Missouri's past winter was one of the warmest on record, with little snowfall leading to savings for the transportation department.

When asked to describe the state's winter, Climatologist Bryan Peake of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center said, "It was wet, and it was warm."

Peake also said the El Niño year led to lower heating costs, but had an uncertain effect on the state's agriculture yields.

Patrick Westhoff, director of the University of Missouri's Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, agreed that the winter's effect on Missouri's agriculture is unclear, and could pass no judgement on whether the year's crop yields would increase or decrease from last year.

Transporting crops, however, will improve. The Missouri Department of Transportation was able to save about $20 million on snow removal to date.

"Thus far, costs are running at about half for winter," Chief Financial Officer Roberta Broeker said.

Each transportation district will be able to move their allotted snow removal budget to the most important local maintenance projects once the likelihood of wintry precipitation is near zero. The department will not change its budget projection for future years' snowfall.

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Minors considering an abortion in Missouri would be required to have all parents and guardians notified of their decision under a measure passed by Missouri's House Thursday, March 17.

They are currently required to have one parent approve of the procedure in writing. The bill passed by a 121-34 vote.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Rocky Miller, R-Lake Ozark, was put into a situation the bill is expected to protect against, when his ex-wife called him about his daughter's upcoming abortion. She decided against the procedure after she and the representative talked.

"What we are trying to do here is to start a conversation, not start a fight," said Miller.

Opponents of the bill argued that parental notification would lead to infighting in the minor's family over a legal operation. Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis County, said minors do not always have a happy enough family relationship to involve all parents and guardians. She satirized the 'perfect family' required to make all notifications happen without issue.

"These kids grow up to lead ideal, perfect lives," Newman said. "Like those sitcoms where everyone's dilemmas are solved in thirty minutes."

Rep. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, said the proposal helps minors avoid regret after after a major decision.

"We're speaking about the lives of children," Brattin said. "Not one child, two."

The measure includes an exception for medical emergencies, as well as major issues with a parent or guardian.

A couple consumer protection measures were passed by the House onto their final votes.

One would require minor repairs to be covered in automobile service contracts. The bill had no opposition voiced in committee, and an insurance group supported the proposal.

Another bill would impose restrictions on insurance plans requiring a patient try other drugs before a more expensive one that was prescribed. The practice is called "step therapy" and is seen as a simple cost-cutting measure by its supporters. The measure's opponents say step therapy helps to bring costs down for everyone.

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It will be weeks before there's a final count in Missouri's razor-thin presidential primaries held Tuesday, March 15.

And that means weeks before the losing candidates could request a recount.

Stephanie Flemming, media director for the Missouri Secretary of State, said it could be a least four months before the candidates could request a recount.

"We have to wait until the results are official and certified before the losing candidate could do anything," Fleming said. "It can take up to four weeks to certify the primary results."

Under Missouri law, a losing candidate can request a recount if the margin is with one-half percentage point.

Unofficial figures from the secretary of state's office show both  Democrat Hillary Clinton and and Republican Donald Trump with 0.2 percentage-point lead over the closest opponent.

The figures do not include provisional ballots and overseas absentee ballots.

After the results are certified, the Secretary of State's office would issue a press release informing the public that a recount had been requested. It would then take 20 days to conduct and certifiy a recount.

The Associated Press reported that Democrat Bernie Sanders said he would not request a recount. There was no immediate response from the campaign of Republican Ted Cruz as to whether he would seek a recount.

Missouri has 52 delegates at the Republican national convention and 71 at the Democratic national convention. Because delegates will be awarded based, partially, on results in each congressional district, the number that each candidate will receive was not immediately available due to the narrow margins.

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Missouri's Senate began debate on a bill Wednesday, March 16, 2016 that could cut retirement benefits of public school teachers.

The cut was proposed by Sen. Robb Schaaf, R-St.Joseph, who proposed an amendment that would lower the current retirement benefit from 2.55 percent to 2.50 percent of the annual salary for year of service. Schaaf argued that the current pension rate encourages teachers to stay longer costing schools more money.

"It in actuality is going to shift costs over to the local school districts who then will have to pay those older teachers who are going to stick around in order to achieve the higher pay," Schaaf said of the original provisions in the bill.

Schaaf said he believes it's wrong to offer teachers more than 100 percent of their salary back when others in other cities are getting around 60 percent back. Schaaf argued that the current annual rates would encourage teachers to stay on the job longer which would cost schools more money to keep because older teachers get paid more than younger teachers.

"And the only reason that they are going to say longer is because you're going to pay them more money when they retire later right," Schaaf said.

In response, Schaaf's amendment was attacked by Senate Education Committee Chair David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, who disputed Schaaf's argument that the current rates encourage teachers to stay on the job.

