JEFFERSON CITY | A far-reaching ethics bill cracking down on transfers between campaign committees and beefing up state penalties for political crimes was filed in the Missouri House today.
The bipartisan bill is sponsored by Reps. Tim Flook, a Liberty Republican, and Jason Kander, a Kansas City Democrat.
Most significantly, the bill [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The Missouri Office of Administration will rebid contracts to operate 10 fee offices across the state.
Alternative Opportunities Inc., a Springfield-based non-profit, had won contracts to run offices in Ava, Camdenton, Creve Coeur, Joplin, Nevada, Olivette, Poplar Bluff, Republic, and the South Fremont Avenue and Landers State Office [...]
Update at 4:37 p.m.: Former Jetton clients say Jetton and his firm's vice president, Eric Brooks, have been calling to say that Brooks will open his own firm. Jetton has promised lawmakers he will have nothing to do with the new venture.
At least one lawmaker, state Rep. Shane Schoeller, says [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri House Speaker Ron Richard released this statement regarding Rod Jetton, the political consultant charged yesterday with felony assault:
“The allegations against former Speaker Jetton are extremely serious. I feel very sad for each of the families that have been affected. Right now, it is important to let [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The Web site for Rod Jetton's political consulting firm is MIA.
See for yourself here .
The site was fully functioning as recently as last night, advertising his consulting and fund-raising services and highlighting his numerous clients within the state House and Senate.
The former state House [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Longtime Prime Buzzards may remember a 2007 blog post about a certain prominent Kansas City political consultant moving to a certain classy Northland neighborhood.
And if those longtime Prime Buzzards have especially good memory, they may recall that for a short time, the blog post included a photo [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Watch out, bobwhite quail and three-toed box turtle — there may be a new state critter in Missouri next year.
State Rep. Jason Brown, a Platte City Republican, filed legislation this week to make the Newfoundland dog the official canine breed of Missouri.
The state game [...]
Politico is reporting that Lou Dobbs, the populist news anchor and radio talk-show host who recently left CNN, is considering a run for president in 2012.
A long-time business reporter and anchor, he's best known today for his controverisal views on immigration.
Read all about it here .
JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon bagged a deer yesterday on a hunting excursion in Pulaski County.
Following the hunt, the governor donated his doe to Share the Harvest, a public-private partnership that provides meat to food banks, homeless shelters and feeding centers.
He encouraged other hunters to do the [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | What do you get when you add strong opinions to ample interstate highway access?
Incendiary billboards.
For the second time in the last year, provacative signs have cropped up along Interstate 70 near Kansas City.
This one seems to advocate against paying taxes, encourages voters to toss out incumbents and, [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | It's been a bad, bad few months for Missouri House and Senate Democrats.
State Rep. Don Calloway, a St. Louis Democrat, turned up on the front page of the Post-Dispatch this morning in handcuffs, and has apparently been charged with second-degree robbery. He's just the latest of several [...]
The police department hounded him, they called him Mr. Smith
They got him on conspiracy, they were never sure who with.
"What time is it?" said the judge, to Joey when they met
"Five to ten," said Joey. The judge says, "That's exactly what you get."
- "Joey" by Bob Dylan.
JEFFERSON CITY | OK, [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon is announcing a deal to cut higher education funding but freeze tuition for most students in a flyaround today.
Under the arrangement reached with university leaders, higher-ed funding for the 2010-11 budget year would be cut a relatively modest 5.2 percent -- about $42 million [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | State Rep. Denny Hoskins reports he has paid off the $20,316-tax bill owed by his property management company. Ruthane Small, the Johnson County, Mo., collector, confirms that her office received his payment this afternoon.
Hoskins, a Warrensburg Republican and professional accountant, as recently as yesterday said [...]
Updated at 5:30 p.m.: Hoskins has paid the back taxes.
JEFFERSON CITY | State Rep. Denny Hoskins, a Warrensburg Republican, owes more than $20,000 in back taxes on rental property he owns with his brother.
Hoskins, a first-term lawmaker, acknowledged the tax bills in an interview with Prime Buzz on [...]
Updated at 5:04 p.m.
Correction: The following blog post is in error. Kinder's tweets were not removed from his Twitter account, merely overlooked for very lame technological reasons by a careless reporter. Apologies to Kinder and his staff.
.
.
.
JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has caught some [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Eastern Jackson County voters looking for early insight into what could be one of the closest primaries of the 2010 election season should head to Moreland Ridge Middle School in Blue Springs on Tuesday night.
