Missouri State Capitol Building. Photo by Tim Sampson (Missouri News Horizon)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — With less than 48 hours remaining in legislative session, lawmakers in the General Assembly moved through a slew of bills on Wednesday.

Late in the night, the Missouri House passed legislation aimed at keeping car sales in Missouri. The bill reinstates a local sales tax on out-of-state car purchases. The House passed legislation that was previously passed unanimously by the state Senate. It now heads to the governor for signature.

Throughout the day, the House of Representatives made a continually loaded bills with new amendments. The amendments all but guarantee the bills will go to conference committee with the Senate, and with the legislative clock winding down, that could bar many of them from passing.

Earlier in the day, the House passed legislation that would allow health care workers and medical centers to refuse to provide contraceptive care and perform other procedures that would violate their religious or ethical beliefs.

The bill was carried in the House by floor Leader Tim Jones, R-St. Louis.

“This is a comprehensive bill that goes far to protect religious freedoms and liberties and conscious rights of workers across this entire state,” Jones said. “Why you would not want to support this is beyond me.”

State Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis, one of the bill’s leading critics, said the bill represented a “war on women” in the Missouri legislature.

Science, not politics in an election year, should determine a woman’s private medical decisions,” Newman said in an email. “Mine and other women’s religious beliefs and moral convictions are no less valuable or important than Rep. Tim Jones, the House bill handler.”

The legislation has not yet passed the Senate.

Also on Wednesday, the Senate passed legislation that would lower the cap on the historic preservation tax credit. The measure is likely dead on arrival in the House.

Lawmakers have until 6:00 p.m. on Friday to pass bills before, the constitutional requirement for adjournment of session.

Tom Crawford, president of the Missouri Trucking Association, said a federal mandate would not bother him and his association.

“Pushing half of our folks are already putting these things on because they make sense,” he said. “They’ve done the investments, they’ve done the cost-benefit of the initial, additional up-front costs versus the avoidance of accidents.”

Crawford says the devices would add up to about $2,500 to the cost of a large truck or bus, out of a cost of more than $100,000.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is holding hearings on its proposals and an actual mandate could be two to four years down the road.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. (Photo/Missouri News Horizon)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The United States Postal Service announced a new plan Tuesday that would prevent closures of rural post offices, including hundreds of offices in rural Missouri.

Under the new plan, the postal service would keep existing offices open, but cut back the number of hours the window is staffed. Hours for post office boxes and the lobby would remain unchanged.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, who has been vocal about maintaining rural offices and six day delivery, said even after the USPS’s announcement, she is “not going to rest” on the postal issue.

“I waged this fight because, as a daughter of rural Missouri, I know exactly what these post offices mean for the small towns they serve,” McCaskill said. “I’ve fought alongside folks on the ground in Missouri to send a message that our post offices are more than just brick and mortar—they’re the lifeblood of rural America.”

McCaskill’s official office touted the post office’s decision Wednesday, noting that the postal service’s decision will maintain 16 rural offices in northwest Missouri, 14 rural office in northeast Missouri, 29 rural offices in southeast Missouri, and 18 offices in northern Missouri.

“Senator McCaskill gets what the post office means to these communities,” said State Representative Tom Shively, D-Shelbyville, in a statement provided by McCaskill’s office. “This is an important issue in this region, and a lot of people rely on these services—services that can’t easily be replaced.”

The bill’s lead sponsor, state Rep. Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, said the legislation would modernize the no-call list, allowing cell phone users to opt out of unwanted telemarketing calls and text messages.

“Most Missourians use cell phones as part of their daily lives but our No Call List hasn’t moved into the 21st century to reflect that fact,” Richardson said. “We want to extend the protections we have given to landline users to all Missourians who own a phone.”

More than 1.8 million landlines have registered on the list since its implementation in 2000. In this year alone, Richardson said 2,250 individuals have attempted to register their cell phones.

Attorney General Chris Koster, whose office handles the list, said the legislation would benefit millions of Missourians.

“Twelve years ago, passage of the no-call law saved the dinner hour in this state,” Koster said. “[Tuesday’s] action will preserve the privacy of Missourians for a new technological era.”

If signed by the governor, the bill will become law on August 28.

Legislation passed both chambers of the General Assembly Tuesday to offer greater opportunity for charter schools with support of both Republicans and Democrats.