The Senate adjourned and took no immediate vote on the bill.

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Municipal officials voiced opposition to a Senate-passed measure that would impose further restrictions on how much of a city's budget could be financed by municipal court fines.

In 2015, lawmakers imposed a limit on how much of a city's budget could be financed from municipal traffic fines. The bill currently before the legislature would extend that limit to include fines from non-traffic offenses.

The measure also would lower the maximum total costs that could be assessed by a municipal court for an offense from $300 to $200.

One city official complained that lower limits on fines along with last year's provision restricting municipal courts from imposing jail sentences interfered with the ability to enforce the law.

"So it's the possibility of a jail sentence that motivates people to resolve these issues,"Kansas City Municipal Housing Judge Todd Wilcher told the House Crime Committee Wednesday, March 16."Without the possibility of a jail sentence, without the posssibilty of a high fine it's very difficult to motivate some people."

Buckner County Municipal Court Judge Don Lograsso said the bill would let those who violate municipal codes go freely.

But the bill's sponsor -- Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-St. Louis County -- said charged city courts were abusing their powers to finance city budget.

"All of us gained a better understanding of the abuses that were taking place accross the state," Scmitt said. "In particular in St. Louis County, but across the state where citizens were being used as nothing more than ATMs by governments seeking more and more revenue by way of traffic tickets and fines."

The bill passed last year, which Schmitt sponsored, lowered how much of a city's budget could be financed from minor traffic fines from 30 percent to 20 percent, with a lower limit in of 12.5 percent for towns in St. Louis County.

The lower limit from St. Louis County communities has been challenged by in a lawsuit by several St. Louis County towns.

The House committee did not take an immediate vote on the measure.

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The Senate Commerce Committee heard a bill Tuesday, March 15, that would allow electric companies to raise rates each year without prior approval from the utility-regulating Public Service Commission.

Supporters said the measure would make rate increases more predictable -- for both the utilities and the consumers -- by providing an annual adjustment rather than the large increases that can arise from formal rate-change cases heard by the commission that are years apart.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, said the bill would provide the utility-regulating commission some control, but would change the process of raising utility rates. The annual increases would be capped and subject to subsequent review by the Public Service Commission.

But opponents argued the bill would diminish consumer rights. David Woodsmall, representing Missouri Consumer Energy Group, said the bill would take advantage of consumers.

"Customers have historically taken comfort knowing that the commission was considering the reasonableness of such factor," Woodsmall said. "SB 1028 eliminates the commission's authority and places the inmates in charge of the asylum."

Supporters of the bill said it would help businesses in Missouri and customers by providing better service.

"This is about making sure that we continue to maintain that and get in front of it and do better than that because, honestly, the expectations are not getting any less," said Ameren President Micheal Moehn whose company serves a large portion of eastern and central Missouri. "The overall economy is so tied to what we produce on a daily basis."

The bill would also help Noranda, an aluminum smelting company that experienced financial trouble in recent years. The bill would allow lower rates for industrial customers that purchase large amounts of electricity like Noranda.

The Senate Commerce Committee did not take immediate action on the bill.

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A bill heard by the Senate Transport Committee on March 16 would make it a crime for towing companies to engage in predatory towing practices in Missouri.

The bill sets up new regulations for towing companies, making it illegal for tow trucks to arrive on the scene without being summoned by authorities, an auto club or the owner of the vehicle.

Sen. Paul Wieland, R-Jefferson County, said the bill would help protect Missourians from being targeted by tow companies looking to make a quick profit.

"What we're trying to prevent is people that see you on the side of the road and say, 'Hey, here's prey, let me jump on this person,'" Wieland said.

The bill would also require towing companies to be open or accessible for at least 8 hours between 7 am and 7 pm during the work week.

Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar bluff, said he is concerned about creating legislation that requires businesses to operate in a specific way.

"I like the fact that people should know they have a window, a little bit larger window maybe, to be able to retrieve their vehicle," Libla said. "But I don't think we ought to be requiring businesses to be open a certain amount of time."

Wieland said the bill does not require businesses to be open but only requires them to be accessible.

He also said the hour requirement will ensure that patrons can access their vehicles quickly and without being overcharged.

"We have problems where some of these predatory companies charge an unusually large amount per day," Wieland said. "And people go to retrieve their cars and their like, 'Well we're not going to be open for a week.' and so the people get charged another 5 days."

The bill includes additional provisions that require towing companies to establish an operational telephone and to display their address and telephone number.

John Borowski, President of AutoReturn, a company that uses technology to manage towing requests, said the bill would bring Missouri forward to meet other states.

"This is the hundredth year of the tow truck we're doing the same procedures here now as we were a hundred years ago," Borowski said. "Many states have adopted laws to change these things and control things because there is a better way.

