MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
Without opposition, the House has given first round approval to the governor's proposal to lower the sales tax on groceries.
The measure requires one more formal vote in the House before going to the Senate.
The House rejected an amendment to extend the tax cut to cover restaurant meals.
See our radio story for more details.
St. Louis city lawmakers voiced alarm and concern to the report that Ralston Purina is considering moving its offices from St. Louis City.
The lawmakers said they wanted to get more information. One suggested tax breaks could be used to encourage the firm to remain in the city.
We have several radio stories you can review for more information:
The first signs of controversy over implementation of federal welfare reform emerged this week in Missouri's legislature.
While changes in the federal system generally gives the states more power over welfare, there are some additional requirements on the states.
Missouri is required to strengthen its enforcement of child support collection efforts -- an issue which prompted the "sperm donors with checkbooks" comment.
Also, the state has to have an indentification system like fingerprinting to track welfare recepients and to assure national enforcement on the welfare time limits.
This week, a controversy erupted within the legislature as to whether law enforcement officials should have access to those welfare fingerprint records.
We have a feature story on the child support enforcement you can review for more information on that issue.
The HMO regulation bill before the state legislature came under blistering attack from the state's top business organizations.
Their opposition was voiced at both House and Senate committee hearings on the measure drafted by an interim legislative committee.
But the proposal to provide consumer protections with HMOs did pick up general support from the governor -- who had left the issue out of his original legislative package unveiled in January.
For more details, see:
Former U.S. Senator John Danforth has formed an organization to lobby legislators to keep desegregation money going to education.
Danforth said there would be a "catastrophe" if St. Louis and Kansas City were to lose the funds that the federal courts have ordered from the state for desegregation.
Danforth, a former leader in Missouri's Republican Party, presented a bipartisan lineup of legislators and business leaders backing efforts to maintain the current funding levels for the schools.
See our newspaper story for further details.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved the governor's proposal to cut the sales tax on groceries.
Only one committee member voted against the bill -- and that one no vote actually from one of the bill's cosponsors.
The bill now goes to the full House.
We have both a radio story and a newspaper story you can review for further details.
The House major leader has criticised the lobbyist of the University of Missouri for checking into whether her son had applied to MU.
The inquiry into Gracia Backer's son was made after the Fulton Democrat had sponsored legislation to restrict the budget allocation powers of the MU curators.
As it turned, the son had not applied for admission to the university.
See our newspaper story for complete details.