Category: Weekly Capitol Update
May 3 – Weekly Capitol Update
JUDGE RULES STUDENT TRANSFER LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL St. Louis County Circuit Judge David Lee Vincent III on May 1 ruled that a disputed state law that allows students of unaccredited public school districts to transfer to a nearby accredited district of their choice is an unconstitutional unfunded mandate. The case is expected to be appealed to [...]
Apr 26 – Weekly Capitol Update
SENATE APPROVES ITS VERSION OF FY 2013 STATE BUDGET The Senate on April 25 approved its version of the $24 billion state operating budget for the 2013 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Senators traditionally defer to decisions made by the Senate Appropriations Committee and propose only minor changes to budget bills. This year, however, [...]
Apr 19 – Weekly Capitol Update
RULING ESSENTIALLY KILLS PUSH FOR ‘EVERYTHING TAX’ An April 13 ruling by a state judge likely will prevent a proposed constitutional amendment from appearing on the November ballot that seeks to eliminate Missouri’s income tax and potentially replace it with a substantially higher and more expansive sales tax. Retired mega-millionaire Rex Sinquefield of St. Louis, [...]
Apr 12 – Weekly Capitol Update
SENATE COMMITTEE REDUCES CHILD CARE SUBSIDIES The Senate Appropriations Committee has agreed to cut about $25 million in state and federal child subsidies that assist low-income Missouri parents with child care costs so that they can afford to work. The cut was to the $199 million the House of Representatives had approved for child care [...]
Apr 5 – Weekly Capitol Update
SENATE PANEL STICKS WITH HOUSE ON HIGHER ED BUDGET The Senate Appropriations Committee has agreed to follow the House of Representatives lead on sparing public colleges and universities from funding cuts in the state operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Gov. Jay Nixon had recommended reducing higher education appropriations by about [...]
Mar 29 – Weekly Capitol Update
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS HOUSE REDISTRICTING PLAN Just three hours before the candidate filing period for the August party primaries was to end on March 27, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the new redistricting plan for the 163 seats in the state House of Representatives. The court’s action came in a two-sentence order [...]
Mar 15 – Weekly Capitol Update
FINAL SENATE REDISTRICTING PLAN WINS APPROVAL The Senate Apportionment Commission on March 12 unanimously approved a final redistricting plan for the state Senate. The commission made only minor changes to the tentative plan it had submitted on Feb. 23. The changes primarily tweaked boundaries in the Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield areas to make [...]
Mar 8 – Weekly Capitol Update
BILL TO MAKE DISCRIMINATION EASIER SENT TO GOVERNOR The Senate on March 8 voted 23-8 to grant final passage to legislation that would make it easier for employers to escape legal responsibility for engaging in workplace discrimination. The vote was along straight party lines with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed. Because the House of [...]
Mar 1 – Weekly Capitol Update
CANDIDATE FILING UNDERWAY AMID UNCERTAINTY Hundreds of candidates for various state and federal offices converged on Jefferson City on Feb. 28 to file for the Aug. 7 party primary elections, despite the continuing uncertainty over the validity of Missouri’s state legislative and congressional districts. The filing period runs through March 27. Boundaries for Missouri’s 34 [...]
Feb 23 – Weekly Capitol Update
REPUBLICANS VOTE TO ELIMINATE HEALTH CARE FOR BLIND With the unanimous support of its Republican members, the House Health, Mental Health and Social Services Committee on Feb. 16 voted to cut about $65 million from various social services programs, including $28 million for health care coverage for the blind Missourians. The committee’s Democrats unanimously opposed [...]
