School teachers and Missouri  lawmakers met Thursday, Feb. 20, to debate federal backed school standards after one lawmaker said the standards are not helping the state's public schools.

The Common Core Standards is a list of requirements generated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices in 2010 that has since been implemented in schools of 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Rep. Kurt Bahr, R- St. Charles, proposed a bill that would place a ban on these standards.

Individuals who testified in favor of the bill said the program was designed without the input of Missouri educators and gives the central government control of education.

Those in opposition to the bill said the standards do not tell teachers how to teach, but instead hold educators at a higher level and bridges a gap between student’s success from high school to college.

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The Senate Education Committee approved Thursday, Feb. 20, a measure that would provide public-school funding for students from unaccredited schools to attend non-religious private schools.

The measure also would allow the governing board of an unaccredited district to terminate the contracts of school staff, including tenured teachers.

Under current law, a student attending school in an unaccredited district has the right to transfer to a nearby accredited public school. The unaccredited district is required to pay the tuition costs for the transfer.

Under the Senate Education Committee's plan, a district without an accredited school would be required to pay at least some of the tuition costs for a student who chose to attend a private, non-religious school.

The committee chair, Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, said the bill could come up for full Senate debate as early as Tuesday, Feb. 25.

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The Missouri House of Representatives passed two bills, Wednesday, Feb. 19, that would provide tax cuts to both businesses and individuals.

The first measure would gradually cut Missouri's income taxes for business in half, from 6.25 percent to 3.125 percent.

Republicans said the tax cuts would help improve the economy.

In a statement, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon said he supports legislation that would provide certain individual tax cuts, but not tax cuts to businesses.

"I've never been opposed to making responsible changes to our tax code," Nixon said. "In fact, I've cut taxes four times as governor. Missouri now has the sixth lowest taxes in the nation. But if we're going to cut taxes, I want it done the right way."

The second bill  approved by the House would grant tax cuts to individuals.

Taxes would be cut by $100 million a year for seven years.

The bill was amended to only trigger tax cuts if the general revenue reaches $150 million.

Nixon and the Senate's tax cut bill sponsor have been negotiating a compromise on tax-cut legislation.

Nixon vetoed an income tax cut bill last year.

Later in the week, the House passed both bills, sending them to the Senate for approval.

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A Johns Hopkins University study found a 2007 repeal of permit-to-purchase caused a 16 percent increase in Missouri's murder rate.

The repealed permit-to-purchase law required gun buyers to be approved by the local sheriff and to receive a license before buying a gun.

According to a press release from Johns Hopkins University, the analysis "controlled for changes in policing, incarceration, burglaries, unemployment, poverty, and other state laws adopted during the study."

The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Urban Health and the data used in the study came from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting system.

Missouri's leading 2nd Amendment rights advocate Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington, questioned the accuracy of the findings.

"This is something that would require a heck of a lot more scrutiny, not only from myself, but anybody else that wants to either believe or refute this," Nieves said.

Nieves has sponsored four gun rights bills this session and one has passed the Senate. He has sponsored similar measures in the past.

Gov. Jay Nixon signed legislation Wednesday, Feb. 19, that would give deployed members of the military running for office the chance to have their names come first on the ballot.

On filing day, candidates enter names into a random drawing determining the order of the names on the ballot.

The new law allows deployed members of the military or people who can not physically be there to designate proxies to participate in the drawing for them.

This is the first bill to become law this year and it is effective immediately.

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The waiting period before an abortion could be preformed would be extended from 24 to 72 hours under proposed legislation.

Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, the bill sponsor, presented the bill to the Senate Wednesday, Feb. 18.

"I just believe that 24 hours is too short of period," Sater said.

Sen. Scott Sifton, D-St. Louis County said he worried about travel arrangements for the patient because the only abortion clinic in Missouri is in St. Louis.

The Senate did not take any action on the bill and it was placed on the Senate's informal calendar.

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Lawmakers consider legislation that would grant the Department of Corrections the authority to decide how to carry out the death penalty. 

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, proposed the bill Wednesday, Feb. 19. 

Currently, the only two forms of execution the department is allowed to use are lethal injections or gas. However, because the state does not have a functioning gas chamber, lethal injection is the state's only option.

Before proposing the bill, Schaefer and Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar, addressed the abduction of a young girl in Springfield, Tuesday Feb. 18, that triggered an Amber Alert.

