Missouri Government News for the Week of April 27, 2009

The Missouri Senate-passed plan to expand health care coverage for the lower income is facing a major change from the House Health Insurance Committee.

The Senate version of the bill, called "Show Me Health Care," would cover about 35,000 uninsured parents who make too much to qualify for Medicaid, said bill sponsor Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles County.

But the House committee substitute released Thursday would change the eligibility requirements. Rather than covering uninsured parents, the proposal before the committee would change the objective to covering people who are uninsurable due to preexisting conditions.

.	Swine flu confirmed in Missouri. (05/01/2009)

Just two days after Missouri announced a probable case, the federal Centers for Disease Control confirmed Friday Missouri's first case of swine flu.

In announcing the confirmation, the state's Health Department provided a bit more information about the patient. She's a woman in her 30s from the western side of the state who recently had traveled to Missouri.

According to the department, the woman got anti-viral medication and never was admitted to a hospital.

One day earlier, the state health officials reported another probable case of swine flu in the Kansas City area.

.	$336 million in stimulus funding for state projects rejected in House (04/30/2009)

Missouri House rejected a bill Thursday that would fund a variety of contraction and maintenance projects in the state using $336 million in federal stimulus funds.

Those projects include:

$111.7 million for a statewide communications upgrade for law enforcement;
$31.2 million for planning, design, renovation, and construction of a new building for Columbia's Ellis Fischel Cancer Center;
$13 million for University of Missouri Hospitals and Clinics; and
$12 million for an expanded transit system in St. Louis and Kansas City, among several other capital improvement projects.

Democrats opposing the bill charged that it was filled with "pork" projects that unnecessarily spent federal funds.

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.	Safer cigarette bill makes way to governor's desk (04/30/2009)

The Missouri Senate passed a bill that would require stores to sell a safer-burning cigarette.

Get the radio story.

.	Missouri Democrats can't stop tax cut (04/30/2009)

Winning by only nine votes, the House said yes to an amendment that would give Missourians a permanent tax cut.

Democrats are opposed because they say it's irresponsible.

The tax cut would use $1 billion dollars of federal stimulus money.

Get the radio story.

.	Two possible cases of swine flu in Missouri (04/30/2009)

A Platte County woman and a Missouri resident who was hospitalized in Nebraska are two possible cases of swine flu in the state.

Director of the state health department, Margaret Donnelly says approximately a couple dozen people have been tested in Missouri.

There are no business closings, and antiviral medicines have been distributed to health centers all over Missouri.

Get the radio story.

.	MO House makes stimulus tax cut permanent (04/30/2009)

The Missouri House passed a $463 million annual tax cut Thursday as a means to spend the stimulus money.

Senate leaders and the governor's office say the cut is not likely to be approved by the legislature. House Democrats called the move the "GOP desperation act of 2009."

Get the newspaper story.

.	Missouri's legislature approves helmetless adult motorcycle riders. (04/29/2009)

Missouri's House passed and sent the governor a measure that would repeal the requirement for motorcyclists to wear helmets, but only if the person is 21 years of age or older.

The provision quietly had been tacked on to a less controversial provision and won easy approval in the Senate in March.

Measures to repeal the helmet law have been in Missouri's legislature for years and have been strongly pushed by motorcycle advocates.

In 1999, a measure cleared the legislature, but was vetoed by then-Gov. Mel Carnahan.

Get the bill, SB 202.
Get the House vote.
Get the earlier Senate vote.

.	The Missouri House adopted an amendment that will allocate $12 million to St. Louis Metro (04/29/2009)

Democratic Representative Rachel Storch from St. Louis City sponsored this amendment.

She says this money will help re-introduce jobs that were cut in March.

.	Virginia Tech Shooting Survivor Speaks out against guns on campuses (04/29/2009)

Colin Goddard, 23, was shot four times but survived the Virginia Tech massacre back in 2007.

He spoke at a press conference in Jefferson City condemning a bill which would allow concealed firearms on Missouri college campuses.

Goddard argues that campuses are in fact less safe when there are more guns on school grounds.

At least one bill supporter, Republican Senator Matt Bartle, says if guns were around during the shooting at Northern Illinois and Virginia Tech then the shootings could have been avoided.

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.	Columbia projects one step closer to millions in funding (04/29/2009)

State lawmakers brought Columbia a step closer to tens of millions of dollars and economic growth after reviewing two pieces of legislation Wednesday.

