The state Board of Probation and Parole makes several hundred pardon recommendations every year. But for the second year in a row, Gov. Jay Nixon will not be granting any of those pardons.

"It really is a big step to grant a pardon because you are in essence setting aside a person's conviction," said Scott Holste, a spokesman for the governor. "Obviously, that is something that we take extremely seriously before taking that step."

Former Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, granted the state's last pardon in December 2007.

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Missouri will not close a prison, but state workers will face layoffs and public colleges and universities will see funding cuts to close the state's budget shortfall, Gov. Jay Nixon said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press.

He has previously said the state faces a budget gap of $500 million to $700 million.

In the interview, Nixon also confirmed he would seek re-election in 2012. Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder may enter the race against Nixon, although there are currently no official challengers.

The Ethics Commission handed down the fine against former Rep. Rodney Hubbard, D-St. Louis, because financial activities by his unsuccessful primary campaign for the state senate in 2008.

The Ethics Commission cited numerous unreported expenditures of campaign funds including ATM cash withdrawals at gambling casinos and purchase of a used van.

The two casino withdrawals,$508, were made just days after Hubbard had lost the August 2008 primary.

They were part of more than $30,000 in cash that the commission found that Hubbard and campaign staffers had pulled out of his campaign fund.

In total, the commission concluded Hubbard's campaign failed to adequately report more than $100,000 in spending.

The commission's $322,000 fine is the largest in recent memory, although the commission's order reduces the amount to $32,000 if it is paid within 90 days and there are no further violations for the next two years.

Another $34,000 was assessed in fines in two other related cases.

The man House Republicans selected to be House speaker next year told reporters he will not accept campaign contributions during the legislative session until it adjourns in mid-May.

Steve Tilley's announcement came just a few days after his campaign committee filed new papers indicating it was organized for a race for lieutenant governor.

Tilley related his decision to his earlier decision two years not to accept gifts from lobbyists.

The Perryville Republican said that decision came after a discussion with his parents about a story on his acceptance of lobbyist gifts.

"I asked them what they thought and it was like, 'Steve we know that you're an honest, decent person, but the perception is not good from these articles."

During the last legislative session, Tilley unsuccessfully sought to pass legislation that would impose a legal ban on acceptance of lobbyist gifts by lawmakers.

Now, selected by Republicans to be the top leader in the House, Tilley said he has urged freshmen Republican members to turn down lobbyist handouts.

And Tilley suggested there would be House rule changes, although he would not disclose the specifics.

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Only 10 states have legislation regulating how schools handle sports brain injuries. Missouri is not one of them.

Outgoing St. Louis County Democratic Representative Don Calloway sponsored the legislation that passed the house in the last legislative session. But, there had been concerns by the Senate with how to implement and fund the legislation.

While the legislature has not passed any legislation, the Missouri State High School Activities Association does have guidelines for its member schools. They say the student athlete should not to return to the field or court until they have been cleared by a doctor trained in sports brain injuries.

The National Football League now forces players to sit out at least one game after suffering a concussion and cleared to play.

A study conducted from 1997 to 2007 indicates the number of teens who've been diagnosed with a concussion in emergency rooms has tripled.

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Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. spoke before the House Budget committee Monday, pushing for increased funding to drug courts.

These courts give non-violent drug users in state prisons the opportunity to get off a drug habit and reinstate themselves into society.

Sitting in front of a panel of casually dressed representatives, Price declared that moving more of these inmates from prisons into drug courts would "save a bundle of money."

"You want to access each individual offender, look at that offenders' risk of re-offense and needs and treat that offender in the cheapest, most effective way possible," Price said. "Generally you get a much better result because they are not hanging around a bunch of people who are worse than them."

He added that the state saves as much as $16,400 per inmate moved from prisons.

Price also admitted that some Missouri prisons may need to be closed down to fund the increased role of drug courts.

Legislators were generally supportive of the Price's plan, but few did voice concerns and additional ideas.

Columbia Rep. Chris Kelly said he worried over the creation of a new judicial "bureaucracy" being formed to deal with non-violent prisoners. Price dismissed the idea.

St. Charles Rep. Sally Faith said she wanted Price's plan to be more transparent to the Missouri people, saying it concerned a matter of public safety.

"I can see where it is an opportunity or an option but I would hope in that process or that development that there would certainly be an education piece," Faith said. "Because, as elected officials, that is what we are going to have questions of from our constituents."

According to Price, there are 128 drug courts in Missouri and about 3,000 people using this program.

The success rate--how many prisoners are successfully taken off drugs and re-assimilated back into society--for drug courts in the state is "a little more than 50 percent."

Prisoners must pay a fee to enter into a drug court and also receive recommendations from prosecuting and defense attorneys and the presiding judge.

Price estimated the increased funding for drug courts would not take effect until the 2012 budget.

"I realize this is a political decision for you all," Price admitted.

During his State of the Judiciary address in February, Price also alluded to a need for a massive overhaul of Missouri's system for addressing non-violent offenders.

"Perhaps the biggest waste of resources in all of state government is the over-incarceration of nonviolent offenders and our mishandling of drug and alcohol offenders," Price said in that speech.

Gov. Jay Nixon told reporters Thursday he had no plans to change either his style or his approach in the aftermath of the GOP victories in Missouri.

Voters handed the Republican Party more seats in the General Assembly at any time in the state's history.

Nixon said he did not see a reason to switch tactics, saying he has been a middle-of-the road Democrat.

It was Nixon's first extended public comments about the Republican victories and subsequent legislative party caucuses since the November elections.

In his first office news conference in months, Gov. Jay Nixon Thursday said he plans to reschedule the canceled business trip involving the sale of Missouri products to Taiwan.