"It's just like what occurred in Springfield last night," said Schaefer. "A random abduction of a teenage girl, for nothing but a short sexual gratification encounter and then murder. If we are going to talk about the death penalty, and we are going to talk about pentobarbital and whether or not an inmate feels some pain, then we are going to have discussion about the details of these crimes."

Michael Taylor is scheduled for execution Wednesday, Feb. 26 for the death of a 15-year-old Kansas City girl.

Pentobarbital has been used in Missouri's last three executions, however, the Oklahoma pharmacy that usually sells pentobarbital to the department announced it would not sell the drug for lethal injections.

The same day, the head of the Corrections Department, George Lombardi, declined to tell lawmakers whether the department had enough of the execution drug for Taylor's execution next week.

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Red light and speed camera violations would not add points to a driving record under legislation proposed to lawmakers.

Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, presented a bill to the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Wednesday, Feb. 19, that would prohibit the Department of Revenue from assessing points to a person's driving record for tickets issued by red light and speed cameras.

Munzlinger expressed his overall opposition to red light and speed cameras.

"I've never really been in favor of [red light and speed cameras], but instead of totally banning them, this I feel is a good middle-of-the-road bill," Munzlinger said.

The red light camera issue has been hotly contested in Missouri over the last year.

The controversy is somewhat related to how a driver's license points are handled.

Appeals courts in St. Louis and Kansas City have ruled that running a red light is a moving violation and points must be assessed against a driver.

Those cases are currently on appeal at the Missouri Supreme Court.

Sen. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City, expressed concern about the red light cameras and brought up the point about freedom.

"It concerns me, the argument on one side to say 'well, do you want less accidents?' Well, okay, I want less accidents. What are you willing to give up to have less accidents?" Holsman asked.

Creve Coeur Police Chief Glenn Eidman testified in favor of the bill and he said the red light cameras have greatly helped his city.

"It is a piece of technology that has been very effective for us and without the use of that technology, I'm very concerned that things could get a lot worse as far as semblance of order, traffic accidents, and just the obedience of the general population in that area," Eidman said.

As is usual when a bill is first heard, the committee did not take any action. 

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The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education drafted the Missouri School Improvement Program to help school districts that fall into the provisionally accredited group. According to the program's report, "such districts, are not providing children with education that meets the state's standards for academic achievement."

The board rolled out the draft of a state plan for classification, support, and intervention for its schools Tuesday, Feb. 18, during its education meeting.

Missouri Education Commissioner, Chris Nicastro, said the plan approaches school improvement in a systematic and comprehensive way.

"We want to take a far earlier look at school districts and make sure we intervene much earlier in the process," Nicasto said. "The idea is to help school districts improve and turn around before they reach the unaccredited status."

The program would serve as a preventive measure to keep a district from becoming unaccredited, a problem plaguing school districts in both Kansas City and St. Louis. Rural areas are also a big target for the program. The improvement plan consists of a set of guidelines that will help classify the status of the school and implement department and district actions when necessary.

Teachers' performance would also be monitored, to confirm they are meeting the learning needs of all students.

"The basic concept is that the higher the performance of a school district, the less support and intervention they need from the department," Nicastro said during a news conference. "Our recourses, time, efforts and interventions would be focused primarily on those districts that need the most help."

The program still needs approval from the state Board of Education in their meeting next month.

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One of the state's biggest teacher organizations told lawmakers they don't want teachers carrying firearms in the classroom.

The Missouri branch of the National Education Association does not support the provisions of a gun bill heard by the House General Laws Committee Tuesday, Feb. 18, that would allow teachers to carry guns on school property.

Otto Fajen, a representative from the NEA said the chance for mishaps with a hidden weapon on school grounds is far too strong. He said the lawmakers promoting this bill are doing so without fully considering the risk and liability it would impose on the teachers it would affect. Fajen said firearms should instead be placed in the hands of full-time law enforcement officials and allow them to protect the school so teachers can focus on being educators.

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Just days after the Missouri branch of the National Rifle Association raised objections, Missouri's Senate backed off its approval of the gun-rights bill Monday, Feb. 17, and removed an amendment opposed by the NRA.

The amendment would have required a person to report the theft of a firearm within 72 hours.

Although the amendment had no enforcement provision, it generated quick opposition from the NRA to the entire bill if the amendment was not removed.