Funding for the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center was restored to a bill that advanced Wednesday and may be decided in the House on Thursday. A Senate committee also approved an $800 million bond issue to benefit capital improvement projects that lost funding from the 2006 sale of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority's assets.

Get a summary of the legislation.
Get the newspaper story about the bond issue.
Get the newspaper story about Ellis Fischel funding.
Get the radio story about Ellis Fischel funding.

.	A daylong debate in the Senate created little resolve for a proposed constitutional amendment. (04/29/2009)

The amendment would change how the Appellate Judicial Commission selects Missouri judges.

Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis County, led the debate.

The Senate voted and adopted one amendment that would increase the size of the commission by adding two more citizens.

Get the radio story.

.	A Senate committee hears a bill that would eliminate income and franchise taxes (04/29/2009)

Rep. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, sponsored a bill that was heard Wednesday by the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

The committee room was filled with the bill's supporters, who were all wearing "Fair Tax" buttons and stickers.

The bill would eliminate income and franchise taxes and increase the sales tax by less than 1 percent.

.	Governor announces state's first probable swine flu case. (04/29/2009)

Gov. Jay Nixon reported Missouri's first case of swine flu in Platte County, Missouri.

Nixon says the first batch of antiviral drugs are on their way to the county; the rest of Missouri will follow.

The governor's office is not identifying the name, age or gender of the person. Nixon also did not say whether the person had traveled to Mexico.

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.	A bill to hinder police from harassing motorcyclists passed through the House and Senate. (04/29/2009)

The bill that just passed allows motorcyclists to wire their bike to modulate, or flicker, either their high or low beams.

This is already a federal law, but the sponsor of the bill says she brought it to attention every year to clear up the confusion.

She says many motorcyclists were getting pulled over because police officers were not familiar with the law on high beams and low beams on the bikes.

Get the radio story.

.	Campus conceal-and-carry bill faces uncertain future in Senate (04/28/2009)

A House bill that would allow people to carry concealed guns on Missouri campuses is unlikely to pass as is, according to some senators.

The amendment, which passed the House by a 105 to 50 vote, was attached to a bill that would lower the age from 23 to 21 for obtaining a conceal-and-carry permit.

The bill faces opposition from at least five senators who intend to filibuster it if it makes it to the Senate floor with the campus provision, said Senate Judiciary Chair Matt Bartle, R-Jackson County, whose committee will hear testimony on the bill.

Get the newspaper story.
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.	Paternity bill clears House (04/28/2009)

The House voted unanimously on a bill changing the notification system for men who are wrongfully accused fathers.

Currently, accused fathers find out through the mail.

This legislation would require an in-person visit notifying individuals that they have been named and ordered to pay child support.

The legislation also protects men who can prove 100 percent that they are not the father from ever again having to pay child support.

Get the radio story.

.	Senate Democrats mock bill recognizing Christmas holiday. (04/28/2009)

Democratic St. Louis County Sens. Joan Bray and Rita Days took to the Senate floor to make fun of a Republican-sponsored bill officially recognizing the legislature's winter break as Christmas break.

The senators proposed amendments recognizing other holidays, including Groundhog's Day and Bray's birthday.

The bill passed the House but still faces a vote in the Senate.

Get the radio story.

.	Missouri Senate defeats bill aimed to provide job security to CAP volunteers (04/28/2009)

The bill would have assured volunteers in the Civil Air Patrol, or CAP, that their jobs would still be there after returning from a mission.

CAP is a volunteer organization that helps in emergencies and disaster situations.

The bill was defeated by four votes.

Get the radio story.

.	Cap on minimum wage advances (04/28/2009)

In 2006, Missourians overwhelmingly approved an increase in the state's minimum wage and ensured that it would be tied to increases in the state's cost of living. If a bill that has already passed the state House becomes law, tipped employees would see their minimum wage capped following a final rate hike in July.

Currently, tipped employees in the state must earn half the minimum wage for non-tipped employees.

If a bill sponsored by Rep. Timothy Jones, R-Eureka, becomes law, the cap on wages for tipped employees would be set indefinitely at $3.63 per hour.

Get the newspaper story.

.	Missouri House gives child-support bill final passage (04/28/2009)

The bill will install a new court system, similar to drug rehabilitation programs in the state, and offer job training and other resources for parents who can't pay child support.

It passed on Tuesday without opposition.