State Rep. Bryan Pratt, of Blue Springs, is holding a town hall meeting [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | There's a rumor going around the Capitol that Joe Bindbeutel, the former DNR deputy who was washed out of state government last month in connection with Dirty Watergate, may find a new-old job in the office of Attorney General Chris Koster.
We don't usually report on mere rumors, [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Less than a week before the 2009-2010 Missouri Manual will be unveiled, the Secretary of State's office is making previous "Blue Books" available online.
A collection of Blue Books -- which contain data on elected officials, state departments, election results and employee salaries -- from 1889 to 1972 [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | As expected, October was another ugly month for state revenue collections in Missouri.
High unemployment has sapped income-tax collections, and the still-weak economy has seriously dented sales-tax revenues.
Since the start of the fiscal year in July, the state has collected $2.15 billion in general revenues -- [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | St. Joseph Democrat Ed Wildberger resigned from his House seat on Monday to take a gubernatorial appointment as Buchanan County recorder of deeds.
Wildberger had served as minority caucus chairman and last year ran unsuccessfully to replace Rep. Paul LeVota as minority leader. He was in his fourth [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday appointed Gerald E. Winship to the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority.
Winship, 75, of Lee's Summit, works in public relations for Bank Liberty. He previously served on the authority for less than a full term earlier this decade. He is identified by Nixon's [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has a video on YouTube today warning of dire consequences for the state should Congress pass health-care legislation currently under consideration.
In the four-minute clip, available here , Kinder calls the bills in Congress an "economic nightmare" and says they could create [...]
In case you missed it in the The Star today, here are the five stories looking into ethical issues in the Missouri legislature:
House for sale? A lot of money surrounds Rod Jetton's political consulting work
JEFFERSON CITY | Don't get too comfortable, Joe.
Missouri state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a Columbia Republican, this morning announced he was "holding" his support for Joe Bindbeutel's nomination to the state's Administrative Hearing Commission.
Bindbeutel was appointed to the commission by Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, early this summer, after serving for [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | In what looks to be an otherwise sleepy legislative veto session, House Democrats this morning elected their leader designate.
It's a hometown guy: Rep. Mike Talboy, of Kansas City.
The vote means Talboy will be the Democratic leader in the 2011 legislative session (unless he's not; today's election [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri’s director of economic development resigned Monday after eight months on the job.
Linda Martinez, a St. Louis lawyer, was among the most visible of Gov. Jay Nixon’s cabinet appointees, leading his efforts to counter the recession and pass job-creation legislation through the General Assembly.
In [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | A Sept. 11 memorial ceremony on the Capitol lawn here this morning marked in deed if not word the distance this nation has come since that day eight years ago.
On the circle drive around the statehouse were parked emergency response vehicles, gleaming and bearing flags. On the [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday identified $60 million in spending restrictions across state government, signaling his administration’s latest attempt to cut expenses in the recession.
The restrictions essentially prohibit state agencies from spending money already allocated in their budgets, and will be felt in almost [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The U.S. Department of Labor this week rejected a plan to temporarily expand eligibility for unemployment benefits in Missouri using $133 million in federal stimulus money.
The expansion would have allowed individuals to receive unemployment benefits if they were forced to leave work for a “compelling [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Attorney General Chris Koster on Wednesday named a Kansas Citian his chief of staff.
Matthew Dameron will replace Robert Kenney as Koster's top aide. Kenney was recently appointed to the state Public Service Commission.
Dameron is currently an attorney with the Stueve Siegel Hanson firm in Kansas City, specializing [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday tapped a Kansas City lawyer to served on the state highway commission.
Stephen R. Miller, 51, a Republican, has a background in law related to heavy construction and transportation. He replaces Mike Kehoe, a Jefferson City car dealer who resigned from the commission [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Employees in Gov. Jay Nixon's office are now being paid by Gov. Jay Nixon's office.
All of them. Well, OK, almost all of them.
Pay records and documents released by the Nixon administration show that as of the new fiscal year, which began last month, 27 of 29 [...]
COLUMBIA | Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon called for mandatory insurance coverage for autism in three stops across the state on Thursday.
A bill requiring coverage of autism treatments breezed through the state Senate but failed in the House earlier this year. In an appearance here at an autism clinic [...]
COLUMBIA | Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon revealed Sunday that he's in the Middle East visiting Missouri soldiers with a cohort of military officials and other state governors.