Opponents to the amendment warned it could lead to registration of the owners of firearms whose weapons had been stolen.

The Republican effort in the Senate led to a five hour filibuster by Democrats.

The amendment's sponsor -- Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis -- charged Republicans were caving into pressure from the NRA.

"You are following the NRA blindly...and you're not being a free thinker," Nasheed said to Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St.Joseph, who made the motion to reconsider her amendment.

"You turned a blind eye to what is extremely important, particularly in my district," Nasheed told Schaaf.

Schaaf responded that he had concluded his initial support of her amendment was a mistake before the NRA took its position. "I want you to know that I didn't even think about the NRA's position," to which Nasheed responded "ah, give me a break."

In explaining his changed position, Schaaf said that the amendment he originally supported would have set a precedent for a requirement to report a firearm theft that is not required for the theft of any other item.

"Well, if someone stole my knife, I wouldn't have to report it stolen. If someone stole my car, I wouldn't have to report it stolen," he said.

Eventually, after five hours of filibuster, the Senate voted to take off the stolen firearms reporting provision and then gave first-round approval to the revised measure.

The influence of the NRA in Missouri's legislature was a dominate theme in Monday night's filibuster.

Even the sponsor of the firearms rights bill expressed exasperation with the NRA.

"You are talking to one person who can undisputedly be labeled as a person who doesn't give a crap about what the NRA has to say about this amendment because the NRA has not approached this amendment from the standpoint of truth," Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Franklin County, said in response to the charges that the Senate was bowing to NRA pressure.

Nieves has argued that the Missouri branch of the NRA had misrepresented the provisions of the theft-reporting amendment to which he originally had agreed to have added to his bill.

The underlying bill would declare invalid in Missouri any federal law that infringes on Second Amendment firearms rights and impose criminal penalties for violations by federal government workers.

The bill was sent to the House Thursday, Feb. 20, after being passed in the Senate.

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Animal control officers would be protected under a measure that would equate the penalty for attacking an animal control officer with the penalty for attacking a police officer.

Rep. Sheila Solon, R-Jackson County proposed the bill to the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee, Monday, Feb. 17.

Animal control officer Gary Vande Velde testified on the need for such a measure to pass.

"We'd like this bill to pass so maybe it would discourage people from coming agter us, and there would be consquences if they do," Velde said.

Rep. Kathie Conway, R-St. Charles, disagrees with the measure, saying it would "dilute the law."

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.

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Purposely or recklessly causing a building or school to go on lock-down would be considered a felony in Missouri under proposed legislation.

Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis County, proposed the bill to the House Crime Committee.

This issue arose following a St. Louis's KSDK-TV reporter causing a lock-down last month, in order to test security risks at Kirkwood High School. 

"I was pretty terrified," junior Ewan Burns-Wilton said. "I didn't think I would die, I didn't think I would get hurt, because I feel like we have good security at our school. It was not his job to come and test that."

"We admit we made some mistakes, and we have already made some changes," said Kirkwood School Superintendent Tom Williams.

The American Civil Liberties Union opposed the bill. Jay Hardenbrook, the ACLU representative, said that the language should be modified, but the idea is good.

As is usual when a bill is first heard, the committee took no immediate action.

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The father of Ryan Ferguson spoke at the Capitol, Monday, Feb. 17, in favor of a measure that would change the use of eyewitnesses in criminal cases.

Bill Ferguson said he hopes his son's story, which has gained national attention, will help others in the same position.

"Well once we got involved in Ryan's case then we realized there were many other people in similar situations," Ferguson said. "We'd feel that it'd be horrible if we didn't help people that we were convinced that were innocent."

Under the bill, law enforcement agencies that use eyewitness identification procedures would have to adopt written policies governing the procedures. The written policies may include procedures such as one that would require "a blind or blinded administrator" to administer a live or photo lineup, a minimum number of "filler" photos that resemble the suspect in a photo lineup, or written instructions to be given to the witness to "minimize the likelihood of an inaccurate identification."

The bill would also require courts to inform the trial jury of any "factors in the particular case that might raise the risk of a misidentification" from an eyewitness. It would also require law enforcement officers to record all interrogations, and mandates all biological evidence of a first degree murder investigation be retained until either 20 years after the offender has been executed or upon being found innocent.

