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NewsBook: Missouri Government News for the Week of May 11, 2009 |
| . | Senators note disappointment in health care (05/15/2009) |
Missouri senators said their session ended with one note of disappointment: health care.
They blamed the House of Representatives for not following through on the bill.
But they were proud of bills passed that focus on job creation and education funding.
| . | Missouri's governor calls the legislative session a success. (05/15/2009) |
"You bet we scored this session," Gov. Jay Nixon told reporters shortly after lawmakers ended the 2009 regular session.
Nixon praised the legislature for passage of his jobs bill and for what he praised as respectful conversations by legislators.
But he also expressed disappointment at the refusal of the House to take up the measure to expand health care coverage for about 35,000 lower income working Missourians.
Nixon said he has not given any thought to a special session of the legislature to revisit the health care issue.
| . | House leaders let the health bill die without a vote. (05/15/2009) |
Despite overwhelming Senate approval, the House did not take up a measure designed to provide health care insurance coverage for about 35,000 working, lower-income parents.
Initially, the House leadership refused to move on the bill unless the Senate approved a jobs bill to provide tax breaks to businesses that create new jobs.
But after the Senate passed that bill, the House continued to sit on the issue -- adjourning for the year without a vote on the Senate plan.
| . | The governor gets his "jobs" bill. (05/15/2009) |
The Missouri legislature sent Gov. Jay Nixon his "Quality Jobs" bill with less than two hours before the mandatory 6pm adjournment.
At 2:30 in the morning, the Senate adjourned after a filibuster had blocked action on the measure. But after a few hours sleep and a closed-door GOP caucus, the measure cleared the Senate when it returned into session later in the morning.
The measure expands a program that awards tax credits to businesses that add new, higher-paying jobs that include health insurance coverage.
At the Senate's insistence, however, the measure also imposes limits on other tax credits for businesses and special interests.
| . | Missouri's Senate gives up in the early morning hours. (05/15/2009) |
After an all-night session, Missouri's Senate called it quits for the night at 2:30am on trying to work out an agreement on the governor's proposal for business tax cuts to stimulate economic development.
Senate Republicans spent much of the night huddled in a closed-door meeting trying to work out a package that would avoid a filibuster from members who had been demanding tighter controls on other tax credits for special interests.
But the agreement quickly fell apart when it came before the Senate in a post-midnight session.
The Senate was facing a demand from House leaders to approve the business tax-cut bill in order for House leaders to agree to allow negotiation on a Senate-passed plan to expand health care coverage for the lower income.
One Democratic senator charged that the House was holding hostage the estimated 35,000 Missourians who would be covered by the Senate plan.
As the Senate continued to debate the tax-break bill, the House adjourned and refused to begin negotiations on the health bill.
The state constitution requires the session to adjourn at 6pm on Friday.
| . | Legislative wrap up (05/14/2009) |
Click here for a wrap up of the legislative activities for Thursday, May 14th.
The print story references, the economic development bill, Show Me Health Care, the education bill, and comments on the abortion bill.
| . | Education bill passes amid rally for home schooling (05/14/2009) |
Hundreds of parents brought their children to the steps of the Missouri state Capitol in support of home schooling.
Missouri lawmakers passed an education bill that says students must reach age 17 or complete 16 credit hours before they can drop out.
The bill was amended to ensure home-schooled children would not be affected.
| . | House recessed for the day. (05/14/2009) |
With about 24 hours left in the legislative session, the House of Representatives in the state Capitol recessed for the day.
Some members left in the Capitol are wondering why.
| . | House passes a bill that allows public defenders to turn down a trial. (05/14/2009) |
If the governor signs the bill, public defenders will have the right to turn down a trial if they are too overloaded.
If a public defender does turn down the case, the current law says the court can pull any lawyer off the street as long as it is a juvenile or municipal case.
| . | Senate passes abortion legislation (05/14/2009) |
The Senate passed an abortion bill that would require women to visit their health practitioner 24 hours in advance of the procedure.
The bill also requires that women be provided the option of seeing a live ultrasound and the option to hear the heart beat.
| . | Senate and House agree to go to conference on health care bill (05/13/2009) |
The House and Senate agreed to go to conference to sort out major differences between their versions of "Show Me Health Care."
The House version of the bill would cover 20,000 uninsurables, while the Senate version would cover 35,000 working parents too wealthy to qualify for Medicaid.
The House version also included an amendment to provide for drug testing for welfare recipients.
| . | Omnibus crime bill passes Senate (05/13/2009) |
With the new Senate amendments, the crime bill now includes a ban on texting while driving and precludes minors from "sexting."
The bill also uplifts part of a law banning people convicted of felonies from running for office.
| . | The House Majority Leader said he wants Governor Jay Nixon to commute the death sentence of a Missouri prisoner. (05/13/2009) |
Authorities charged Dennis Skillicorn for the 1994 murder of another man.
