Tagged: marshall griffin

It's the final day of the regular legislative session for the Missouri General Assembly.

Lawmakers have spent the past week clearing a backlog of bills that accumulated during a showdown over the state budget.

Last year at this time, the state House and Senate were deeply divided over tax credits, and a bill returning control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department back to the city of St. Louis had become a bargaining chip in the turf war.

This year, things have been more productive.

Most of the big issues this legislative session were tied to the state budget, which has been passed and sent to Governor Jay Nixon.  That has many political pundits wondering if the last week of the 2012 session will be anticlimactic.  But as St. Louis Public Radio’s Marshall Griffin tells us, there are still a few hot-button items left to fight over.

Workers' comp

Perhaps the biggest unresolved issue this session is workers’ compensation reform.  The General Assembly passed a bill earlier this year that was vetoed by the governor – it would have barred employees from suing each other over workplace injuries and illnesses, and would have restored workers’ comp coverage of occupational diseases. 

The Missouri House and Senate are still at an impasse over next year’s state budget.  The Senate has made no progress on persuading Republican Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau to stop blocking legislation to fund veterans’ homes.

The state budget for next year is being blocked in the Missouri Senate by a group of fiscally conservative Republicans.

Legislation that would tweak Missouri’s funding formula for public schools has stalled in the State Senate.  

Two rallies in Jefferson City today each called for the repeal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act and for employers to have the right to not provide coverage for birth control.

Several hundred people attended the rally held at the State Capitol, led by several religious leaders.  Maggie Karner with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod told the crowd that President Obama’s birth control mandate is an attack on religious freedom.

“This debate is simply about us being forced to pay for products and services that are contrary to our religious beliefs, and we cannot be expected to check our faith at the door," Karner said.

Closing arguments were heard Thursday in the lawsuit over Missouri’s new congressional district map.

Regional news coverage from the KBIA Newsroom, including:

• Nixon's position on a new oil pipeline
• An update on the redistricting lawsuit
• Dave Spence airs first ads for Governor