Ferguson's son, Ryan, was implicated for the murder of Columbia Tribune sports editor Kent Heithold by a former friend who said he experienced dream-like memories of the crime. Ferguson was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

"We shouldn't be dealing with it after-the-fact," the father said. "We should be dealing with these issues before it even happens."

Ryan Ferguson declined to speak with reporters about the measure or his case.

The Senate Judiciary committee has not yet scheduled another hearing.

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A luncheon with the media put the governor in the hot seat about a plethora of issues, including a new form of the tax cut bill he vetoed over the summer.

On Thursday, Gov. Jay Nixon announced he met with Sen. Will Kraus, R- Lee's Summit, to generate a tax cut bill that they can agree on.

Nixon said he would like for the legislature to stop generating tax cut bills that favor the wealthy corporations of Missouri, and instead shift the focus toward working families.

The governor provided a list of requirements that he says must be met in order for him to sign off on the tax cut bill.

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A few states have faced complaints recently from citizens being stopped for data collection of hair and blood samples.

According to complaints, a police officer directs the driver into a traffic stop where the National Highway Traffic Safety Association collects data information from drivers.

Rep. Ken Wilson, R-Smithville, said his bill would make the stop unconstitutional. He said people feel compelled to stop when they see a police officer waving them down.

The stops are voluntary, and the participants receive money compensation for their time. The bill's sponsor said people are unaware that they do not need to stop at the check point.

But Wilson did not get complete support from his party. Rep. Mike Kelley, R-Lamar, said since the stop is voluntary it is not unconstitutional.

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Rep. Mike Kelley, R-Lamar, sponsored a bill that increases the maximum speed limit on rural freeways and interstates.

Kelley said the increase shouldn't cause a change in traffic fatalities.

"When you're driving at 70 mph, if you hit a brick wall, it's not going to matter whether you were driving at 70 mph, 80 mph, 100 mph, in most of those high speed collisions, we know where it's going to end." said Kelley.

Opponents say that an increase in the speed limit has caused an increase in traffic fatalities shown in a prior study.

The bill has not yet made it to the House floor for debate.

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Sen. Jamilah Nasheed asked the NRA to look at her license and see she has a Concealed Carry Permit.

Democrats said it was guns, while Republicans said taxes caused the Senate to take a half hour break Wednesday, Feb. 12. 

Majority Floor Leader Sen. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said the lawmakers met to discuss the tax cut bill.

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis City, said it was probably to discuss her amendment that was added to the gun nullification bill the previous night.

"The NRA called immediately after I offered the amendment and said that, they would take a, this would be a rated vote on third read," said Nasheed.

The National Rifle Association opposed the provision of a bill that would require gun owners to report weapon theft within 72 hours.

In a statement posted on its website, the NRA referenced the amendment Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis City, tacked onto the proposal Tuesday night, calling it an "anti-gun provision."

Nasheed said her amendment was only meant to keep gun owners accountable for stolen property and help law enforcement agencies do their job.

"It's really unfortunate to have the National Rifle Association against a simple amendment," Nasheed said in response to their press release. "I'm not 'anti-gun.' I have a CCW, and I own guns." 

The NRA argued the change is unfair to gun owners and makes them a victim twice. The statement read, "victims of gun theft should not be punished further by being prosecuted for such a 'crime.' Police resources should be focused on finding the real criminals responsible, not further victimizing those who have had not only their belongings stolen, but their sense of security and privacy as well."

Before the NRA's statement, bill sponsor Brian Nieves, R-Washington, said he did not care where the NRA stood on the issue and he did not think Nasheed's amendment was neither a bad nor good thing.

"I can live with it, I wouldn't raise it on a flag pole and say it's the greatest thing I have ever seen, but I can live with it," Nieves said.

Nasheed defended the bill, arguing the NRA used the amendment to express disapproval of the entire bill.

"They're bullies," Nasheed said. "I think they're trying to bully Senator Nieves. They probably don't like his overall bill and they're using my amendment to attack the overall bill." 

The original bill aims to make federal gun laws unenforceable in Missouri. The Senate approved the measure Tuesday night, but it must survive another Senate vote before it can make it to the House floor.

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The House gave initial approval Wednesday, Feb. 12, to a new lottery ticket designed specifically for veterans.

The proposed constitutional amendment would create a separate veteran's lottery ticket and the proceeds would go toward the Veterans' Commission Capitol improvement trust fund.

