Mamtek facing two investigations

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - A Moberly development deal with China-based Mamtek is facing not one, but two investigations.

The Senate's Appropriations Committee chair will join the committee that will investigate a Moberly deal with the artificial sweetener company.

Mamtek promised more than six hundred new jobs in Moberly.

But when Mamtek failed to make a payment on nearly $40 million in bonds, it forced the city to dip into its debt service reserve.

The attorney general and the local prosecuting attorney are also investigating the deal.

Moberly's prosecuting attorney is Mike Fusselman.

"You're looking at the types of representations that were made with people to convince them to part with the money to invest in the project and if the representations were accurately stated or if they were misleading," Fusselman said.

Meanwhile, state legislative leaders say this scandal has undermined Jay Nixon's proposal for a deal with another China company to create an airport cargo hub in St. Louis.

The Senate's top leader, Rob Mayer, announced the Government Accountability Committee's investigation of a deal between the city of Moberly and China-based Mamtek.

Committee chairman Jim Lembke says this shows the legislature it needs to establish more targeted tax credits to prevent this from happening again.

"The legislature has to take a close look at you know current tax credit programs and any new ones we would establish," Lembke said.

The development project was supposed to create more than six hundred new jobs.

Mariel Seidman-Gati, Missouri Digital News

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Senators stop state insurance board vote

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - Three senators stopped the vote of a state insurance board over implementing $21 million to set up President Barack Obama's federal health care plan in Missouri.

During a committee meeting Senators discovered that a similar meeting was happening among members of a state insurance board.

The Missouri Health Insurance Pool planned to vote on beginning the implementation process of Obama's health care plan, a process Republican Senator Jim Lembke of St. Louis says he feels cuts Senators out of the process.

"What we asked them to do was just slow down the process, we're trying to work through this in the legislature through hearings and have the opportunity to have discussions with the second floor," Lembke said.

After hearing from the senators behind closed doors, MHIP says it will not vote today.

Stacey Kafka, Missouri Digital News

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Mo. Legislature passes budget

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (KRCU) - The Missouri legislature passed next year's budget which cuts higher education spending, but not as much as originally proposed by the governor.

Missouri lawmakers passed the $23 billion budget which includes a 5.4 percent cut to Missouri's colleges and universities.

Republican St. Louis County Senator Jim Lembke spoke out against areas of the budget where he saw increases in spending.

"Except in a very few like higher education, the bill that we will be going to next where they took a pretty heft cut on top of a cut that they took last year," Lembke said.

Lembke says it’s the legislators responsibility to be the fiscal stewards for Missourians.

The budget now goes to the governor.

Andrew Weil, Missouri Digital News

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Missouri Senate passes bill to reduce size of House

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - The Missouri Senate passed a bill that would eliminate 60 state Representatives after the next census. The bill would cut the number of Representatives from 163 to 103.

According to bill sponsor and St. Louis County Republican Senator Jim Lembke, Missouri has the fourth-largest House in the country.

Lembke says downsizing will save money and provide a more efficient government.

"This is about having a manageable statehouse and across state government, making changes that would save taxpayers money. This would save taxpayers about five million dollars a year," Lembke says.

Opponents of the bill say cutting Representatives would cause leaders to be less in touch with their constituents.

Republican Clay Senator LuAnn Ridgeway says this reduction would harm the relationship between Representatives and their constituents.

"In this time of term limits, we need to keep our representatives as close to the people as possible. By diluting the number of representatives, and increasing the number of people they would representative, it is of necessity that it would be harder to stay in touch with the people," Ridgeway said.

If the Houses were to pass the bill, the decrease in House size would not take place until after current members are term-limited out of office.

The idea of cutting the size of the House has been around for years, but typically stalls in the House.

Meghann Mollerus, Missouri Digital News

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Filibuster ends in Missouri Senate

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - A group of Senators opposed to a plan to accept federal funds to extend unemployment benefits for Missourians, ended their filibuster Thursday after accepting a compromise with Senate leaders.