Many Democrats, including Assistant House Minority Floor Leader Tishaura Jones, joined Republicans in contending that expansion of charter schools could help improve the educational opportunities for urban students.

“This is something that is near and dear to my heart and my constituents who have contacted me about the good things that go ion in charter schools and the bad,” Jones said. “Hopefully this bill can remedy some bad, and promote most of the good.”

The House legislation was sponsored by Rep. Todd Richardson. Richardson said charters provide “another tool in the arsenal” to help educators reach students.

“What we have before us is a bill that dramatically improves charter schools and provides expansion and accountability,” Jones said in a floor debate. Reacting to some criticism from rural lawmakers that the schools would somehow damage outstate schools, Richardson said “this bill in no way upends the fundamental nature of our outstate districts.”

House Education Committee Chairman Scott Dieckhaus, a proponent of charter schools, praised Tuesday’s action. The legislation passed the House in a 99 to 54 vote.

The legislation, a compromise on a key push by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, passed the House of Representatives Tuesday evening with bipartisan support.

“I think it will serve employees and employers well,” said House Majority Floor Leader Tim Jones, R-St. Louis.

The legislation now heads to the governor who is expected to sign it later this year.

The Chamber said they were disappointed that other issues regarding workers compensation have not yet been addressed this year. The Chamber, for example, wants the law changed so that occupational disease treatment will be paid for by the workers compensation system.

“I have an amendment that will prevent the dreaded Jayhawk, the disgusting Jayhawk from being affixed to our beautifully crafted state license plates,” Webber said on the House floor.

The bipartisan outrage — led by Webber and Columbia state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R., — comes after the Missouri Department of Revenue received a request from the Kansas Alumni Association to issue Kansas University plates, much like the department does for other universities in and outside the state.

Webber says if Kansas teams will not play the University of Missouri in football or basketball, then alumni should not be allowed to have the school’s mascot on license plates.

“If they’re not willing to stand and play us,” Webber said, “I say M-I-Z no K-U.”

The alumni’s request is currently pending at the Department of Revenue.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, 44 Senators — including Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill and Republican Roy Blunt — called for the bill to be taken up on the floor.

The Senators noted that the bill – which cuts spending by $23 billion — received a bipartisan vote, 16 to 5, in committee.

“This sets an example of how Senators can come together in a bipartisan way to craft meaningful, yet fiscally responsible, policy,” the senators wrote. “We believe there is strong support in the full Senate to consider the bill in a fair and open manner that allows Senators the opportunity to offer amendments.”

The debate in the House of Representatives is currently making its way through committee. The bills from the two chambers are expected to differ over revenue and funding priorities.

Reed, a local dentist, lost is office in the storm, and over the past year has been seeing patients in a temporary facility. But Monday, less than a year since the tornado swept away Reed’s place of business, Reed celebrated the grand re-opening of his 34 year old practice.

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel joined Reed at the ceremony. Reed’s business applied for and received funding through the Linked Deposit Program, a low-interest loan program facilitated through Zweifel’s office.

“This loan saves money for the bottom line of Missouri small businesses,” Zweifel said. “When business makes that decision to stay and to rebuild Joplin, we have to support them.”

Zweifel said since the tornado, his office has approved loans in Joplin within 24 hours, a practice he hopes to continue as the rebuilding process continues.

The Treasurer’s office has distributed nearly $1 billion in Linked Deposit Program loans since 2009. $130 million have gone to southwest Missouri, and a total of nearly $11 million have gone directly to Joplin.

“This is growing Missouri in one of the most critical places in our state,” Zweifel said.

(Missouri News Horizon).

JOPLIN, Mo. — As the 2012 legislative session winds down this week, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon hopes the legislature will pass new tax credits he believes will spur job creation and manufacturing.

Pointing to the reemerging success of the auto industry in St. Louis and Kansas City, Nixon said he hopes the legislature will pass additional tax credits aimed at attracting auto suppliers to grow their industry in the state.

“We still have a bill that has crossed over from the House side to the Senate that would assist us in attracting auto suppliers,” Nixon said. “We want to re-up that pipeline of parts producers around the Show-Me State.”

Additionally, Nixon believes legislation to end a loophole in workers compensation law that allows employees to sue coworkers for injuries sustained on the job has a chance of passage. He said many of the issues that caused him to veto the legislation earlier this year have been resolved.

Lawmakers end this year’s legislative session on Friday evening at 6 P.M.