Now, House Majority Leader Steven Tilley said Skillicorn should not face the death penalty, but instead life in prison.
Skillicorn is scheduled to be executed on May 20.
Tilley's request came during a House floor debate on a proposed end to the death penalty until 2012.
The House shot down the proposal but will do a study on the death penalty in Missouri.
| . | Columbia scores big money this legislative session (05/13/2009) |
The troubled economy didn't stop Columbia projects from picking up funding this legislative session.
As other state-funded entities faced budget cuts, the University of Missouri System banked a $24 million increase over the last fiscal year. If signed by the governor, other legislation will help bring in even more money for the university and Columbia.
Columbia's legislators say this success is a personal victory.
"Columbia has fared as well, if not better, than any other community in the state," said Rep. Mary Still, D-Columbia. "I think we have a unique representation that benefits the entire community. We have the experience of senior legislators representing Columbia; we have the youthful exuberance of very young legislators."
| . | House members vote against a moratorium on the death penalty (05/13/2009) |
Rep. Kenny Jones, R-Clarksburg, proposed an amendment to take the death penalty moratorium off a Senate crimes bill.
The House voted 95 to 64 in favor of getting rid of the moratorium and approving the amendment.
| . | House passes Show Me Health Coverage (05/13/2009) |
By a narrow vote, the House passed Show Me Health Coverage, which would extend health coverage to 20,000 Missourians with pre-existing conditions who are unable to get insurance.
The Senate version covers parents with income levels similar to those cut from Medicaid in 2005.
The bill was also amended to include drug testing for Temporary Assistance for Needy Family programs' recipients.
| . | Omnibus education bill laid over in House (05/13/2009) |
The bill ultimately never came to a vote, but House members did get to decide whether to adopt a list of students who could not be bullied, including gay students.
Republicans argued that a list made the definition too narrow, but amendment sponsor Sara Lampe, D-Springfield, said if it wasn't defined, there's no way to stop it.
The House ultimately voted the amendment down.
| . | Missouri Democrats stall DNA bill (05/12/2009) |
Missouri Democrats managed to stall a bill that would allow police to get DNA samples of virtually anyone they arrest.
Sen. Rita Days, D-St. Louis County, says the bill might be going too far.
Police obtain DNA samples by swabbing the inside of a suspect's mouth.
| . | Missouri's lawmakers confront a loss of power. (05/12/2009) |
With just four days left in the 2009 regular session, Missouri's statehouse and its legislative chambers suffered a power outage that disrupted legislative proceedings.
The Senate's top leader, Sen. President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, joked that it maybe was an effort by AmerenUE to protest the legislature's refusal to approve a rate-increase plan for a new nuclear power plant.
Despite the loss of power, lawmakers in both the House and Senate continued working -- although with louder voices in absence of their electric-powered sound systems.
Power was restored in about an hour.
| . | Concealed-carry bill stalls in Senate committee (05/11/2009) |
With four days remaining in the state legislative session, further progress was stalled Monday on the House bill that would expand the castle doctrine and allow concealed carry on college campuses.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held public testimony on the bill Monday evening but did not vote on it because the committee chairman was not present, said Sen. Jack Goodman, R-Mt. Vernon, who instead chaired the committee hearing.
| . | The budget clears, thanks to millions in new federal dollars. (05/08/2009) |
Missouri lawmakers appropriated a bit more than one-half of the $2.2 billion in federal stimulus funds available for legislators to spend.
Approval of the state's $23 billion budget came after a day of arguments from some Republican legislators that the state was making itself hostage to funding from the federal government.
Earlier, some House Democrats had argued that less of the federal stimulus money should be spent in order to preserve funds in case the state's economy does not recover quickly.
Of the budget headed to the governor's desk, $783 million in the federal stimulus funds would be used for the operating budget.
More than $400 million more would be used for one-time projects. The biggest project would be more than $100 million for a statewide public safety communications system.
The legislative plan would leave more than $960 in unspent federal stimulus money to be spent later.
| . | No promises for when Missourians should expect to receive a tax refund from the state. (05/07/2009) |
A state revenue shortfall is causing delays and processing tax returns and refunds this year. The state hopes to issue refund checks in May and June.
| . | House passes appropriations without Medicaid expansion (05/07/2009) |
After a late-night conference committee, leaders in the House and the Senate removed Medicaid expansion from the budget. Another bill giving health insurance to those with pre-existing conditions has been deemed the last vehicle for any state-sponsored health insurance program.
House Democrats urged their colleagues to vote no, take the bill back to conference and restore the 2005 Medicaid cuts.
But Republicans have rallied around the idea of provided health insurance to the uninsurable, not the low income.
| . | The Senate accepted $148 million in federal stabilization funds for higher education budget despite ardent pleas from conservative Republicans (05/07/2009) |
Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Jackson County, protested the use of federal stabilization funds for the higher education budget despite wide support of the plan by his colleauges.
He says these federal funds are just plugging holes in the budget with borrowed money.