Bill sponsor Rep. Sheila Solon, R-Jackson County, said the bill is a way to pay back veterans for what they've done for this country.

"This is the least that we can do for them to make sure that we fund out veterans homes, our veteran's cemeteries, and our outreach programs," Solon said.

Rep. Jeremy LaFaver, D-Jackson County, opposes the measure and cited the existing lottery and its lack of contribution to the education system.

"The lottery is one of the most inefficient ways that our state government can produce revenue because for every dollar that somebody buys a lottery ticket, only 25 cents actually makes it to a school or veteran home," LaFaver said.

The House needs to vote on the measure one more time before it is sent to the Senate where it has failed in each of the last few years.

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The House gave approval Wednesday, Feb. 12, to a medical professionals conscience rights bill.

The bill would allow any medical professional to refuse to take part in any procedure they deem to be a violation of their conscience.

An example of a procedure a doctor could excuse themselves from would be performing an abortion.

House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, sponsored the bill and explained why he is introducing the bill for the third time.

"It's about protecting patients from having people engaged in their care who don't believe in the care they're providing," Jones said. "It's about protecting our health care system and making sure that everybody involved in that care is fully invested in what they're doing."

Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis County, vigorously opposes the bill and said it is an attack on women.

"To be clear, this is just one more vagina-specific bill in an election year that is designed to hurt women," Newman said.

After an hour-long debate, the House gave approval to the bill with a 116-38 vote.

10 Democrats voted in favor of the bill and 1 Republican voted against the bill.

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The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed suit against the state late Tuesday night involving the constitutionality of a Missouri law denying the legal recognition of same-sex marriages.

Grant Doty, Staff Attorney for the ACLU, filed the lawsuit in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit District in Kansas City.

Doty said the current Missouri law violates two elements of the U.S. Constitution.

First, the fundamental right to marry guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment in the Due Process Clause. Second, he said it violates the Equal Protection Clause.

"Our Missouri Constitution only recognizes marriage between a man and a women and so we feel like state officials need to honor the state constitution," said Mike Hoy, Executive Director of the Missouri Catholic Conference. That's their sworn duty."

Eight same-sex couples around the state filed the suit. One of those couples told their story at the state Capitol in Jefferson City Wednesday morning.

JoDe and Lisa Layton-Brinker have been together for six years and married since 2010.

Both women have been in the hospital before, and said the law in place made them take extra steps during those times.

"We had to make sure that we had filed or brought our paperwork to the hospital so they could have it on file that you know we were married," said Lisa Layton-Brinker. "You know, she was my spouse or I was hers so that we would be allowed visitation. So that we wouldn't be kicked out of the hospital."

Hoy said the Catholic church teaches that no person should be discriminated against. But, he said the church does not believe marriage between a man and a women is discrimination.

Doty said the suit outlines many protections married couples receive that same-sex couples do not.

He said if everything goes perfectly with the lawsuit, the state would recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages.

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Dozens of Future Farmers of America high school students flooded the state Capitol today to support a bill proposing agriculture or career and technical courses satisfy certain subject-specific graduation requirements.

Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles, sponsors the bill that would require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt this policy on high school graduation.

"In the governor's State of the State address, he was making the statement that 75% of high school graduates need a college degree to get a good-paying job," Wood said. "I don't buy into that. There's a lot of good jobs in technical fields that don't need a four-year degree."

Eldon FFA President Drew Koerner said he plans to go to college, but his professional classes prepared him to know what he wants to do.

"This could open doors for more students and younger students to explore careers they could potentially enter," Koerner said. "More students could learn and gain professional experience while they're still in high school."

Rep. Genise Montecillo, D-St. Louis County, said she is concerned high school students that took fewer academic courses would not be prepared for high-level math and reading skills needed to succeed in professional schools.

"These fields and areas are becoming more and more specialized," Montecillo said. "That specialization is requiring more academic skills as well."

The House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education took no action on this bill.

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• HB 1189

After several amendments to the federal gun law nullification bill were approved, one Democratic senator's proposed amendment raised opposition from Republican counterparts.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington, was not happy with Senator Scott Sifton's amendment aiming to protect local police from litigation.

"This nullifies the nullification of the nullification bill. This is probably the worst possible amendment we could look at towards this bill," Nieves said. 

The amendment was ultimately defeated and the bill passed the first round of Senate approval.

