In response to previous contraception legislature, female legislators want to limit a man's access to vasectomies by making it a felony to receive one unless there is a life threatening condition.

According to the bill, any person who performs a vasectomy or any person permitting a vasectomy to be performed on him would be guilty of a felony. The bill also states that a vasectomy would only be performed to prevent the death of a man or prevent a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the man.

She said this bill was also in response to a bill sponsored by Rep. Tim Jones, R-Eureka, that passed last week in the House. The bill would not require a medical professional or health care institution to perform or participate in any medical procedures that contradict their conscience. This includes providing abortion, abortion-inducing drugs, contraception or sterilization.

The bill was presented to the House Committee on Governmental Affairs on Monday.

The committee has not taken any action on the bill.

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Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, sponsors two opposite bills for the future of Missouri Employers Mutual.

This time last month the state conducted an audit on the Worker's Compensation company and found excessive spending on vacations and golf trips.

Also donations to the Missouri Democratic Party, which in turn triggered an FBI investigation.

Now the Missouri House Government Oversight Committee is responsible for conducting research and deciding what action to take against the company.

Multiple insurance companies testified at the hearing for informational purposes urging the committee to deeply consider their options and to take their time deciding MEM's fate.

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University of Missouri researcher Wayne Bailey says the early arrival of warm weather is bringing bugs out three weeks earlier than normal.

The bugs are expected to create problems for farmers growing corn, as worms could eat up to twenty percent of the crop.

Farmers could lose money as crops become less readily available to sell.

Bailey also says there is already an increase in the amount of mosquitoes and ticks.

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The House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee heard testimony on a new attempt to ban texting while driving for Missourians of all ages.

Missouri Highway Patrol Superintendent Ron Replogle testified the current law is hard to enforce, because it may be hard to tell a driver's age. He said there have been instances when drivers over 21 were distracted by their phones, but could not pull them over because of their age.

Opponents say the law would be hard to enforce, because there is no way of knowing for sure whether or not the driver is texting or dialing.

Rep. Brandon Ellington, D-Kansas City, said he is concerned the bill would lead to discrimination and profiling from some officers.

Committee Chairman Rodney Schad, R-Versailles, said he is uncertain of the bill's future but would like to see it debated on the House floor.

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A Cole County circuit judge has thrown out the ballot description of a measure aimed for the August or November ballot that would authorize the legislature to require a government-issued photo ID to vote.

The judge, Pat Joyce, held that the description used a phrase "Voter Protection Act" that does not appear in the actual proposed state constitutional amendment.

The description of the ballot language was included in the original measure approved by the legislature in 2011.

In response, the House Judiciary Committee Chair -- Rep. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia -- filed Wednesday, March 28, a new constitutional amendment that changes the ballot description including removal of the "Voter Protection Act" phrase.

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By a near party-line vote, Missouri's Senate voted to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill that would restrict lawsuits an employers by their workers for occupational diseases.

The measure was the first of two business-backed bills passed by the legislature this year that were promptly vetoed by the governor.

The measure would include occupational diseases Workers' Compensation that pays for health and burial costs for work-related injuries and diseases. Although costs are covered, a worker receiving Workers' Compensation is restricted from filing a separate damage suit against the employer.

The only other measure approved by lawmakers before the legislature's spring break would restrict discrimination lawsuits against employers by their workers. That bill also was voted.

The Senate's override now goes to the House where faces an uncertain future. Unlike the Senate, Republicans do not enjoy a two-thirds majority in the House. And, several Republicans voted against the bill, passing the measure 22 votes short of the necessary two-thirds vote for an override.

Senate GOP Leader Tom Dempsey acknowledged to reporters the vote essentially was sending a message to the governor to begin negotiations on a compromise.

"If the governor's office will sit down and work with us on an enhanced benefit, in those cases of toxic exposure, we're willing  to accept that, a reasonable solution," Dempsey said.

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Missouri's Senate passed and sent the House a measure Thursday, March 29, that would give the Conservation Commission power to suspend a hunting license for up to ten years for a hunting fatality.

Current law limits a suspension to five years for a hunting accident.

"Ready, fire, aim," the bill's sponsor told senators was what caused the hunting death of one of his constituents in 2008.

"He was shot and killed at less than 30 feet because he was mistaken for game," said Sen. Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles. "Ready, fire, aim is what happened in that situation.

The leading opponent to the measure was Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau.

"It's an accident. There's far more people that die in accidents driving a car that we do not suspend their driving privileges for," Crowell said.

The measure now goes to the House.

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President Barack Obama would have provide proof of his birth in the United States to the satisfaction of Missouri state officials if Republican lawmakers get their way.

The House passed and sent the Senate a bill that would require United States Presidential candidates to prove that he or she is a natural born citizen of the United States before his or her name can appear on the Missouri ballot. Additionally, the candidates' information would be kept and maintained by the Missouri Secretary of State and would be considered public information.

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The bill would require both the President and Vice President of the United States to provide proof that he or she is a natural born citizen before the candidates name cane appear on the Missouri ballot.

Several Democratic Representatives questioned the bill sponsor Republican Representative Lyle Rowland about the motivation behind his bill.

Some Democratic Representatives say they believe the bill specifically targets President Obama.

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

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The deadline for candidates to file for Missouri's general election expired Tuesday, March 27, with the biggest surprise coming from the state Supreme Court, rather than the candidates.

In a short, seven-word statement,. the chief justice announced they had upheld the House district maps.

The decision came just three hours before the deadline to file for office. The announcement gave break down of the vote among the justices nor an explanation -- except for a cryptic "Opinion to follow" note from Chief Justice Richard Teitelman.

