.	Missouri's House votes to let adult motorcyclists ride without helmets. (03/15/2007)

The House sent the Senate a measure that would repeal, for adults only, the law that requires a helmet be worn while riding a motorcycle.

Long pushed by motorcyclist activist groups, it has faced strong opposition from state law enforcement and was vetoed by the governor in 1999.

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Missouri's House passed and sent the Senate a measure that would allow journalists to refuse legal orders to disclose sources or reveal un-reported information. 

The measure, however, gives judges the power to compel the testimony, in some cases.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee predicts the bill will die in the Senate were similar legislation stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee last year.

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A bill that could change how cable TV service is offered in Missouri passed the General Assembly this week and is headed to Gov. Matt Blunt, who indicated he intends to sign it into law.

Proponents say the measure will increase choices and lower prices of cable TV, but critics are afraid customers may be forced to sign service contracts and will have no outlet for voicing complaints.

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The cable bill was approved 143 to 4 in the House Chamber. 

House Minority Leader, Jeff Harris, was one of the four who opposed the bill.

Harris said there was inadequate consumer protection.

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The governor's plan to sell off some of the state's higher education loan authority assets is in a political quagmire. Not only will Republicans and Democrats decide on a plan, but Democrats cannot come to an agreement amongst themselves, one Senate Democrat said Wednesday.

Late Tuesday morning a group of Republicans and Democrats met to find a bipartisan compromise on Sen. Gary Nodler's, R-Joplin, wide-spanning higher education bill that includes the MoHELA sale. The meeting came directly after Senate Democrats easily held a 14-hour filibuster blocking a vote on Nodler's bill.

Sen. Wes Shoemyer, D-Clarence, one of the leading opponents against the governor's MoHELA plan said he was pleased that he was invited to the meeting, but at the end of the meeting he said it was clear that there was no deal and all the changes were tentative.

"The fact that there was a meeting raised a lot of expectation on the other side," Shoemyer said.

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A bill sponsored by St. Louis County Senator Jeff Smith will allow the Mayor to sponsor St. Louis charter schools.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay testified in support of his office sponsoring charter schools, saying in order for there to be a difference in the St. Louis public school system, there must be state intervention.

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A reluctant lobbyist, Tim Oliver has spent 16 years in Jefferson City attempting to change the way that Missouri and its legislators view gun laws.

As a volunteer gun lobbyist and private investigator, Oliver's efforts began in 1991, when he lobbied in favor of concealed-carry, an issue that was becoming prevalent throughout gun-rights groups throughout the country. And it was a career created more out of practicality than out of any deep-rooted desire to get into politics.

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After reporters contacted the state's Office of Administration seeking information about the state's contracts with private contractors, an email was sent to the office's employees instructing them to not respond to media inquiries without permission.

The directive was said to be a standard policy, but was criticized as being an attempt to silence government workers.

After last week's apprehension of 22 suspected illegal immigrants working for a state government contractor, privatization of government services came under criticism.

Gov. Matt Blunt's office says there is no connection between privatization and what happened with the contractor.

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Senate Republican leaders abruptly adjourned the Senate Tuesday night after acknowledging they could not win over Democratic support for the governor's proposal to use assets of the state's college loan program MoHELA to fund a statewide building construction program and stop a filibuster to allow a vote on the plan.

A 14-hour Democratic filibuster had blocked Senate action on Gov. Matt Blunt's proposal Monday night and Tuesday morning.

In an angry speech before adjourning the Senate Tuesday evening, the chamber's president pro tem Mike Gibbons charged Democrats with "putting politics ahead of people."

On the other side, Democratic legislators had warned that using the college loan program's assets for building construction could jeopardize low-interest loans for students in the future.  MoHELA's own private financial adviser had termed the original Republican proposal "fundamentally flawed."

After a 14 hour filibuster by Senate Democrats Monday night, Senate leaders met Tuesday afternoon in an attempt to reach a compromise on the future of the MOHELA sale.

Democrats said the original intent of the bill has been "gutted" and with out compromise from the Republican party they will continue the filibuster that began Monday night and lasted for 14 hours.

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Gov. Matt Blunt's push to privatize government services has been criticized on the heels of last week's detention of two dozen illegal immigrants working for a private contractor to clean state offices.

Some critics say privatization opens the door for contractors to cut corners to save money.

After 14-straight hours of filibuster on the governor's plan to sell off assets of the state's college loan program, Missouri's Senate Republican Leader adjourned the Senate for a three-hour break.

Sen. Charlie Shields said he was calling a three hour break in order for the two party caucuses to reassess their positions.

Throughout the night and into the morning, Democrats showed no indication of giving in as members tag-teamed with some sleeping while others talked.

Last year, Republicans were able to vote down a Democratic filibuster.  But this year, Republicans lack a two-thirds vote necessary to shut off a filibuster.

Senate Democrats filibustered throughout the night to block a vote on the latest plan of Gov. Matt Blunt to sell parts of the MoHELA college loan program to finance a building construction program.

Democrats warned that selling off the program's assets could endanger the program and that any profits generated from MoHELA ought to be used for students rather than buildings.

The Republican efforts to force a vote came after MoHELA's outside private consultant had advised delaying on the sale idea and just days after two former University of Missouri curators attacked the sale idea.

Failure to reach a vote was the second major legislative setback for the Republican governor in as many weeks.  Last week, the House rejected a plan pushed by the governor for tax credits for children to attend private schools in St. Louis and Kansas City.

The House gave first round approval to a measure that would give reporters a limited right to withhold the names of the sources. 

The measure also would could information that had not been broadcast or published.

It would not give reporters an unlimited right, but rather would establish a method by which a judge would have authority to decide whether to require a journalist reveal the information or keep it confidential.

The measure faces one more House vote before it can go to the Senate.

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The general counsel for the staff of the Public Service Commission called AmerenUE a disappointing company on the opening day of arguments in the company's rate-increase case.

Kevin Thompson attacked the company for the failure of the Taum Sauk reservoir and the subsequent storm-relate power outages that keep hundreds of thousands of Missourian without power for days.

AmerenUE is seeking its first rate increase in 20 years.  They're seeking an increase that would cost the average customer about $6 per day.  PSC staff, however, have recommended a rate reduction.

The PSC has schedule three weeks for the hearings.

Two former University of Missouri Board of Curators on Sunday came out against the governor's plan to sell off some of the assets of the state's loan authority, and said a lawsuit might be brought forward if the Senate passes a bill that authorizes the sell to fund campus building projects.

John P. Lichtenegger and Sean McGinnis, both practicing lawyers who served on the board of curators a different times in the 90s and early 2000s, wrote an editorial that was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Sunday.

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