China hub lingers another week

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - The long debated China hub bill will linger for at least another week as the Missouri House and Senate are set to meet on Monday.

Following a Republican caucus Tuesday afternoon, Senate President Pro-Tem Rob Mayer says the special session will end next week with or without a China hub bill.

Mayer says he hopes that the Senate can alter the House's mindset.

"We have the opportunity to go to conference to argue or present our position as to why we're where we're at and at the end of the day we'll see if we change anybody's mind," Mayer said.

There are no termination dates included on any of the tax breaks surrounding the China hub bill.

Mayer says the Senate won't pass the bill if these dates aren't included.

Alex Gordon, Missouri Digital News

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Mo. GOP accuse Nixon of not doing homework on Weaver Dickerson

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - After the Stoddard County Prosecuting attorney is published saying the Department of Economic development isn't cooperating, the Missouri Republican party accused Governor Jay Nixon of protecting a felon.

The Southeast Missourian published an article saying after 8 months there has been no progress on the Weaver Dickerson case - involving 2 million dollars to a proposed medical facility.

According to the Stoddard County Prosecuting Attourney Nixon's Department of Economic Development didn't give the material he needed to continue the case.

Dickerson was the proposed CEO of potential Medical Facility in Cape Girardeau.

He was found to have lied about his criminal record a week after Governor Nixon announced the 2 million in funding for the project.

The Missouri Republican Party claims Governor Nixon could have prevented this- and other economic development failures like Mamtek - if he would have just done his homework.

Ashley Massow, Missouri Digital News

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Mo. lawmakers want prison overhaul

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - Missouri lawmakers want an overhaul of the state's inefficient prison system.

Prison populations have reached an all-time high and prison spending has almost doubled in ten years. A joint commission met to review a report suggesting major changes in the probation process, co-chair Representative Chris Kelly says.

"Are there better ways to deal with technical probation or parole violations rather than to send people back to prison?" Kelly asked

The committee is looking at ways to cut costs and inmate population. Kelly says the committee will draft a bill next month and introduce the new legislation in January.

Matt Evans, Missouri Digital News

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Public universities will still accept graduates from unaccredited high schools

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - The Director of the Council on Public Higher Education says public universities are accepting unaccredited high school graduates. But universities may only so temporarily.

After Kansas city schools lost accredidation last week, The Director of the Council on Public Higher Education says students shouldn't worry - yet.

The director, Brian Long, says some public state universities will waive the admission requirement of graduation from an accredited school district for now.

"As long as these high schools continue to work with our state department of elementary and secondary education and regain accreditation, the graduates from those high schools should not be negatively impacted," Long said.

The state universities waived this requirement based on grounds that that school districts will continue to work with the state to improve their status with the Board of Education.

Ashley Massow, Missouri Digital News

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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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Education groups and lawmakers reach agreement on Facebook law

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - Missouri lawmakers have compromised with education groups on language in the highly debated Facebook bill.

The Senate Education Committee voted in favor of revisions to the social networking law.

This unanimous approval came after the Missouri State Teachers Association signed on to the approach.

The MSTA previously contested the law restricting all teacher-student communication on social networking sites, like Facebook.

The bill's sponsor, St. Louis County Republican Senator Jane Cunningham, says she has worked with education groups to clarify the language of the bill.

"We are absolutely giving the local district the responsibility to develop their own policy at their local level," Cunningham said.

The bill will go before the full Senate in the 2012 legislative session.

Mariel Seidman-Gati, Missouri Digital News

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Missouri Senate debates over China hub

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - The mayor of St. Louis urged lawmakers at the state Capitol to vote in favor of the China cargo hub legislation.

The issue brought St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay to the bill's public hearing Wednesday night.

Slay urged lawmakers to vote for tax breaks that would be used to promote an international cargo hub at Lambert Airport.

"If this works, and it may not, but if this works it could create thousands of jobs," Slay said.

But critics of the bill say having this cargo hub would actually send job oversees.

Elizabeth Hagedorn, Missouri Digital News

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Crowell adamantly against special session

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - Republican Senator Crowell made it very clear during Tuesday's special session four hour debate that he had no problem ignoring Governor Nixon.

Crowell's animated antics sparked a historical special session debate the capitol has not seen in many years.

The senator expressed his adamant opposition of Governor Nixon's legislative maneuvering.

"The governor's not my dad and I don't live under his rules," Crowell said. "This is crazy! This is unbelievable! We have never had a governor try to tell on such a micro-level what the senate can do on such a variety of topics."

Crowell stressed democracy cannot be micromanaged and it is repugnant to the state's very ideals to do so.

He was also worried the governor's actions might turn Missouri into a monarchy.

Jessi Turnune, Missouri Digital News

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Fourteen people die in Labor Day road and water accidents

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - Fourteen people died in roadway and waterway accidents during the Labor Day weekend.

The Missouri highway and water patrol divisions said the number of deaths equaled last year's Labor Day weekend.

Spokesperson for the water patrol, Gerard Callahan, said four people died on Missouri waterways alone.

"Four fatalities in a weekend, it's what we saw last labor day. It's not unusual, but it's higher than what we would like to see. We'd like to see a fatality-free weekend every holiday weekend," Callahan said.

Ten others died in car crashes.

Both the water patrol and highway patrol spokespeople say they felt increased visibility prevented some accidents during the holiday weekend.

Stacey Kafka, Missouri Digital News

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I-70 is major drug transportation link

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - A highway patrolman says more and more drugs are being transported across Missouri.

His comments come on the heels of a major drug bust last Wednesday on Interstate 70.

