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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
Committees of both the House and Senate have approved with few changes the managed health care legislation that emerged this fall from a legislative committee review of HMOs.
There are few significant differences between the two versions. Both would impose stronger consumer protection regulations on HMOs.
For more details, see:
The House gave first round approval to a measure that would restrict health management organizations from refusing to include doctors in their plans.
The measure would require an HMO to accept an doctor who is certified by the state as providing essential services in an area of medical care shortage.
House approval came one day before both House and Senate committees are scheduled to vote on the much broader HMO regulation bill recommended by a joint legislative committee.
See our newspaper story for details.
Governor Mel Carnahan stayed the execution of Roosevelt Pollard in order to allow a hearing on Pollard's sanity.
AT issue is whether Pollard understands why he is being executed. State law requires the condemned understand the reason for his punishment.
The governor's action was held on the same day that death-penalty opponents staged a mock execution in the Capitol rotunda.
We have a newspaper story on that protest you can review.
The Missouri House gave first round approval to a measure that would give tax breaks to businesses which provide daycare services for their workers' children.
The measure faces one more House vote before going to the Senate.
Also see the roll-call vote.
The Senate gave final approval, by an overwhelming vote, to a bill that would increase the daily expense allowance of lawmakers.
In addition, the Senate approved a "emergency clause" that would put the new expense rate into effective immediately upon the governor's signature.
The measure now goes to the House, where a similar measure was rejected by the House Budget Committee.
Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected a salary commission recommendation that included increases in both the legislative per diem and salary.
Click here to see the Senate roll-call vote on the per diem increase.
Missouri's casino industry urged lawmakers to repeal the $500 daily loss limit on gambling boats.
The law limits how much a gambing boat can let a customer loose in a day to $500.
Emotional testimoney against repealing the limit was presented Tuesday to the House committee reviewing the measure.
For more details, see:
Missouri consumers were given one of the outcomes in government's new approach to encourage competition in the telecommunications industry.
The state's utility-regulating Public Service Commission granted AT&T and MCI to offer local phone service in areas currently served by GTE.
See either our newspaper or radio story for more details.
The Senate Education Committee approved a plan designed to continue desegregation funding for St. Louis and Kansas City schools after the federal courts stop ordering the state to make those payments.
By a one-vote margin, the committee defeated a counter proposal to distribute the desegregation money among all of the state's school districts.
At issue is what the state should do if and when the federal courts stop ordering state funding for desegregation of the St. Louis and Kansas City schools.
State Education Commissioner Bob Bartman expressed relief at the committee's decision.
Bartman warned the federal courts would be less willing to drop their court orders without assurance from the state of continued support for the urban schools.