Nixon, a Democrat, participated in a conference call with reporters from a military base in Kuwait on Sunday afternoon. He said he left the [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri borrowed $125 million from its reserves on Friday to keep a healthy cash flow in one of the leaner months of a lean year for revenues.
The transfer ensures that the state will maintain a general revenue balance around $100 million, said Linda Luebbering, the state [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Look sharp, Senate District 28! Mike Parspn (sic) wants your vote!
State Rep. Mike Parson -- or "Parspn," as it's spelled in e-mails from his campaign -- announced his candidacy last weekend for long-time lawmaker Delbert Scott's senate seat, which will be open in 2010.
Parson celebrated the [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | After a week of uncertainty, the Tour of Missouri is back on track.
Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday announced he would release $1.5 million in state funds budgeted for the professional bicycle race, allowing it to proceed as scheduled.
“Even as my administration continues [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday approved 10 bills and vetoed 18 others, bringing the 2009 lawmaking season to a close.
Tops among the vetoes was Senate Bill 37 , which would have capped caseloads for public defenders in the state's judicial system.
Public defenders, who represent [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | After several unsuccessful attempts in the legislature, Better Courts for Missouri is taking its court-reform plans to the people.
In a conference call this morning, the advocacy group announced it would file an initiative petition to change the state's process for selecting judges.
The constitutional change (attached below) [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The Missouri Tourism Commission voted unanimously this afternoon reemphasize its commitment to the Tour of Missouri bicycle race.
Implicit in the vote was a plea to Gov. Jay Nixon to release a hold on state funding for the event. The hold, which restricts the state's Division of Tourism [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Three administrative law judges who sued Gov. Jay Nixon over plans to lay off them off won an early round in court on Thursday.
Following a hearing on Monday, the Cole County Circuit Court on Thursday granted a preliminary injunction allowing the judges to remain on the job [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | State officials this week proposed slamming the brakes on the Tour of Missouri , a weeklong, multi-city bicycle race scheduled to spin through Kansas City.
Responding to a request from Gov. Jay Nixon for possible budget cuts, the Department of Economic Development on Monday [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law a suite of bills concerning crime and law enforcement on a visit to a state crime lab on Thursday.
One new law requires DNA tests to be performed on anyone arrested for burglary or one of several felonies. If the charges are [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The chairman of Missouri's Highways and Transportation Commission resigned his post on Wednesday, nearly two years before his term was scheduled to end.
Mike Kehoe, a prominent Republican and car dealership owner here, said in a statement that it was "time for a new chapter" in his life.
It's [...]
COLUMBIA | Tom Schweich, a federal official who earlier this year mulled a run for U.S. Senate, on Tuesday declared his candidacy for a Missouri office: state auditor.
In appearances here and across the state, Schweich, a Republican, cited his experiences as a lawyer, federal prosecutor, U.S. State [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | After coming as close as they’ve been in a decade, Missouri bikers won’t be feeling the wind in their hair any time soon, after all.
Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday vetoed a controversial bill that would’ve allowed adult motorcyclists to ride without helmets.
The decision [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | There's never a dull day in the capital city.
Today's evidence: a visit from Orly Taitz , the California dentist/lawyer (and black belt in Tae Kwon Do!) who's filed lawsuits disputing President Barack Obama's citizenship.
Taitz spoke to a crowd of about 40 at a hotel here this [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Contracts to run Missouri fee offices must be opened for competitive bids under legislation signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jay Nixon.
Two bills formalize and make permanent actions taken by Nixon earlier this year to end the practice of awarding offices based on political connections.
Updated at 3:27 p.m.
JEFFERSON CITY | Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and House Speaker Ron Richard both have statements out today criticizing a bond issue proposed earlier this month by Gov. Jay Nixon.
Kinder and Richard are Republicans; Nixon is a Democrat.
Nixon has said a bond could be an ideal [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Gov. Jay Nixon signed Missouri's 2010 budget into law this morning with line-item vetoes totaling $105 million.
In addition to those spending cuts, the governor will "restrict" expenditure of an additional $325 million, barring the state from spending it until revenues improve.
The state's income has deteriorated significantly since [...]
updated 11:30 AM
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Jay Nixon is vetoing $105 million from Missouri’s budget and restricting the expenditure of an additional $325 million as the state faces declining revenues.
A summary of Nixon’s proposed budget cuts was obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday before a scheduled Capitol [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Three administrative law judges sued Gov. Jay Nixon, his top aide and two senior bureaucrats on Wednesday over plans to fire them at the end of the month.