At a traffic stop near the 142-mile marker on I-70 last Wednesday, a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer conducted a K-9 search that revealed 132 pounds of marijuana.

Sergeant Paul Reinsch says I-70 offers a route from coast to coast for drug trafficking.

"I-70 definitely is a pipeline, obviously right through the middle of the country from east to west and drugs of all kinds are traveling up and down our highways everyday," Reinsh said. "I'm not sure exactly where this load was intended to go. He was intending to distribute it and sell it at a certain point, but at this time I don't know where he intended it to go."

Reinsch also says marijuana is not the only drug being moved across the nation through Missouri, but drugs such as cocaine and heroin are also commonly transported using I-70.

Alex Goldman, Missouri Digital News

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Crowell is not alone in opposition to tax credits for international trade hub.

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - One State Senator was not alone in opposition to a bill creating tax credits for an international trade hub in St. Louis.

Southeast Missouri Senator Jason Crowell attacked the bill during an open meeting Tuesday, resulting in little compromise.

Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee Chuck Purgeson says Crowell wasn't the only one opposing the legislation.

"There's an opportunity to have a lot of changes based on conversations I've had with individual Senators on directions they think the bill needs to go, you know, that's part of our legislative process," Purgeson said.

Lawmakers will discuss the bill next week during a special session.

Stacey Kafka, Missouri Digital News

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Nasheed doesn't mind if local control is pushed back in agenda

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - One of the leading supporters of local control for the St. Louis Police Department says she doesn’t mind if the issue is pushed back in the legislative agenda.

The Senate's top leader, Rob Mayer refused a Senate vote on local control of the St. Louis Police Department until tax credits were dealt with first.

St. Louis Democratic Representative, Jamilah Nasheed is a lead supporter of the local control issue and says she will respect Mayer's decision on what he thinks is important.

"Quite frankly I don't have a problem with that," Nasheed says.

However, before local control can be addressed the House must approve the restricting tax credits for the China hub.

Becky May, Missouri Digital News

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Nixon wants to move nonviolent offenders to treatment centers, probation

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - Members of Missouri's executive, legislative and judicial branches are teaming up on a new project aimed at keeping nonviolent offenders out of prison.

Governor Jay Nixon and other top officials announced a plan they say will help reduce the costs of running the state's prisons.

A new bipartisan group is now looking for ways to put the state's nonviolent offenders in treatment centers and probation programs in order to keep them out of prison.

Nixon says similiar policies in Kansas, Arkansas and Kentucky have saved those states money.

"While the simple act of a crime and the simple act of a life might be one act at one point, this is a very complex social issue," Nixon says.

Nixon says he hopes proposed legislation will be ready this winter.

Elizabeth Hagedorn, Missouri Digital News

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Mo. Senate Appropriates Chair says Nixon's disaster spending is unconstitutional

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - The Senate appropriations chair says Governor Jay Nixon's natural disaster spending is unconstitutional.

Central Republican Kurt Schaefer agrees with the state auditor that Nixon's funding of natural disaster relief violates the Missouri constitution.

He says there's no basis for Nixon's spending on disaster recovery without approval of the state legislature.

"The basis of withholding money on public education, on the concept that we have to spend it somewhere else--on natural disasters, for example--there's nothing that backs that up," Schaefer says.

The state auditor's office previously released a statement condemning Nixon's spending.

A spokesman at the Governor's office refused to be recorded.

Scott Kanowsky, Missouri Digital News

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Mo. House approves Local Control bill

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - A deal on local control is working its way through Missouri's legislature, contingent on approval from the St. Louis police union that's so far opposed it.

Missouri's House has approved the deal, sending it back to the Senate.

But the bill won't move forward until the police union gets the collective bargaining rights it wants.

There's a deal in the works to make that happen.

The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday to confirm a new police board member who supports giving the union those rights.

Appointee Tom Irwin would tip the board in favor of a collective bargaining deal.

A St. Louis Democratic Senator who's opposed previous versions of the bill says the police union's OK is needed to get the bill through.

A deal has to happen this week before the end of the legislative session.

Theo Keith, 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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Mo. House passes photo ID bill

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - The Missouri House passed a bill that would impose stricter voter registration requirements.

The bill would require voters to show a government-issued photo ID when they show up at the polls.

Opponents say the bill would hurt voter turnout. They say groups such as the elderly, disabled, and immigrants will have trouble obtaining government ID's.

St. Louis City Representative Karla May says it will prevent American citizens from voting.

"We have immigrants that live in our state, that are here legally, that are tax paying citizens," she said. "They all don't have all of this proper identification that you are putting in this bill."

Those in favor of the bill say it will cut down on voter fraud.

The bill passed by 99-52 vote.

It needs to be approved by the Senate once more before it goes on to the governor.

Meghann McGinnis, Missouri Digital News

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Scweich says Division of Finance is obstructing investigation

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (KRCU) - Missouri's Auditor says the state's Division of Finance is obstructing his investigation into how they're examining banks.

Auditor Tom Schweich has sent subpoenas for bank examination documents to the Division of Finance.

Schweich says records will show whether the Division of Finance is following the right procedures when it's checking up on banks.

In a written statement, the Division said it's against the law to release those records.

But Schweich says his office is allowed to look at them.

"At one point they're saying they can't get us this performance audit, one point they're saying they can't give it to us because they'll go to jail, then they give some of it to us; I mean, what they're doing is obstructing our investigation, there's no other word for it," Schweich said.

Schweich says his office frequently works with confidential records and would enter into a confidentiality agreement.

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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