News

Efforts to update Missouri’s criminal code have stalled in the state Senate, where Senator Tom Dempsey declared the bill is dead for this legislative session.

With the Missouri legislative session ending on Friday and a Republican supermajority that still won't budge, the hope to expand Medicaid in Missouri is pretty much dead for FY 2014.

It's so dead that perhaps the only thing that could bring it back to life is, well, interfaith prayers for a miracle.

Regional news coverage from the KBIA Newsroom, including:

• Group Of Republicans Block 1-Cent Transportation Sales Tax In Mo. Senate
• Final Version Of Workers' Comp/Second Injury Fund Fix Passes Mo. Senate, Heads To House
• Liquor Franchise Legislation Stalls In Missouri Senate

The director of Missouri's Medicaid health care program is out of a job.

Ian McCaslin confirmed to The Associated Press that as of Tuesday, he is no longer the director of the MO HealthNet Division of the Department of Social Services.

McCaslin declined to say whether he resigned or was dismissed by Gov. Jay Nixon's administration.

A Nixon spokesman referred questions to the department. The department provided a memo from Director Alan Freeman noting McCaslin is leaving but did not elaborate.

The Missouri House has approved legislation barring the state Revenue Department from scanning the personal documents of drivers' license applicants into a state computer system.

The House passed the measure 118-40 on Tuesday. It now returns to the Senate.

The Revenue Department began scanning documents, such as birth certificates and concealed weapons permits, in December. Agency officials say it provides more security to licensing. But Republican lawmakers objected to the procedures and argue it is an invasion of privacy.

The Missouri House and Senate have passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee farmers and ranchers the right to farm and ranch using "modern methods."

Missouri House members have endorsed a 1-cent sales tax that would be dedicated to paying for state and local transportation projects.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol would need to ask lawmakers for permission to purchase vehicles that cost more than $100,000 under a bill sent to Gov. Jay Nixon.

For the month of April, Missouri employers added more than 12,000 new jobs while the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.6 percent.

Regional news coverage from the KBIA newsroom, including:

• The top Senate leader says a criminal code revision and $1.2 billion bond issue are dead this session
• The legislature makes a third run at passing a use tax
• Much more from the last week of the 2013 legislative session