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Legislative leaders wrangle over bills with Nixon

Missouri legislators and Gov. jay Nixon are searching for common ground on two workplace reform bills.
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Missouri legislators and Gov. jay Nixon are searching for common ground on two workplace reform bills.

Republican leaders in the Missouri House say they’ve been negotiating with Democratic Governor Jay Nixon over the two bills he vetoed in March.

The governor vetoed bills that would redefine workplace discrimination and that would place occupational disease claims solely within the workers’ compensation system.  House Speaker Steven Tilley says discussions have been productive, but that there’s been no compromise reached yet:

“I’m not saying we’re not going to get to that point, and I suspect the talks will be ongoing, but last week was the first week we’ve actually had a substantive meeting with the governor and hopefully those continue and incremental progress is better than no progress,” Tilley said.

A spokesman for the Governor’s office described the meeting as productive.  Meanwhile, a House Committee has passed a scaled-back bill that would NOT redefine workplace discrimination as a motivating factor and deals mainly with protecting whistleblowers.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
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