’Donnell is a fixed-income securities trader for an investment firm headquartered in St. Louis. The bulk of his experience has been in the area of municipal securities. He is also a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, serving as an intelligence officer, and was previously deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

First elected to the legislature in 2018, O’Donnell has spent the last four years in the state House focused on various issues that play to his strengths. One of the bills he is sponsoring this session would extend and expand the legislation that enabled Ameren Missouri’s Smart Energy Plan.

“I look around and can very much see the effect [of the Smart Energy Plan] in my area. In fact, I just noticed some new composite poles. I want to see that continue,” O’Donnell said. His bill, HB 1734, would expand the existing economic development incentive program, which allows qualifying business customers to receive a discount on their new electric energy rates for a number of years.

“What is really great about the way the bill is structured is that those big users come in and share in the fixed costs of the utility,” he said. “So, me as a ratepayer and the people that live in my neighborhood now have someone else coming in and helping pay the fixed costs. Not only are we bringing more business to our area, we are also helping spread the fixed costs of the utility across all ratepayers.”

Though legislation often takes multiple years to make it to the governor’s desk, he is optimistic about the outcome. Noting the bill has undergone some changes, O’Donnell said that’s the process doing its work.

“I think it is important that the process play out and that people ask questions. And people come forward and say, ‘that’s not a bad idea, but you are really punching this group in the gut’ or ‘you are going to harm this group.’ Then you can move on to how to fix it,” O’Donnell said. “There is nothing more a legislator hates than, ‘I don’t like your bill’ period. It should have a comma, ‘I don’t like your bill, and here's how to fix it.’ I am always open to that sort of thing. How do we fix it? How do we avoid unintended consequences?”

O’Donnell does not like partisan politics. It was a relief when he joined the Missouri legislature that the environment was very different environment than the federal level. “No matter what party [legislators] are in, they are just trying to fix problems. You just may not agree on how to fix them.”