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
What the governor's spokesman called a "constitutional crisis" developed Friday with lawmakers failed to complete action on the state's budget by the 6pm deadline set by the constitution.
Left unfinished were the budgets for the Health Department, Mental Health Department and state government's elected officials.
The constitution prohibits action on the budget after 6pm Friday, although legislators continued well past 7pm their unsuccessful efforts at reesolving the impass.
The governor's office said they are researching now whether the governor has authority to call a special session to finish action on the budget. Also in legal question are a couple of budget items the legislature tried to rush through Friday night.
What blocked final approval was the annual dispute over family planning funds. The House and Senate could not reach agreement on language designed to prevent Planned Parenthood from getting the funds.
House rejection of a family planning funding item Thursday has left the legislature just hours to complete action on the budget or face consitutitonal crisis.
Anti-abortion forces in the House demanded stronger language to prohibit Planned Parenthood from getting any of the family planning funds.
The constitition requires lawmakers to finish action on the budget by 6pm Friday.
Sections still awaiting final legislative action include budgets for the Health Department and the salaries of elected officials.
If the legislature fails to finish the budget by Friday, some lawmakers say the governor would have to call a special session. But others, including House Budget Committee Chairman Sheila Lumpe, say even a special session is blocked from taking up the budget.
See our package of radio stories with digital audio for details.
Missouri's legislature approved Thursday a major anti-crime tool that Missouri prosectors have been seeking for more than one-quarter of a century -- witness immunity.
Under the measure sent to the governor, a prosecutor could seek a court order granting a person immunity from prosecution in return for testimoney about criminal activity in which the person was involved.
For years, objections from civil libertarians and defense attorneys had blocked passage of the bill.
See our newspaper story for details.
Also see the Senate roll-call vote sending witness immunity to the governor.
An unusual collection of Republicans and a three black Democrats defeated in the House Budget Committee the Senate-passed measure to implement federal welfare reform.
While voting together, the reasons were quite different. Republicans argue the bill spends too much money creating new programs rather than cutting welfare.
The black Democrats argued the bill does not go far enough in providing a safety net for the lower income.
House and Senate bill sponsors spent the day negotiating with Black Caucus members, but without apparent success.
See our complete newspaper story for details.
A hallway-negotiated deal with business groups cleared the way for Senate passage of legislation to impose stronger regulations and consumer protection requirements on managed health care plans.
As part of the deal, the bill sponsor agreed to an amendment that exempts small business from one of the bill's main provisions that would require plans to offer a type of fee-for-service coverage.
Prior to the agreement, extended debate by a couple of Republicans had threatened to block a vote on the measure.
The bill now goes back to the House, which had approved a similar version earlier this year. The final version is expected to be negotiated by a conference committee.
Only one member of the Senate, a Republican, voted against the proposal -- as you can see in our roll call page.
Missouri lawmakers sent the governor Wednesday an increase in their per diem -- the daily expense allowance that now is $35 and would rise to about $69 under the bill.
Under the measure now awaiting action by the governor, the expense would be based on a percentage of what federal employees are allowed for Jefferson City living expenses.
Final passage required a vote of both the House and Senate. If interested, you can take a look at both roll calls:
The week before his federal criminal trial is to begin, former House Speaker Bob Griffin appeared in statehouse hallways talking with long-term lawmakers.
Griffin is facing a series of federal charges involving his activities as House Speaker.
His trial is scheduled to begin next week.
Griffin refused to say much about his visit to the statehouse, expect to joke about trying to find a client. He is a registered lobbyist, although he suggest his visit was more social -- just to see old colleagues before his trial.
One day after the House approved the idea of requiring some sex offenders to undergo chemical castration, the Senate bill sponsor declared the idea dead for this year.
Sen. J. B. Jet Banks said he opposed the idea and that chemical castration had nothing to do with the original purpose of his bill dealing with HIV and AIDS.
Banks says he will not continue with the bill unless the House amendment is removed.
Under legislative rules, a bill sponsor does have power to stop passage of his bill.
See our newspaper story for further details.
The House voted to subject repeat sex offenders to chemical castration as a requirement for parole.
The amendment was tacked on to a Senate-passed measure to impose stronger enforcement of laws governing HIV-infected persons.
The chemical-castration amendment received overwhelming House approval. It now is one of the matters that will be discussed by a House-Senate conference committee to work out the final version of the AIDS bill.
For further information, see:
The House approved legislation that would increase the cost of getting licenses from privately run fee offices.
In all but the state's largest areas, licenses issued by the Revenue Department are sold through privately-run "fee offices" licensed by the Revenue Department. The offices are allowed to charge extra fees to compensate the fee office owners.
Just the day before, on Monday, the House voted down the proposal. But the next day, the issue was reconsidered and approved.
For more information, see our radio story.
Also see Tuesday's roll call approving the bill and Monday's roll call defeating the bill.
House-passed legislation to impose consumer protections on managed care companies ran into extended debate in the Senate that blocked a final vote on the measure.
The bill's Senate sponsor expressed concerns that the bill may be encountering a filibuster that could kill the proposal.
See our newspaper story for details.
With just a signature of his name, Missouri's governor can make the catfish Missouri's official fish and the paddlefish the official "aquatic animal."
That would be the effect of a bill passed by the House and sent to the governor Tuesday.
The Missouri House rejected a Senate passed proposal that would have allowed fee increases at Revenue Department fee offices.
Fee offices are the privately-run buisnesses licensed by the state to provide licenses and other services from the Revenue Department -- like driver's licenses.
If interested, see the near-party-line roll-call vote in the House.
House Republicans elected a white male abortion opponent as their new floor leader.
Delbert Scott defeated a woman candidate, the only black House Republican and an abortion moderate.
Scott replaces Mark Richardson who resigned after his arrest for drunken driving.
See our newspaper story for more information.