Get the radio story.

.	Public officials not off the hook (04/27/2009)

A senate filibuster on Monday laid aside a House bill that would have protected public officials from lawsuits.

Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis County, debated with Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis County, about what the consequence would be to school officials if a student is accidentally killed.

Get the radio story.

. Federal funding for Ellis Fischel at stake after House dispute (04/27/2009)

A state House committee stripped the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center of $31.2 million in federal stimulus funds after House Democrats walked out of the committee hearing Monday.

During a dispute over rules and procedure in the House Rules Committee hearing, all Democrats on committee -- including Rep. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia -- departed and left the vote to the Republicans on committee. With the Democrats absent, House Republican floor leader Steve Tilley forwarded an amendment that would redistribute Ellis Fischel's funds to community colleges, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Southeast Missouri State University.

Get the newspaper story.
Get the radio story.

.	$1 billion in tax cuts passes House committee (04/27/2009)

An amendment that would create a $1 billion, two-year income tax cut passed the House Tax Reform Committee on Monday. In a 7-to-4 vote along party lines, Republicans voted the measure through.

Some Democratic representatives criticized the cuts as only benefiting the wealthiest of Missourians.

Get the newspaper story.

.	Gov. Nixon says he expects fiscal progress this week (04/27/2009)

Missouri lawmakers have less than two weeks to resolve conflicts and pass the state budget.

But despite the lack of progress in the 2009 legislative session, Gov. Jay Nixon says he is still optimistic.

He says he expects budget issues to be resolved this week.

Get the radio story.

.	Senate Assistant Majority Leader Gary Nodler is still silent about potential congressional run. (04/27/2009)

In February, Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, announced that he was interested in running for Republican Congressman Roy Blunt's vacated seat in the U.S. House.

Nodler still has not made an official decision on whether he will run, which he says will come once the 2009 legislative session ends and after he has finished resolving conflicts over the state budget.

But Nodler says it is likely he will run.

Get the radio story.

.	Senators debate whether higher education building bonds would be good debt or bad debt (04/27/2009)

A proposal that would create a funding option for $700 million worth of higher education capital projects faced opposition from Senate Democrats in a committee hearing Monday afternoon.

The measure, which is sponsored by Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, passed the House on April 16 with a 131 to 28 vote.

If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, the proposal would give Missouri voters the opportunity to issue bonds to fund higher education projects. The amount would be enough to cover first-priority projects for 4-year state universities and community colleges as well as finish all uncompleted projects begun under the Lewis and Clark initiative, Kelly said.

Get the newspaper story.
Get the radio story.

.	Nixon addresses Missouri's response to swine flu outbreak. (04/27/2009)

Gov. Jay Nixon sent out a news release Monday morning addressing the state's plan for combating swine flu, despite the fact that there have been no confirmed cases in Missouri.

The release stated that the Department of Health and Senior Services has stocked enough anti-viral medication to treat 600,000 cases of the virus.

In the release, Nixon advised hand washing and general health precautions.

Get the radio story.

. AmerenUE pulls plug on power plant (04/23/2009)

AmerenUE suspended its plans Thursday to build an estimated $6 billion nuclear power plant in Callaway County.

The company's CEO also requested that legislators withdraw a Senate bill company officials have supported since January that would allow AmerenUE to raise electric rates to pay for financing plant construction. That bill and a similar measure considered in the House have become major issues this legislative session, but neither proposal has received a final vote on either the House or Senate floor after months of debate.

When asked if AmerenUE would continue its efforts to obtain a federal license for the facility, a company spokeswoman said Ameren was in discussions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency to which the company applied for the license.

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.	House Republicans aim to use stimulus money for tax reduction (04/23/2009)

Tired of what they called a feeding frenzy, House Republican leadership said that in place of giving out federal stimulus money to pet projects, they're going to give it to Missourians in the form of a tax reduction.

All details have yet to be announced, but the bill would use $1 billion in federal stimulus money for a half percent tax cut.

The bill will go to straight to the Rules Committee next week.

Get the radio story.
Get the newspaper story.

.	Kelly calls Nixon's jobs program a "mystery" (04/22/2009)

Rep. Chris Kelly, a Columbia Democrat, was one of several members of his party on the House Budget Committee to strip $100 million from Gov. Nixon's job training program Monday.

Kelly and others voted for projects in their own districts, which Kelly says will create jobs and are more transparent than Nixon's plan.