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Missourians would be asked to pay a penny more per sales tax under a measure approved by the House for the November ballot, on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Missouri's House Transportation Committee moved the bill forward with an 11-2 vote. The bill would give Missouri voters the choice to increase sales tax by one percent during a ten year period.

The bill would delegate 10 percent of the revenue from the tax to go toward local transportation funds for cities and counties, and the remaining 90 percent would go to Missouri Department of Transportation.

In a hearing about future transportation plans, MoDOT explained that their total budget could not maintain Missouri's transportation system without voters passing the bill.

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Democratic efforts to raise the state minimum wage met a strong wall of opposition from business lobbyists during a Senate hearing.

The Senate Small Business Committee met in a jam-packed hearing room on Tuesday afternoon to hear the heavily debated bill.

Sponsored by Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis City, the bill would raise the state minimum wage from $7.50 to $10 an hour.

"Currently, an individual who works a full time job at a minimum wage level, and who's supporting a family of three, will fall below the federal poverty line," Nasheed said during the hearing. "To me, that is appalling."

The bill's heavy opposition claimed that increasing the minimum wage would result in higher unemployment rates across the state, especially in teens seeking low-skill jobs.

"In 2009, the minimum wage was raised in the middle of the year about 10 or 11 percent," said David Overfelt, president of the Missouri Retailers Association. "In the next six months of the year, the economy grew by 4 percent, but teen jobs decreased by about 600,000."

According to Nasheed, more than 20 states have initiated bills that aim to increase their minimum wages.

As is customary upon its first hearing, the committee took no immediate action on the bill.

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A budget leader in the Missouri Senate offers a new idea to address the tax cut.

Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, proposed to delay tax cuts until the state fully funds more allocations for public schools.

"How can you say that we would be reducing the money to schools if we commit that we've already funded the schools," Silvey said.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Will Kraus, R-Jackson, said he'd be willing to consider the change.

Representatives from animal shelters across the state appeared before a House committee, Tuesday, Feb. 11, urging lawmakers to support legislation intended to set a level playing field for dog ownership.

The bill, presented to the House General Laws Committee would set a state-wide standard for dog ownership. Bill sponsor, Rep. Ron Hicks, R-St. Peters, said he didn't want cities banning individuals from owning specific dog breeds.

"Any dog can bite," Hicks said. "Why are we only picking out a few?"

Rep. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, said that he was concerned about the body infringing upon local government authority, and said he believed the local governments could handle this matter on their own.

Representatives from the Missouri Federation of Animal Owners, The Kansas City Pet Project and the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association testified in favor of the bill.

As is usual upon first hearing, the committee did not take any action on the bill.

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The Missouri Senate debated whether enough changes have been made to last year's controversial gun bill.

Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington, presented what he called the "new and improved" bill. Nieves said the revised version removes references to previous gun control acts and asserts that "knowingly" enforcing infringements leaves police liable.

The new version gives Missouri law enforcement discretionary power to appropriately interpose for law-abiding citizens and eliminates the portion of the bill forbidding gun owners' names from being printed in the media, Nieves said.

Nieves also said the bill allows, but does not require, school districts to install volunteer school protection officers.

Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis County, said she does not support the bill.

"It's a waste of taxpayers' dollars to deal with something we know is going to be found unconstitutional and end up in court," Nasheed said. "To bring forth a piece of legislation that does nothing to reduce gun violence is a slap in the face of many mothers who have lost their children as a result of gun violence."

Sen. Scott Sifton, D-St. Louis County, submitted an amendment that would protect state law enforcement from civil liability should they cooperate on joint investigations with federal agents.

Sen. Holsman, D-Kansas City, introduced an amendment presenting self-defense sprays as a nonlethal solution to stopping violent threats.

Sen. Brad Lager, R-Maryville, proposed an amendment aimed at ensuring school protection officers are appropriately trained.

The Senate took no immediate action on the bill.

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A Senate finance and government committee discussed a plan to phase out electronic voting machines and replace them with paper ballots Monday, Feb. 10.

Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington, said the overall subject matter remains the same from legislation introduced last year, but a few changes were made to make the measure more powerful.

"The only problem with the bill was the cost," Nieves said.

The new bill requires the electronic voting machines to produce the paper ballot, which is about $7 million cheaper than the previous cost of machine ballots in the 2006 election.

Supporters of the measure said paper ballots are more effective than the current electronic system.