Lt. Governor Peter Kinder and House Speaker Steven Tilley welcomed Rush Limbaugh into the Missouri House Chamber on May 14, 2012. (Photo/House Communications)

— In a stealthy ceremony, Republican lawmakers inducted conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh into the Missouri Hall of Fame.

Nearly 100 ticketed guests were invited into the House chamber for the ceremony to induct the Cape Girardeau native into the hall.

Members of the Capitol police department and at least six highway patrolmen guarded the doors to guarded the doors into the chamber to keep non-ticket holders out. Entrances to the chamber were guarded by members of the Missouri Highway Patrol. Speaker of the House Steven Tilley said he thought the extra security was a necessary precaution.

“With the controversy surrounding, I thought it was acceptable to do an invitation-only event,” Tilley said. “I wanted to make sure my family was there. I wanted to make sure Rush’s family was there, and they were treated respectful.”

Tilley said he did not invite any Democrats to the ceremony, many of which had been vocal in their opposition to Limbaugh’s induction.

“They signed something saying they didn’t think it was acceptable,” Tilley said, “and I asked Mike Talboy … and he said well, I don’t think any of them would show up, then I’m not really sure what the issue is.”

Members of the media were given less than a 30 minutes notice that the ceremony was to take place and video cameras were barred from the House floor.

House Minority Leader Mike Talboy, a Kansas City Democrat, said he doesn’t believe Limbaugh’s bust will stay in the Capitol for long.

“Speaker Tilley has no legal authority to order that the bronze bust of Mr. Limbaugh be granted space in the Capitol Rotunda alongside the busts of previous inductees,” Talboy said. “House Democrats have asked the Office of Administration, which controls all public areas of the Capitol, to refuse to display the Limbaugh bust, and we are confident that it will not be placed in the Hall of Famous Missourians.”

Nixon, who has visited the city dozens of time since storm last May, stopped in to announce new funding for what is becoming a growing necessity in disaster preparedness: Safe rooms.

Flanked by students and Joplin Superintendent C.J. Huff, Nixon announced $2.8 million in new state funding to help pay for a $26.3 million project to install the rooms at five Joplin schools.

“This is another step in our ongoing commitment to help Joplin recover,” Nixon said.

A small portion of the money will go to assisting in the demolition of properties surrounding the Joplin High School campus, as the district readies to rebuild.

Huff said over the past year, he has encouraged other schools to invest in the community safe rooms.

“Investing in these safe rooms is an investment in the safety of our children and the future of our community,” he said.

For many students in Joplin, class took place over the past year in temporary facilities. At Emerson Elementary, where Nixon made his announcement, two schools merged into an older school, forcing some classes to be held in “modular classrooms,” essentially trailers fitted with desks and chalkboards.

Huff said the safe rooms would not only provide shelter for those students, but also provide more reliable cover to students who, in the larger schools, would have originally only had hallways in which to seek shelter.

Referencing video footage of the high school’s hallways during the May 2011 tornado, Huff said the safe rooms are obviously a safer place to seek shelter.

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(EDITOR’S NOTE: POST BEING UPDATED WITH VIDEO LATER.)

— While neither of the major presidential candidates are expected to spend significant time campaigning in Missouri, discussion of the state will not be completely absent from the national discussion.

In a new web and ad campaign targeting swing state voters, the Obama campaign is highlighting Romney’s involvement in the failed GS Technologies Kansas City Steel mill during his time at Bain Capitol.

Bain took over the Kansas City facility in October 1993. After nearly a decade of being impeded by an underfunded pension program, the mill was closed, leaving 750 people unemployed, without severance, and pensions cut by $400 a month.

Bain, which invested $8 million in the beginning, received $12 million in profit from the plant, in addition to nearly $4.5 million in consulting fees. Romney, who left Bain in 1999 to run the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, continued to receive personal income, even after the plant closed.

“GST workers really lost out, and Romney and his partners did not,” said Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s deputy campaign manager. “Romney economics aren’t a prescription for a stronger economy.”

Cutter said the issue is not private equity firms or Romney’s ability to profit, but instead “about the values Romney lived by as a businessman and the value Romney would live by as a president.”

In a statement Monday morning, the Romney campaign said they “welcome” the Obama campaign’s move back to talking about jobs and the economy. the issue their campaign hopes to focus on instead of the social issues that drove the conversation in recent weeks.