The judges, who rule on workers’ compensation claims within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, were told [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | An audit of the Missouri Housing Development Commission released Wednesday assails the agency for conflicts of interest, possible misuse of funds, poor record-keeping and an unfriendly working environment.
The audit comes just days after reports of an FBI investigation into the Kansas City-based commission, which [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | William Ray Price Jr. will begin his second term as chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court next week, succeeding Laura Denvir Stith.
Price , a judge since 1992, is the currently the court's longest-serving member and the last of Gov. John Ashcroft's numerous appointees. In taking [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | State Treasurer Clint Zweifel on Tuesday outlined several rules he wants included in an updated code of conduct for the Missouri Housing Development Commission .
The commission finances housing development for people with low and moderate incomes and administers several state and federal housing programs and tax [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Republicans on Monday fired off another warning to Gov. Jay Nixon over possible budget cuts.
This one came from Rep. Jeanie Riddle, of Mokane, imploring the governor not to layoff state workers in his efforts to reduce spending.
"With job loss and the economy being the forefront issue on [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The termination of four administrative law judges this week is raising questions and could potentially lead to legal action against the state.
The four judges, who work in the state’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and rule on workers’ compensation cases, will be laid off [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | At least two projects will be safe when Gov. Jay Nixon drops the guillotine on the state budget later this month.
In comments to a legislative committee this morning, Nixon's budget director, Linda Luebbering, said the governor has committed to funding a bailout for bus service in St. [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | A former general counsel to now-departed Gov. Matt Blunt will be laid off from his position as an administrative law judge next month.
Henry Herschel will be one of four judges let go, according to Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
Herschel was Blunt's top lawyer for part of his term, and [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | State Sen. Kurt Schaefer this afternoon took preemptory action to save funding for a University of Missouri cancer center from Gov. Jay Nixon's budget knife.
Schaefer, a Columbia Republican whose district includes the university, sent a letter to Nixon imploring him not to veto $31.1 million from the [...]
updated 3:30 PM
JEFFERSON CITY | A plan to bring the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp back to Missouri is a done deal.
The Missouri Development Finance Board on Thursday approved a revised agreement to issue $25 million in tax credits to the football club in exchange for improvements at the Truman Sports Complex [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri Supreme Court Judge Laura Denvir Stith met the press this afternoon for a debriefing on her soon-to-be finished term as the court's chief justice.
Judge Ray Price will serve a two-year term as the court's presiding judge beginning July 1.
Stith, a judge on the court since 2001, [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Trumpeting historically low interest rates and possible federal assistance, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Wednesday urged lawmakers to consider a new bond to fund infrastructure projects in the state.
Nixon did not suggest what projects might be funded with the bond or how much it [...]
Updated at 1:09 p.m.
JEFFERSON CITY | Just when Roy Blunt thought the coast was clear, here comes Chuck Purgason.
Purgason, a Republican state senator from Caulfield, announced late yesterday that he is forming an exploratory committee for the U.S. Senate seat Kit Bond will vacate in 2010.
Blunt, a Republican congressman from [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | House Speaker Ron Richard today announced the formation of a new committee to look at how the state will use federal stimulus funds.
The committee will be chaired by Rep. Allen Icet, a St. Louis County Republican who, in an incredible coincidence, announced this morning that he [...]
Jefferson City | A weekend rally is expected to draw large crowds as national activists target Missouri in their bid to scrap federal and state income taxes.
The Midwest Fair Tax rally Saturday at the Boone County Fairgrounds will feature radio talk show host Neal Boortz, Republican Congressman John Linder [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The Missouri Information Analysis Center will no longer perform its own analyses of crime trends, at least for awhile.
The agency, a "fusion center" intended to link local, state and federal law enforcement groups, was the subject of a political firestorm earlier this year [...]
Updated 9:08 a.m. Tuesday
JEFFERSON CITY | Citing "rumors" and "third-hand reports," Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder this afternoon suggested Gov. Jay Nixon may be extorting universities to fund a top-priority health-care initiative.
The initiative, called Caring for Missourians, is intended to boost enrollment in educational programs for health-care fields such as medicine, [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Attention photographers: Here's your chance to be immortalized in Missouri government's best-known doorstop.
The Missouri Secretary of State's office is putting together the state's Official Manual for 2009-10 -- otherwise known as the Blue Book -- and is seeking photo submissions to fill its pages.
The 1,500-plus-page tome compiles [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | A disparity in the proportion of African-American drivers stopped by Missouri law enforcement grew for the fourth straight year in 2008, according to a report released Monday.
