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A look at bills before the Missouri Legislature | |||||
The Missouri Legislature has a week to finalize action on the following bills: ABORTION The House is expected to give final approval to a measure restricting drug-induced abortions. BENEVOLENT TAX CREDITS Gov. Jay Nixon already has signed legislation that would reinstate expiring tax credits for certain charitable donations. It also eliminates a state tax incentive on foreign adoptions. BONDS A $1.2 billion bond issue to pay for construction projects on college campuses, state facilities and other projects passed the Missouri House. A separate proposal was endorsed by a Senate panel but has not been taken up by the full Senate. BUDGET Lawmakers have finalized their spending plan for the state's operating budget that takes effect July 1. The $25 billion plan includes modest increases in education dollars but only provides eight months of funding for a state agency involved in new drivers' licenses procedures that require applicants' person documents to be scanned into a state computer system. DRIVERS' LICENSES Republicans are pushing for legislation to stop the Revenue Department from scanning driving applicants' personal documents. Separate measures have passed the House and Senate, but each requires another vote to advance to the governor. EDUCATION Legislation to evaluate school personnel partly on student achievement was rejected twice by the House. Both chambers are still considering a bill that would let the state act immediately when a school district loses accreditation, instead of waiting the current two-year time period. GUNS The Legislature has passed and sent the governor a measure that would declare federal gun control laws unenforceable and allow designated school personnel to carry concealed weapons in school buildings. It also would lower the minimum age required to get a concealed gun permit from 21 to 19. MEDICAL MALPRACTICE A Missouri Supreme Court decision last year threw out the state's cap on non-economic damages for medical malpractice lawsuits. The House has passed a bill to reinstate those caps, but it has stalled in the Senate. MEDICAID Lawmakers have rejected Nixon's proposal to expand Medicaid coverage to 260,000 people this year using $900 million in federal money. An alternative Republican proposal that would partially expand the program also stalled. But a bill is pending that would create a joint legislative committee to study the issue. PREVAILING WAGE Lawmakers passed legislation that would change the minimum wage calculation paid on public construction projects for rural counties. The measure is pending before the governor. SPORTING EVENTS Nixon signed a new tax credit aimed at attracting major amateur sporting events to the state. SUNSHINE LAW Both chambers have passed measures to reinstate exemptions to the state's open records law that protected security-related records. The bill needs one more vote in the House before advancing to the governor. TAX CREDITS The House and Senate have begun negotiations on legislation that would scale back existing tax breaks for historic buildings and low-income housing while enacting new incentives for international air cargo exports, computer data centers and investors in high-tech companies TAXES Lawmakers have sent the governor a bill gradually cutting personal and corporate income tax rates by an eventual annual total of $700 million. Nixon has indicated a veto is likely. TRANSPORTATION The Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would increase the sales tax by 1 cent and is projected to raise about $8 billion over a decade for transportation projects. The House is considering a similar proposal. UNION PAYCHECKS Senators approved legislation that would require some public employee unions to seek annual consent to automatically deduct fees from members' paychecks. That bill is pending approval by the House. UTILITY SURCHARGE A proposal would allow power companies to levy a surcharge for infrastructure costs between traditional rate cases before the state's utility regulators. The Senate debated the bill but did not reach a vote. A House committee endorsed similar legislation. VEHICLE TAXES Nixon vetoed legislation on technical grounds that would reinstate a local tax on motor vehicle sales not made at a licensed Missouri dealer. Lawmakers are trying to pass another version to ease Nixon's concerns. VOTER IDENTIFICATION The House approved a state constitutional amendment and separate legislation that would require voters to show photo identification at polling places. The measures are pending in the Senate. WORKERS' COMPENSATION The House and Senate have passed different versions of legislation that would replenish an insolvent fund for injured workers. The bills also would clarify that occupational diseases are covered by the workers' compensation system instead of civil lawsuits. Negotiators are in the process of working out differences between the chambers. © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. |