They said electronic ballots run on secret software that can't be audited, making it easy for machines to be tampered with causing inaccurate election results.

There are currently 18 states that use paper ballots in elections.

Sarah Potter, the communications coordinator for The Missouri State Board of Education, said the state has received more than 400 recommendations and comments involving unaccredited schools.

Missouri has three unaccredited schools districts, two in St. Louis County and one in Kansas City.

During a meeting Monday, the board discussed choices for students, finance and accountability and improving educator quality.

Peter Herschend, president of the board, said he thought the plan for improving accountability lacked any changes from the current plan. He said he has trouble understanding why the board would continue with a plan that is currently failing.

“This is a discussion about how to do the business of education better where we have failed,” said Herschend.

Board members said a major problem is getting quality educators to teach at failing schools.

Herschend said he wanted to know how the board, at a policy level, could ensure that failing school districts have quality teachers.

A member of the board, John Martin, said he thinks the best way to create incentive for teachers is to show the rewards of teaching at such schools. Martin said most teachers become educators for specific reasons.

“I want my work to be meaningful. I want the respect that goes along with doing a good job,” said Martin. “I want to see that what I do makes a difference in the world. Those are the kinds of things that people get into education for.”

The Department of Education will present plans to the board on Feb. 18.

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George Lombardi

Department of Corrections Director George Lombardi defended his department's handling of three recent death penalty cases while being scrutinized by lawmakers.

The House Government Oversight and Accountability Committee questioned Lombardi, as well as a University of Missouri law professor, a Kansas City attorney and representatives from the Missouri Attorney General's office.

Rep. John Rizzo, D-Kansas City, asked MU law professor Paul Litton if inmates on death row could successfully challenge their sentence if they don't know the pharmacy on the execution team.

"It seems almost impossible," Litton said. "I don't see how."

Lombardi testified after Litton and defended his department.

After being questioned for nearly 30 minutes, Lombardi has some final comments.

"This whole issue and the way our department has been besmirched and vilified in the press especially is really disturbing to me because this is not what this department is about" Lombardi said. "We're much more than this."

Committee chair, Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, questioned Lombardi on whether there were any other known or feasible alternatives to lethal injection the state could use to execute inmates.

"I do not," Lombardi said. "The only other alternative is the gas chamber."

Missouri has executed three inmates since November. Those inmates are Joseph Franklin, Allen Nicklasson, and Herbert Smulls.

All of them were killed by one drug, pentobarbital.

Lombardi told the committee the department has had to change their execution protocol three times in the last six months. This is due to a shortage of execution drugs and the lack of some European companies willingness to send them to the United States for executions.

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Republican Catherine Hanaway, a former U.S. Attorney and Missouri House speaker, announced Monday she will run for governor in 2016.

Hanaway's announcement marks the first Republican to enter the race as the party tries to take back the office they have only held once in the last 20 years.

In a written statement released Monday, Hanaway said, "After serious consideration, discussion and prayer with my family, I am excited to announce that I will be a candidate for governor in 2016."

Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon is barred by term limits from seeking re-election.

Hanaway said she is beginning her campaign now to build a strong grassroots fundraising basis.

"We can no longer sit idly by as the de facto Democrat nominee continues to raise money and build his organization," Hanaway said.

Her announcement was not a complete surprise. Hanaway has been talking with a number of Republican lawmakers, including some that were in the General Assembly where she was once a top leader.

"The reason I'm talking to legislators now is so that when I become governor I am ready to hit the ground running and running hard on day one," she said.

Hanaway, 50, was elected into the Missouri House in 1998. She represented a suburban St. Louis district while Republicans were in the minority party. Hanaway became a leader within the GOP and helped Republicans take over the House in 2002.

Her colleagues chose her to be Missouri's first female House speaker.

In 2004, Hanaway lost a bid for secretary of state. She was appointed by President George W. Bush to be the U.S. Attorney for eastern Missouri the next year. She resigned from that office in 2009 and joined former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in private legal practice in 2009.

"I think having been out of office for ten years has been the best preparation I could have had to be governor of Missouri. I spent a lot of time in the real world working to make a living," she said.

In September of last year she left to join a different firm.

Hanaway cited economic development as her top campaign theme. She endorsed the income tax cut bill pushed by Republican lawmakers that Nixon has attacked.

"If you allow people to keep more of their income, they will reinvest it in hiring people," Hanaway said.