From Missouri Digital News: https://mdn.org
MDN Menu

MDN Home

Journalist's Creed

Print

MDN Help

 MDN.ORG: Missouri Digital News
MDN Menu

MDN Home

Journalist's Creed

Print

MDN Help

 MDN.ORG Mo. Digital News Missouri Digital News MDN.ORG: Mo. Digital News MDN.ORG: Missouri Digital News
Help  

Missouri Government News for Week of February 17, 1997

Grocery tax cut sent to Senate.

The governor's proposal to cut the sales tax on groceries is at the half-way point in the legislature.

The House, without opposition, approved the bill and sent it to the Senate.

The only serious debate in the arose last week when the chamber rejected an amendment to extend the tax cut to restaurant meals.

For more information, see:

Tougher child support enforcement approved by committee.

The House Children Committee sent to the full House a legislative package to toughen enforcement of child support enforcement orders.

The measure is required by federal law as part of the campaign to crack down on deadbeat dads.

See our newspaper story for details.

Senate approves repealing campaign contribution limits.

The Senate passed and sent to the House a measure that would repeal limits on how much a person can contribute to any one campaign.

The limits had imposed a couple years ago through voter approval of an initiative petition proposal.

But critics charged that there other ways fat-cat contributors could spend large amoungs in a political campaign -- that the only effect of the limits was to hide special interest influence.

For information, see the Senate roll-call vote on the bill.

Senate approves a boost in the legislative expense allowance.

The Missouri Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to an increase in the daily expense allowancee paid to state lawmakers.

Senate approval came just one day after a similar measure had been rejected by the House Budget Committee.

In the Senate, the leadership ruled out of order an effort to tie the increase to restrictions on legislators taking gifts from lobbyists.

For more details, see:

Bill approved that could put you in jail for trying to save a fish.

The House Parks Committee has approved a bill that would make it a misdemeanor crime to harass a fisherman.

The measure, similar to an anti-harassment law for hunters, how goes to the full House.

See our newspaper story for more details.

Per diem increase for lawmakers rejected by the House Budget Committee.

The House Budget Committee narrowly has rejected a proposal to increase the daily expense allowance of lawmakers.

The $35 per diem has not been changed in the last two decades and now is well below the daily living costs for lawmakers in Jefferson City.

Despite committee defeate, the issue remains very much alive in this year's legislative session.

With several members missing the committee session, a reconsideration vote is possible. In addition, a similar measure is pending in the Senate.

For more information, see our newspaper story.

The Senate approves privacy protections for driver's licenses.

The Missouri Senate gave first round approval to a measure that gives Missourians some right to the privacy of information in their driver's license records.

The measure would let a driver ask that the information be kept confidential.

Mail-solicitation firms often use drivers license records which include information on a person's address, age, weight and even eye color.

See our radio story for more information.

An overhaul of the state's welfare system is sent to the Senate.

The Senate Health and Welfare committee approved Monday night a massive overhaul of the state's welfare system.

The proposal implements the federal welfare reform law passed by the GOP Congress last year.

See our newspaper story for more details.

Committee approves governor's college support bill.

The House Higher Education Committee has approved the governor's challange scholorship program.

Under the measure, a Missourian would get tax credits up to $1,500 for the first two years of college costs.

Both public and private schools would be covered.

The measure now goes to the full House for debate.

See our radio story for more details.