The spending is part of more than $2 billion in federal stimulus money the committee passed Monday. The bills now move to the full House.

Get the radio story.

.	Republican representatives held a caucus but no one's talking about what was said. (04/22/2009)

Republican representatives have kept silent over what they discussed in caucus.

Some said it was about the budget but would not go into any specific details.

Get the radio story.

.	People who deal drugs in front of children would face mandatory prison time under a measure approved by Missouri's House on Tuesday. (04/21/2009)

Rep. Mike McGhee, R-Odessa, sponsored the amendment to require prison time of anyone who sells or buys drugs in front of a child.

But the idea came under attack from Rep. Michael Brown, D-Jackson County, who questioned the costs of housing more people in prison.

The measure faces one more House vote before going to the Senate.

Get the radio story.
Get the bill, HB 384.

.	Missouri's Supreme Court rejects a public records request. (04/21/2009)

A Missouri watchdog group accused the Missouri Supreme Court of violating the Sunshine Law this week by refusing to provide e-mail correspondence of its employees.

Better Courts for Missouri, a group based in Jefferson City seeking changes in the judge-selection process, requested all the e-mails from official and personal accounts of Supreme Court employees sent this year. They also asked to see policies relating to the "personal or private use of public resources such as computers, e-mail systems, office supplies, vehicles or time-off requests."

In a written reply dated April 16, Supreme Court Clerk Thomas Simon wrote that the Supreme Court was not bound by its laws to provide the information requested.

Get the newspaper story.
Get the radio story.
The Sunshine Law at http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/c610.htm.

.	The Missouri Senate unanimously approved a bill that would correct what one legislator says was erroneously put into law in the first place. (04/21/2009)

Current law says those who work in a prison or correctional facility may not have sexual contact with those on parole.

One legislator said this is not fair because it is impossible to know whether someone out in public is on parole.

If Gov. Jay Nixon signs the bill, it will take effect immediately.

Get the radio story.
Get the newspaper story.

.	House gives second-round approval on food stamp bill for elderly. (04/21/2009)

A bill giving households of one or two elderly people extra food stamps was given second-round approval by the House on Tuesday.

In order to qualify, both individuals must at least 65 years old. The most someone could receive is $30.

If passed, the program will be run by the Department of Social Services.

Get the radio story.

.	House Democrats wanted more discussion on governor's health care proposal -- but to no avail (04/21/2009)

House Democrats wanted an additional conference in budget talks to discuss Gov. Jay Nixon's expansion of child health care, but 85 House members denied the chance.

Nixon's proposal has met with opposition in both the House and the Senate.

Get the newspaper story.

.	New mortgage broker tracking system gets final approval in state legislature. (04/21/2009)

Both chambers passed new requirements making it mandatory for every mortgage lender to register with the state for a new tracking ID.

The bill will head off new regulations by HUD and will require the lender ID on every loan application, advertisement and other paperwork produced by brokers.

The new system was introduced as a way to keep track of which brokers are lending responsibly.

Get the radio story.

.	Governor's job plan stripped of funds in House Committee (04/20/2009)

House lawmakers cast a blow to a job-creation plan sponsored by Democrat Gov. Jay Nixon during a committee meeting Monday.

The governor's $100 million job-creation incentive program would have provided 'forgivable loans' to businesses that pledged to create 100 new jobs in Missouri within the next five years. The money was expected to come from budget stabilization funds provided by the federal government.

The House Budget Committee on Monday removed all of the money during a day-long hearing and reallocated most of it to one-time projects. The budget bill, along with the three others approved by the committee, have already been considered by the Senate and now moves to the House floor. Once the bills are approved by the House, they must be reconciled in a joint House and Senate committee before being sent to the governor.

Get the newspaper story.
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.	State's budget director says revenues may decline more than expected (04/20/2009)

State Budget Director Linda Luebbering says tax revenues could fall more than the projected 4 percent this year.

The state needs the money to pay back the $325 million it borrowed from reserves this year, which Luebbering says the state will still be able to do.

Get the radio story.

.	Banks don't need to notify anyone when personal information is breached (04/20/2009)

On Thursday, the Senate passed a bill that would require banks to notify individuals when their personal information has been compromised.

It is among several proposals in the Missouri General Assembly that would look into the issue of identity theft.

Get the newspaper story.

NewsBook: Missouri Government News for the Week of April 27, 2009