“If the Obama Administration was less concerned with pleasing its wealthy donors and more concerned with creating jobs, America would be much better off,” said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill. (Photo/Missouri News Horizon)

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — While the three Republicans hoping to replace U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill have been engaged in a tough primary, McCaskill has been watching.

Speaking to Democrats at their annual Truman Days dinner in Kansas City, McCaskill dubbed the trio the “most extreme” Republicans Missouri has ever seen.

“They make John Ashcroft look like a liberal,” she said.

McCaskill said the her opponents — Sarah Steelman, Todd Akin, and John Brunner — are proving her point when they fight over who is the true “Tea Party candidate.”

McCaskill said the 2012 election will be a deciding factor in Missouri’s political influence as a swing state moving forward.

“We’re going to hold onto Harry Truman’s senate seat,” she said.

McCaskill’s campaign has already invested in television time and McCaskill is expected to officially hit the campaign trail early next month. Her campaign has leased a campaign bus, formerly used by Roy Blunt in his successful Senate bid in 2010, for the summer.

The annual dinner, a fundraiser for Jackson County Democrats, attracted a crowd of about 500. Former Virginia Governor and U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine, a Kansas City native, gave the keynote speech, urging Democrats to support their U.S. Senate candidates in this year when much of the attention is focused on the presidential race.

— State Sen. Bob Dixon brought budget negotiations to a halt this week, when he learned that Missouri State University in Springfield was not part of a $3 million higher education funding agreement.

The deal, which lawmakers approved Thursday, appropriated hundreds of thousands in new spending for smaller state universities. MSU was left out of the deal because, lawmakers concluded, it serves a statewide mission.

Dixon’s interruption, in which he stopped debate on the funding measure until leaders explained it to him, was one of the tensest moments on the senate floor this week.

“I did not want to stand in the way of meeting our obligations under the constitution of passing a budget. It’s the only thing we’re required to do up here,” said Dixon, a Springfield Republican. “But at the same time, I’m going to do everything I can to represent my district and the people that I am here to serve.”

After speaking with Senate leadership for about 45 minutes, Dixon allowed debate on the funding measure, which was part of a larger veterans bill, to continue.

In the end, Dixon wasn’t completely satisfied with the explanation, but says he made his point.

“The good thing that has come out of this is we’re having a serious discussion I believe now about equity and funding,” he said. “Missouri State University is near the bottom of the list when you look at the per pupil funding.”

The state’s $24 billion budget now heads to Gov. Jay Nixon for a signature.

In a news conference Friday morning, Carnahan, D-St. Louis, announced the “Access to Substance Abuse Treatment Act,” a bill that would fund additional law enforcement, health and child services, housing, and transportation in areas challenged by drug abuse.

“We know what the problem is, we know how widespread it is and we know how to create solutions to it,” he said. “Treatment has a major impact on every aspect of the drug problem, and it is high time we treat addiction like the disease it is, rather than simply locking addicts away.”

In addition, Carnahan’s legislation would fund research into the root causes of drug abuse seeking information on the most effective ways to treat it. Carnahan said treatment for individuals addicted to drugs helps reduce crime in urban communities.

Unlike the previous week, when lawmakers focused almost exclusively on passing the state’s budget, the final week of session will likely be a potpourri of various bills members hope to consider before session adjourns ahead a summer of campaigning for this year’s elections.

Outgoing House Speaker Steven Tilley, R-Perry, said he, nor House Floor Leader Tim Jones, R-St. Louis, have any bills they believe are essential to pass.

“I don’t think there’s anything that has to pass, which is kind of unique,” Tilley told reporters Thursday.

Jones, who is hoping to take over as Speaker after the election, said he will open the calendar up for the members of his caucus.

“My priority is going to be my members’ priority,” Jones said. ”We’re going to be moving as many of our members’ priorities forward to completion as possible.”

The two believe there could be movement on some economic development bills, reforming workers compensation laws, and expanding charter schools, if the measures are picked up by the state senate.

Senate Floor Leader Tom Dempsey said the Senate will, in fact, take up reforms to workers compensation before session ends.

Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed similar legislation earlier this year, but has recently signaled he would be willing to support a compromise on co-employee liability. Dempsey said his office met with a representative with Nixon’s office on Thursday to discuss the legislation.

Lawmakers have until 6:00 p.m. on May 18 to pass their priorities, before this year’s session adjourns.