After respite in Eminence, Nixon set to decide on legislation
The governor reiterated his concern about at least one bill on his desk: legislation cutting personal income, business and corporate income taxes.
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The governor reiterated his concern about at least one bill on his desk: legislation cutting personal income, business and corporate income taxes.
Five months after taking the post, Missouri Department of Social Services Director Alan Freeman is resigning to return to his old job in St. Louis as president and chief executive officer of Grace Hill Health Centers Inc. Gov. Jay Nixon announced Freeman’s departure today, which comes just a week after the governor’s announcement, without details, that Ian McCaslin was being replaced as director of the department's Medicaid division.
With the exception of its laser focus on gun rights, the 97th session of the Missouri General Assembly that ended at 6 p.m. Friday pretty much reflected the recent tradition: The Republican majority portrayed it an “immense success,’’ the Democrats called it an extremist failure and Gov. Jay Nixon declined to say.
Hours before adjournment, a state Senate filibuster appears to have killed a tax credit package that had won approval from the House a couple hours earlier. The bill's death keeps in place higher limits for low-income and historic tax credits, but blocks new programs.
With time running out, Missouri's legislators and lobbyists are scrambling to rescue and win passage of key proposals before 6 p.m. Friday, when the General Assembly adjourns for the year. But the prospects appear strong for only a handful of items.
The Missouri House has sent to Gov. Jay Nixon a bill to revamp the state’s workers compensation system and repair Missouri’s financially troubled Second Injury Fund. House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, called it “one of the crowning successes of this legislative session."
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, responding to the revelations about Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, said Wednesday that his office was looking for Missouri examples – but so far had not found any.
The Missouri House has overwhelmingly approved a bill to bar state agencies from scanning or retaining any personal documents, such as a birth certificate, that are presented to obtain a driver’s license or nondriver ID. It also authorizes people to sue the state over the issue, with no limit on damages.
In an apparent backlash to the “puppy mill wars” of a couple years back, the Missouri General Assembly has approved a proposed “right to farm” constitutional amendment for the 2014 ballot. Backers say the aim is to curb the influence of animal rights groups.
With Friday's session end looming, Missouri's House and Senate are focusing on a variety of measures. With the budget bills now passed, and before the governor, legislators are focusing on other issues -- such as union dues, abortion and various health-care proposals.