Hammons said his was optimistic about the district meeting state requirements. The district has two years to meet those standards or it faces loss of accreditation.

Demps says his district is steadily improving its education performance. Last fall, Missouri's Board of Education stripped the school district of accredidation status as of May 1, 2000.

Representative Jack Hickey is sponsoring the legislation. The Bridgeton representative wants the memorial built on Capitol grounds, with funding from private donations and charities.

The measure is aimed at bringing recognition to those who have died while providing construction services to the state of Missouri.

As sponsor of a bill which will require sheriffs to have training as peace officers, Britt says the standards required under the proposed law are very basic. Under existing law, anyone over the age of 18 who has lived in a county for a year and is not a felon can run for sheriff.

This is not a big problem in larger counties where the sheriff is an administrator supervising a team of peace officers. The risk is greater in smaller counties where the sheriff actually goes out on patrol, say bill supporters.

House representatives voted almost exactly on regional lines against the proposed amendment to the transportation bill.

Drunken driving legislation, especially that which focuses on repeat offenders, is high on the list of priorities for many lawmakers.

A separate proposal would substantially increase penalties for repeat offenders.

"I want to keep kids out of possessing tobacco," Hoppe said, crushing a Marlboro in a desktop ashtray filled with spent cigarettes. He soon lit another.

The national preoccupation with kids and tobacco has a local angle. More than half of middle school students in Missouri had used tobacco products at least once, according to a 1999 survey by the Missouri Health Department. Under Hoppe's proposal, vendors would be allowed to choose whether to ask for identification. It would be their responsibility to prevent the sale of tobacco to persons believed to be under the age 18. The burden would be on the purchaser.

Levin says we need to draw a line between technology and privacy.

One volunteer for the Bureau says its not equipped to handle the Spanish speaking community.

Rep. Vicky Wilson, D-Columbia, co-chair of the committee, said that the date was chosen as a reminder. "Domestic violence is a public health issue, is not to be swept under the rug, and affects all of us," she said.

Wilson said the main objective of the committee's recommendations is to create efficient programs both to encourage victims to report abuse and to prosecute the abusers. The committee also proposed bills to strengthen state record keeping. The committee reports that with better records, the state to get more federal funds.