The funds were accepted with a majority vote.
| . | A House Republican points fingers at Gov. Nixon's office (05/06/2009) |
Rep. Chris Molendorp, R-Belton, said Gov. Jay Nixon's office bribed him to vote in favor of a bill that Nixon strongly supports.
Molendorp ultimately voted against the bill.
Jack Cardetti, Nixon's spokesperson, denied the claim and said it was just a stunt to move attention away from Republicans who voted against extending Medicaid coverage.
| . | Budget deadline looms, tempers flare. (05/06/2009) |
After much emotional dispute across party lines, House Republicans shut down a bill that would extend Medicaid coverage to 35,000 Missourians. They justified their disapproval by comparing it to welfare.
But Democrats say federal dollars would pay for the program.
This is yet another bump in the road in attempts to get the state budget passed by Friday.
| . | A bill to regulate pre-need funeral contracts in Missouri will now go to the governor. (05/06/2009) |
The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would require funeral home providers and insurance companies to hold licenses for their services.
The bill now goes to the governor's desk for final approval.
| . | The Missouri House sent 13 bills to conference today (05/06/2009) |
The House spent the majority of the time debating a budget bill.
The bill was sent back to committee because of disagreement over the Medicaid portion of the bill.
| . | Senate takes a step closer in deciding how to spend federal stimulus money (05/06/2009) |
The Senate voted on and passed a House bill that would give the Department of Conservation funds to pay for equipment, renovations and other projects.
The bill will now head to a conference committee to discuss any differences between the House and Senate versions.
Sen. Brad Lager, R-Maryville, opposed the bill, as did Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis County.
| . | Safe-cigarette bill sent to governor (05/06/2009) |
The Missouri House adopted the Senate's version of the safe-cigarette bill on Tuesday.
The bill requires cigarettes to be wrapped in a special paper so they will go out on their own when the smoker doesn't inhale.
| . | $700 million bond issue 'in trouble' (05/05/2009) |
It was a bad day for a proposed constitutional amendment that, if ratified by Missouri's voters, would authorize the issuance of up to $700 million in bonds for construction of buildings at public universities. Two Republican senators filibustered the resolution until it was placed on the Senate's informal calendar. The measure's sponsor in the House said it is in danger of not passing.
The amendment would have guaranteed at least $81 million for capital improvements at MU, along with $91 million for Missouri State University. The bill would fund $590 million in "top priority" building construction throughout the state and just less than $110 million on projects halted when Gov. Jay Nixon stopped the initiatives that were to be funded through the sale of Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority assets.
| . | St. Louis County assessors might be elected instead of appointed (05/05/2009) |
The Missouri House approved a bill on Tuesday that will change the selection system for St. Louis County assessors.
Bill sponsor Mike Laera, R-St. Louis County, said he thinks the change in the system will fix issues he sees with current assessors.
The vote was 87-73.
| . | Federal funding bill passes Senate committee (05/05/2009) |
Funding for a new Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and the St. Louis Metro survived the Senate Appropriation committee cuts to the bill that would fund projects across the state with money from the Federal Budget Stabilization Fund.
A number of projects were added and removed from the bill upping the amount to $365 million to $336 million.
Amendments for road or transit projects were rejected for Kansas City and Springfield.
One Senator's $2 million amendment for St. Charles' roads was added.
| . | State decline in general revenue announced (05/05/2009) |
Missouri's net general revenue collections declined a half percent to date in fiscal year 2009 compared to last year.
Revenue fell from $6.45 billion last year to $6.42 billion this year. Budget Director Linda Luebbering also said April's individual income tax collections fell short of what was expected.
| . | Appropriations bill passes Senate (05/05/2009) |
A bill to renew funding for state programs funded in previous years brought questions from Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau.
The bill passed 31-2.
| . | Secret-ballot resolution passes Missouri House (05/04/2009) |
A proposal some Democrats criticize as being a ploy to break up unions passed the Missouri House in a 82-76 vote.
The resolution proposes a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote by secret ballot in elections concerning referendums, public officials and employee representation.
| . | Stimulus bill passes House (05/04/2009) |
More than $300 million in federal stimulus funding was reconsidered and approved Monday in the Missouri House.
The bill would provide $336 million in funding for a variety of construction and maintenance projects, including a statewide communications upgrade for law enforcement, a new building for Columbia's Ellis Fischel Cancer Center, renovations to University of Missouri Hospitals and Clinics and an expanded transit system in St. Louis.
| . | Missouri's first openly gay senator returns to work as a married woman (05/04/2009) |
Jolie Justus, Missouri's first openly gay senator, took her seat on the Senate floor Monday for the first time as a married woman.
But Justus' marriage isn't recognized in Missouri because of a constitutional amendment overwhelmingly approved in 2004 by voters and legislators alike that mandates a marriage is between one man and one woman.
"Missouri is not ready for same-sex marriage," Justus said Monday, though she also said she was "overwhelmed" with congratulations upon returning to work.