Nixon canceled the trip to Taiwan and South Korea last Friday, citing "travel challenges." On the trip, he was expected to sign a letter of intent for a trade deal worth $600 million to Missouri over the next five years.

At the conference, Nixon said tension between China and Taiwan played a role in the decision to cancel, but that he intends to seal the deal when he reschedules the trip.

"I think it's important to know we will continue to work with our partners to reschedule this trade mission," he said. "I value the relationships we have and the growing opportunities we have with both Taiwan and Korea. I think we have other opportunities also, be they in Asia, Europe or South America."

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Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse is Colleen Coble.

 She says the about three fourths of the emergency shelters in Missouri are full so far this year.

Reports from the Coalition in 2009 showed a 60 percent increase in refusing women in the shelters from over-capacity. Reports for this year have not been released yet.

Coble says there are other services being offered if shelters cannot take in women like job training and transportation vouchers.

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The president's proposed federal estate tax could bring millions of dollars in revenue back to Missouri, said State Budget Director Linda Luebbering.

Missouri received an average of $160 million a year from the federal estate tax when it was fully phased in, said Luebbering — money the state lost when the estate tax was fully repealed in 2010.

"If it came back and the federal government decided to share in that revenue with the state, it would actually be a positive for us," Luebbering said. "We're not counting on it, but if it were to happen, it would increase revenue for us."

The estate tax is currently scheduled to take effect again on Jan. 1, at a rate of 55 percent for estates worth more than $1 million.

Pres. Barack Obama proposed a lower estate tax as part of the bipartisan compromise. If passed, the federal government would impose a 35 percent tax on estates worth more than $5 million for the next two years.

"The Republicans have asked for more generous treatment on the estate tax than I think is wise or warranted," Obama said in a press conference. "But we have insisted that will be temporary."

If not passed by the legislature, the estate tax will default to the scheduled 55 percent tax with a $1 million exemption. In either case, this could mean more money for Missourians as long as the federal government is willing to share, said Luebbering.

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For the second time in as many days since abandoning a scheduled trade mission to Asia worth $600 million to Missouri, Gov. Jay Nixon refused to talk with reporters at a media event.

After handing out a medal to a World War II veteran in Jefferson City on Tuesday, Nixon, whose office on Friday said the trip was postponed because of "travel challenges," simply walked away.

Nixon was supposed to travel to Taiwan and South Korea starting Friday. While in Taiwan, he was expected to sign an agreement for businesses there to purchase $120 million in Missouri exports for each of the next five years. A Nixon spokesman declined to say whether the Taiwanese business deal would happen.

"We put out a statement Friday afternoon; that's the extent of what we're going to say," said Scott Holste, a spokesman for the governor.

The trip was delayed after leaders of a proposed Midwest-China trade hub at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport said they were concerned Chinese leaders might be angry over the Taiwanese deal, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. China and Taiwan have clashed for years over Taiwanese independence.

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Both the governor's travel expenses and his public relations staff came under questioning by an interim House Budget Committee Monday.

The review is part of days of hearings by the committee in preparation for the legislative session that begins in January.

State Budget Director Linda Luebbering defended the work-load of the the governor's three full-time communications aids. She also acknowledged previous news stories that some of the governor's travel expenses are shifted to other agencies over which the governor has authority.

The Associated Press has reported by between June 2009 and May, the governor's flights at cost more than $260,000 with $80,000 covered by the Economic Development Department.

The governor's total budget for this current fiscal year is about $2 million to cover staff salaries, operational expenses and travel.

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Faced with the prospect of losing a U.S. House seat when the Republican-dominated state legislature redraws Congressional districts next session, St. Louis Democrats say one of their top priorities will be ensuring that the state's first congressional district retains its black plurality.

The first congressional district, represented by William Lacy Clay, Jr., is the only district in which blacks comprise a plurality of voters -- just under 50 percent of the total population -- and state legislators from that district argue it ought to stay that way.

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Governor Jay Nixon made a brief dedication to U.S. veterans for the Wreaths Across America Program Monday afternoon.

The Governor spoke for five minutes and the Patriot Guard Riders presented a wreath to him for their high success with raising money this year.

Head Coordinator for the Wreaths Across America Program spoke after the Governor made his opening remarks, and said the high success was a result of help from other companies which delivered at least 80 wreaths to each cemetery in Missouri.

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A bank headed by the chairman of the Missouri Bankers Association has filed suit challenging a state law restricting committee-to-committee transfer of campaign funds.

The provision passed by the legislature last spring was described as prohibiting transfers of money between political committees.

Supporters argued it would provide more transparency in campaign finance sources because the actual source of a contribution could not be as easily hidden by transfers of money between committees.

But the law also covers some types of banks.

Legends Bank in Linn and its president John Klebba, argue in their petition that the law violates their free speech rights.

Republican legislative leaders had promoted the campaign-transfer restriction and other transparency provisions has a more effective approach than the governor's call to restore limits on campaign contributions.

Montee was elected Saturday by the state Democratic Committee.

The switch in party leadership comes just weeks after the party suffered its biggest defeat in decades, including Montee's own defeat for re-election as state auditor.

Several Democrats have complained privately about the role of the party leading up to the campaign and had mentioned Montee as a possibility to shake things up.

Montee replaces Craig Hosmer, a former state House member and attorney in Springfield. He had not sought another two-year term as chair.

Flakes of plaster fall from the ceiling of the House Chamber and construction workers are called in to fix it before legislative session resumes.

Director of Operations for the House of Representatives Keith Sappington says he noticed the deteriorating plaster earlier this summer, but the problem has gotten worse this winter.

Sappington also says the workers will need three weeks at most to fix the ceiling, but it will definitely be fixed before legislative session.

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