As part of the deal, Senate leaders say they will cut $250 million from federal stimulus projects for Missouri. The plan also cuts the maximum weeks of state unemployment benefits from 26 to 20.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Tom Dempsey says states do look to the federal government for some funding.

"You know, it just means difficult decisions at all levels and I'm just glad that we were able to take one step forward today," Dempsey said.

Republican St. Louis County Senator Jim Lembke was part of the filibuster. He says the United States is a country in crisis.

"We're talking about shutting our federal government down yet we're talking about continuing to take money they've borrowed from China. This is a great victory for the taxpayers of Missouri today," Lembke said.

Senate Leader Rob Mayer says while Lembke succeeded in sending back federal funds, he questions the effectiveness of the message.

Andew Weil, Missouri Digital News

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Unemployment benefits hinge on Missouri Senate Republicans

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - Filibustering Republicans in the Missouri Senate gave Governor Jay Nixon an ultimatum: send back some federal stimulus money to end the filibuster or continue to keep the money and risk termination of unemployment benefits on Saturday.

Senators Jim Lembke and Brian Nieves found ways to cut 300 of the 570 million stimulus dollars allotted to Missouri from the indebted federal government.

The senators say they will compromise and let the benefits extension pass to a floor vote if the governor cuts certain projects.

Nieves cites a $22 million study of high speed rails as an unnecessary project. He says it's up to the governor to decide what's more important.

"So, what needs to happen here is the governor needs to decide whether or not these ridiculous pet projects are more important than these Missouri families," Nieves said.

Saint Joseph Senator Rob Schaaf is also a filibustering Republican Senator.

He says he's doing so because of the irresponsible federal spending that's put the country in debt.

"The federal government is spending us into oblivion. They're putting our children and grandchildren in deep debt and they're essentially enslaving their futures for many years," Schaaf said.

Senator Lembke says they've extended the olive branch. The governor has yet to meet with the Senators.

Kyle Toms, Missouri Digital News

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Still no agreement on unemployment benefits

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - Missourians may soon be without their extended unemployment benefits. 23,000 Missourians still don't know whether they will see an unemployment check after April 3rd.

The senate adjourned for break without voting on a plan to accept $81 million in federal money to extend benefits from 79 to 99 weeks.

St. Louis County Republican Senator Jim Lembke previously filibustered the bill, saying it is wrong for the federal government to send borrowed money to states.

"If you went next door to your neighbor's house and went into their children's bedroom and stole their piggy bank. I mean, we're stealing from the next generation," he says.

Lembke reports that he's been getting more calls from people in other states than in Missouri.

"They're afraid that their state legislatures, you know, might get the same idea and it would affect them. My office responding to them is saying, well what the Senator is doing in Missouri doesn't affect you in Pennsylvania," Lembke says.

Leading Senate Republicans say they will use stronger measures if Lembke and his supporters continue to filibuster this bill.

Andrew Weil, Missouri Digital News

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State Sen. Lempke still questions red light cameras

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - Republican state Senator Jim Lembke says he's still not satisfied with the legality of red light cameras in Missouri, even after an opinion released last week by attorney general Chris Koster.

Lembke says Koster failed to explain why local municipalities are allowed to issue fines for running a red light, instead of assessing points against a driver's license as required by state law.

The difference, he says, means the cameras don't do anything for safety.

"Dangerous drivers are accumulating one red light camera ticket after another, paying a fine, and not getting points assessed. And the intent of the legislature was that if a dangerous driver got 8 points over an 18-month period, they were in danger of losing their driving privileges," Lembke said.

Supporters of the cameras disagree, saying the number of serious accidents has dropped at intersections where they are installed.

Lembke is currently fighting a ticket issued because a car registered in his name was photographed through a red light in St. Louis city. He says he was not driving the car at the time.

Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio

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