The racial-profiling report was prepared for the state attorney general's office, as required by state law.
The report's "disparity index" showed [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Just weeks after a legislative session in which more than $1 billion in federal stimulus funds was haphazardly injected into the 2010 budget, lawmakers are back in the Capitol looking for a more rational way to spend the money in 2011.
An interim committee will spend the [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | After catching flak for House inaction on a bill requiring insurance companies to cover autism, House Speaker Ron Richard promised Wednesday to bring all the sides together this summer and file a bill next winter.
"I have instructed several of my chairman to work to compose a plan [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Missouri lawmakers this afternoon passed a bill expanding eligibility and extending the length of time workers can collect unemployment benefits.
Unemployed workers could collect several additional weeks of benefits when the state unemployment rate exceeds 6.5 percent through Dec. 5 of this year. A worker could [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The economic development bill has passed in the Senate.
Now it goes to the House.
Lawmakers adjourn for the year at 6 p.m.
The bill aims to bring new jobs to the state through enhanced state incentives for employers and is a top priority for both Gov. Jay Nixon [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Lawmakers went to the brink tonight, but they didn't go over.
After five hours of delays and two more of debate that stretched well into Friday, Senate lawmakers once again set aside the economic development bill that has tied them in knots these last four months.
They'll pick it [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The progress of one top-priority bill appeared to hinge on the success of another on Thursday, the penultimate day of Missouri’s legislative session.
Both bills remain tied up.
One aims to expand business incentives while the other could broaden eligibility for health care. First-term Gov. Jay [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Legislation approved early Thursday morning in the Missouri Senate would require women seeking abortions to hear health warnings and descriptions of the unborn child before undergoing the procedure.
The bill goes further than present law by expanding the information women must hear prior to an [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Lawmakers spent several hours today debating an omnibus education bill. And then they killed it.
The wide-ranging legislation included a vast expansion of the state's A+ Schools Program, a new rating system for early childhood education programs and changes to how vacancies are filled on the Kansas City [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Fee offices in Missouri will be awarded on the basis of competitive bids under legislation passed Tuesday by the state legislature.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Silvey, a Kansas City Republican, puts into law and makes permanent an initiative already ordered by Gov. Jay Nixon.
JEFFERSON CITY | Lost in the shuffle over the budget last week was House Bill 132 , which just might bring more joy to the state than any federal stimulus windfall.
Mmm, beerThe bill pertains to alcohol in myriad forms, but among its clauses is [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The Missouri General Assembly gave final approval on Thursday to a $23.1 billion budget for the state’s upcoming fiscal year.
The approval came a day ahead of a constitutional deadline to finish the spending plan and amidst a contentious week in which it seemed lawmakers’ disagreements [...]
Update: Wilson called off her filibuster and the bill was passed.
JEFFERSON CITY | On the last budget bill of the legislative session, a filibuster is -- or maybe was -- in the works on a Kansas City issue.
Sen. Jolie Justus, a Kansas City Democrat, has an amendment to use $5 [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | A proposal to expand health-care coverage for poor Missourians went down in flames on Wednesday, but a novel alternative may yet rise from its ashes.
The Missouri House rejected a spending bill that would have added nearly 35,000 parents to the state’s Medicaid system. But after [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The Medicaid expansion has failed on the House floor and will now return to a committee tonight to broker a deal.
The debate preceding the near-party-line vote was loud, ugly and punctuated by accusations of bribery by Gov. Jay Nixon.
Rep. Bryan Pratt, a Blue Springs Republican, took [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The budget has reached the floors in the Missouri House and Senate.
In the House today, lawmakers are charging through the 12 bills comprising the state's $23 billion operating budget. They broke a few moments ago for lunch after approving bills concerning primary and higher education, transportation and [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | Any Saturday Night Live fans out there? You know that bit Amy Poehler and Seth Myers did during Weekend Update: Really? With Seth and Amy?
Well, here's Really? Capitol Edition.
Senators with offices on the fourth floor are having a competition tonight to see who can best decorate their [...]
JEFFERSON CITY | The once-dead, now-alive stimulus budget bill passed out of the House yesterday cleared a hurdle in the Senate this afternoon, but not without some major changes.
The bill came to the Senate containing about $335 million of "budget stabilization" funds from the federal stimulus package.
After several [...]
Well, that didn't take long. The House just reversed course and approved a budget bill that was voted down last week.
Lawmakers voted 117 to 42 to use more than $335 million in federal stimulus funds for several projects throughout the state. They rejected the exact same legislation last Thursday, [...]