Others in favor said the bill would allow for greater access to cars for patrons and insurance appraisers.

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The state Supreme Court upheld the felony conviction of a woman who was told she had HIV and later had sex without telling her partner of her condition.

The partner subsequently was diagnosed with HIV.

Neither the woman nor the victim were identified in the court decision.

In a unanimous decision, the court rejected the arguments of the woman's attorney that the law constituted a violation of First Amendment free-speech rights.

Instead, the court held that the law regulates conduct rather than speech.

"The statute restricts what individuals may do, not what they may say," wrote Judge Mary Russell.

"The purpose of section 191.677 is not to compel disclosure. Instead, the statute seeks to prevent certain conduct that could spread HIV to unknowing or nonconsenting individuals."

The House Emerging Issues heard two bills that would allow concealed weapons on college campuses.

A mother testifying on behalf of the Missouri Chapter of Moms said allowing guns to mix with drugs and alcohol on college campuses is a huge safety concern.

"Allowing our students as young as 19 to carry a gun on campus only increases the risk that someone will make a poor decision involving alcohol and a firearm," she said. "The heavy use of alcohol and drugs on college campuses does not mix with guns."

But Rep. Gary Cross, R-Jackson County, told a personal story of his own daughter.

"I got a daughter that's 31 today that's a victim of a drive by shooting, and I'll tell you where it's at, it's right here in Missouri it's called Missouri State," Cross said. "If you ever get that phone call at 11 o'clock at night - I've been shot - I guarantee you as a dad it does raise some, you don't know how you'll respond until you get the call."

Cross said he supported allowing concealed carry on campuses, because it would allow students to protect themselves in those kinds of situations.

A member of the Missouri Federation of College Republicans said the bill was common sense, because there are no legitimate reasons why guns should not be allowed on campuses.

"We believe that you have the right to protect yourself, and there are no reasons that have been given that say why that should be limited," they said.

Rep. Mike Colona, D-St. Louis City, took issue with the remarks being accusatory and overly-presumptuous of his colleagues.

"What you're attempting to do, is really more of an art, and what you're doing is taking a blunt hammer and telling folks that don't agree with you, that they're idiots," Colona said. "That's the way it came out."

Several other members of the committee criticized those testifying - for and against the bills - for using skewed or incorrect information.

Currently, a concealed carry permit does not allow a person to carry their weapon into a higher education institution without their consent.

Rep. Mike Kelley, R-Lamar, sponsored a bill that would lift those bans on concealed weapons on college campuses.

Kelley’s bill would also allow colleges to get an exemption from the rule allowing concealed firearms on campus by applying for one through the Department of Public Safety.

However, the bill outlines several safety requirements in order for an institution to be granted the exemption, which some consider costly.

The other bill, sponsored by Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, would lift the ban on concealed carry weapons in higher education institutions with the exception of some locations on campus.

No vote was taken on either bill in the hearing.

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The Missouri Senate approached partisan gridlock for the second week in a row, just days before they adjourn for their spring break.

Sen. Scott Sifton, D-St. Louis County, led Democrats in stalling the body from moving forward with any legislation on Monday.

The comes after a record-breaking filibuster over a resolution to allow businesses to refuse wedding services to gay couples, during which Democrats accused Republicans of using an improper parliamentary trick to get to a vote.

Sifton took the floor after a nearly hour-long reading of the Senate's journal from the previous week.

Sen. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis City, joined Sifton in talking about how the Senate should behave in the future.

"I'm trying to make the point about going forward, and that when we go forward, I think it's important for us to understand that there as many as 32 different opinions on what any given piece of legislation ought to look like before it comes to a vote," Sifton said.

Sifton also talked with Sen. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City, about the trick they said Republicans used last Wednesday morning.

"A procedural motion was used at that moment that did not allow for other senators to participate in trying to fix the problem," Holsman said. "A filibuster is designed for compromise, when you have the minority locked out of being able to publicly negotiate and then you move to procedural question, that is not a compromise."

Holsman said it rules dictate all senators must be recognized to speak when they are on the floor, and that the Senate broke that rule last week when Sifton was ignored by Republicans.

After more than an hour of stalling, the Majority floor leader Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, called for the Senate's session to end. Kehoe said they plan to move forward with debate on legislation next session.

"You know, we have a lot of bills on the perfection calendar so, outcome or no outcome, what you like or don't like about last week, we ate up a lot of time that we'd like to try to make up and get some perfection bills moving," Kehoe said.

Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said he did not know how the rest of the week would go.

"I'm not sure that's the pace, but if it is, I think the majority leader has indicated that he's just gonna stay on the calendar just like we would before," Richardson said. "So I don't see that anything is gonna change, the pace may change or may not, you know, let's just see."

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