Archive for January, 2012
Kelly Receives MU’s “Oscar”
Amidst hundreds of onlookers Rep. Chris Kelly humbly accepted his “Oscar” on January 23 for his public service and support of higher education in Missouri. The only thing missing at the grand event, held at the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City, was the pre-award fashion show and the red carpet. The lovely crystal award–the Geyer [...]
Jan 26 – Weekly Capitol Update
HOUSE COMMITTEE ADVANCES PHOTO VOTER ID BILL The House Elections Committee on Jan. 24 voted 7-3 in favor of legislation that seeks to require voters to show government-issued photo identification at their polling place in order to cast a ballot. At present, however, the General Assembly lacks the constitutional authority to impose such a requirement. [...]
Kelly and Forsee Honored At Governor’s Mansion
Rep. Chris Kelly and former University of Missouri President Gary Forsee were honored at a reception at the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City on January 23. The reception, sponsored by the UM Alumni Association, honored Kelly and Forsee as the 2012 recipients of the distinguished Geyer Award for Public Service. The award is named for [...]
House Districts Challenged in Lawsuit
Missouri House Districts now share the distinction, along with Missouri Senate and Congressional Districts, of being thrown into disarray. With the filing of a lawsuit challenging the redistricting map created by the Appellate Commission––that was charged with the responsibility after the appointed redistricting committee failed to reach a compromise––candidates in Missouri’s 163 House districts are [...]
Jan 19 – Weekly Capitol Update
NIXON PROPOSES HALF-BILLION IN STATE BUDGET CUTS In delivering his fourth State of the State address, Gov. Jay Nixon on Jan. 17 proposed $500 million in spending cuts in order to balance a $22.98 billion state operating budget for the 2013 fiscal year without a tax increase. Nixon, a Democrat, also outlined his policy priorities [...]
Jan 12-Weekly Capitol Update
JUDGES SIGNAL PROBLEMS WITH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments on Jan. 12 in a pair of cases that challenge the constitutionality of the state’s new congressional district boundaries, with several judges indicating the redistricting plan doesn’t comply with the state constitution’s requirement that districts be drawn “as compact … as may be.” [...]
State Spending Cap Passes State Budget Committee
A proposed change to the Missouri Constitution to limit future state spending was passed by the House Budget Committee today on a largely partisan vote. Rep. Chris Kelly was the lone Democratic committee member to vote with the majority and was responsible for successfully sponsoring the amendment to use the 2008 budget as the baseline [...]
Confused About Redistricting?
It is confusing! Redistricting has been covered endlessly in local, regional, state, and national news sources. But it only happens once every ten years, after each federal census, and we either forget–or were too young to understand–what happened ten years ago. There are three separate redistricting efforts: At the local city (and county) level, redistricting [...]
Legislative Update from MU
Topics covered in the January Legislative Update from the University of Missouri include: Lawmakers kick off 2012 session facing budget challenges December revenue numbers and Governor’s State of the State announced Governor Nixon makes appointments to UM Board of Curators and Coordinating Board Read the newsletter here.
Top Legislative Issues for 2012
The issues that are likely to rise to the forefront in 2012 include: JOB CREATION: The No. 1 priority of 2011 that wasn’t acted on, job creation is even more vital in 2012. House Democrats will pursue polices aimed at encouraging businesses to expand hiring while protecting the rights and wages of Missouri workers. Unfortunately, [...]
