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Mo. Senate considers tax cut

Republicans in the Missouri Senate want to make sure the governor doesn't create a health care exchange without their consent.
KBIA/file photo
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KBIA
Republicans in the Missouri Senate want to make sure the governor doesn't create a health care exchange without their consent.

A proposed tax cut is once again moving forward in the Missouri Senate after it was rewritten yet again. The bill had stalled after its sponsor, Republican Will Kraus of Lee’s Summit, offered a substitute that conformed to conditions that Democratic Governor Jay Nixon said were necessary for him to sign it.

Those conditions included reforming the state’s system of tax credits, and fully funding K-through-12 schools before any tax cut could take effect. The latest rewrite took out the tax credit language; it would implement the tax cut in 2017 instead of being triggered automatically once full public school funding is achieved.

Kraus says it still honors the spirit of his compromise with Governor Nixon.

“We’re working with the governor, but I also have to work with the legislature, and a number of other senators, there were some things that they wanted," he said. "I’m trying to work everybody toward the middle and get something done [so] that we can give some tax relief to Missourians.”

Meanwhile, Governor Nixon released a statement Thursday, in which he said that discussing tax cuts is a, quote, “nonstarter” unless Missouri lawmakers pass legislation to reform tax credits.

The latest version of Kraus’s tax cut bill received first-round approval in the Senate on Wednesday and could be sent to the Missouri House next week.

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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