Up until the court's announcement, candidates had to file in House districts under the assumption that the maps under contention represented final district lines.

If the court had thrown out the House map, it would have created a legal quagmire with candidates having filed for districts that did not exist.

While affirming the state House district map, the court did not issue a decision on the legislative-passed congressional district map.

A timely decision on that case is less critical because there is no district-residency requirement to run for Congress.  The only residency requirement in the U.S. Constitution is that a member of the U.S. House "be an inhabitant" of the state to be represented.

Missouri's Congressional race will pit two incumbent Democrats against each other in the August primary.  Because Missouri's population did not grow as fast as other states, the number of congressional districts in Missouri has shrunk from nine to eight.

Last year, the state legislature voted effectively to eliminate the district of Russ Carnahan in St. Louis.  Carnahan has since filed to challenge renomination Rep. Bill Clay.

More than 550 candidates have filed for state office since the filing period opened in late February. More than 370 of those candidates had filed to run in state House districts. Filing for a few of the offices are still open until March 30 because of late candidate withdrawals.

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Thousands of Missourians converged on Missouri's statehouse Tuesday to rally for religious rights, union rights and against federal health care mandates.

As religious groups convened inside the Capitol to protest President Barack Obama's federal health care mandate, hundreds of members of statewide labor unions rallied on the Capitol lawn to protest bills affecting workers put forth by Republican lawmakers.

Members of the rally inside the Capitol said Obama's health care mandate was a violation of their freedom to religion, while union members protested heavily against right-to-work bills and legislation that would alter the state's prevailing wage in regards to public works projects.

In one rally,  protesters charged President Obama's health care law prohibits the free exercise of religion.

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Missouri's Senate gave first-round approval Tuesday, March 27, to a measure designed to prohibit requiring employers to provide health insurance coverage for abortion, contraception or sterilization.

The measure also would give an employee a right to demand an insurance policy that does not cover those procedures.

Senate action came as hundreds of protesters converged on the Capitol to rally against the insurance mandates in the federal health care law now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

"You're trying to tell me what I can do with my own body. It is anti-woman" charged Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-St. Louis.

"Nope," responded the sponsor, Sen. John Lamping, R-St. Louis County. "This is about freedom of an employer."

The measure is one of several in the legislature that seeks to restrict federal laws over Missourians.

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The Missouri House GOP leader told reporters Monday, March 26, that House debate would not start until next week on the education issue that legislative leaders had cited as a top priority for the year.

Rep. Tim Jones, R-St. Louis County, acknowledged they were still trying to work out differences in their own caucus.

"We have a lot differences of opinion on that bill is what the hangup is," Jones said.

"There's folks that, for whatever reasons, have differences of opinion as to the components of that bill. We're trying to identify where there's the most heartburn and where there's the most agreement."

The House Education Committee has approved an omnibus education package that includes a number of controversial issues:

• Phase out automatic tenure for public school teachers.

• Provide tax credits to parents in unaccredited districts who send their children to private or parochial schools. In the past, that proposal has met strong opposition from some rural Republicans.

• Change the formula that allocates state funds to public schools. The proposal would reduce state funding to wealthier districts to provide extras to under-funded schools. A filibuster in the Senate by members whose districts would lose state funds blocked last year a similar plan to fix the School Foundation Formula.

• Establish grounds by which an accredited district can refuse transfer of a student from an unaccredited district. It's called the "Turner Fix" in reference to a state Supreme Court decision holding that students in unaccredited districts have a legal right to attend an accredited districts. Some districts in St. Louis County have argued they lack facilities to handle all the students that might want to transfer from the unaccredited St. Louis City school district.

• Expand who can sponsor alternative charter schools and where they can be located.

The legislative session adjourns May 18.  Some of the provisions in the House bill are pending before the full Senate.

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Missouri's Supreme Court has yet to rule two of three state district maps, but candidates only have a day left to file for state office.

House Republican Floor Leader Tim Jones said the passage of the filing date without finalized maps was "unprecedented" and "historic."

Over 500 candidates have filed for office since the filing period opened at the end of February. Without a final decision from the Supreme Court, candidates are operating under the assumption that the maps being debated represent the final district lines.

The Supreme Court could still throw out the maps, which would require lawmakers to put a plan in place that would allow candidates to refile under new maps.

Democratic Floor Leader Mike Talboy said if the Court threw out the maps, his caucus would spend the time to deal with the issue then.

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A short filibuster Monday in Missouri's Senate blocked a measure that would require registration with the Department of Agriculture to own a great ape such as a gorilla or baboon.

"I'm still trying to figure out where the big gorilla problem is across the state that requires us to come in and give the Department of Ag more liability, more things to do when we're cutting their budget," said Sen. Chuck Purgason, R-Caulfield.

The bill's sponsor -- Sen. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis -- cited one incident of from 2010 when an escaped chimpanzee had caused damage and a commotion in Kansas City.

"We don't know how big the problem is because we don't require them to permit, we don't require them to register," Keaveny.

"We don't know how big the problem is, but we need a piece of legislation that's going to cost over #100,0000 to go solve it," Purgason quickly asked.

After Purgason kept asking questions, Keaveny eventually gave up and put the bill aside -- at least for the time being.

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A Senate committee reviews a bill to create a drug monitoring program to prevent people from 'doctor shopping' and abusing prescription drugs.

According to the bill, both in-state and out-of-state doctors, pharmacists and local, state and federal law enforcement officials will have access to the individuals medical documents.

The Senate committee did not vote on the bill.

A similar measure before the Senate this year has been stalled by the Senate's only licensed physician.

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