JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The owner of a southwest Missouri discount tobacco store has filed a lawsuit challenging a proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the state’s lowest-in-the-nation tobacco tax and create new fees for wholesalers of some cigarettes. The suit filed Friday in Cole County Circuit Court claims the measure’s ballot title and…
( KTRS ) Democratic State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed of St. Louis, has announced that she is co-sponsoring a senate with Republican State Sen. Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph. Nasheed says, Senate Bill 924, also called the Restoration of Voting Rights Act, would allow Missouri citizens convicted of a felony and on probation or parole to vote.…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The first bill the Missouri House has passed this year would increase reporting of elected officials’ and others’ personal finances. House members voted 143-11 in favor of the measure Thursday. It heads to the Senate. The legislation would require personal financial disclosure reports to be filed twice a year. Currently,…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – The University of Missouri is offering what it’s calling “Evolution Bootcamp” for the first time. One goal of the intercession class is to bring early-stage graduate students up to speed on evolutionary biology. The Columbia Missourian (bit.ly/2300vKN) there also are evenings sessions that are open to the public, including one Monday…
NEW MADRID, Mo. (AP) – More than half of the 850 employees at a southeast Missouri aluminum plant are being laid off. And the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (bit.ly/1Psqilb) reports that Noranda Aluminum plans to shut down the New Madrid smelter altogether unless its electricity rate is lowered further. The Franklin, Tennessee, company had already seen…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri cities would face limits on how much revenue from ordinance violations they could keep under a new Senate proposal. On Wednesday, a suburban St. Louis resident told lawmakers she’s received fines for chipped paint at her home. Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt says his bill aims to cut down on…
( KTRS ) Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt says he raised nearly $1.25 million during the past three months for his expected re-election campaign. Blunt’s campaign says it had more than $5 million in cash on hand at the end of the most recent fundraising quarter. Likely Democratic opponent Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Some Missouri lawmakers want to repeal a law prohibiting the state from complying with a federal proof-of-identity law. Sen. Ryan Silvey introduced a bill Wednesday to bring Missouri licenses in line with the Department of Homeland Security’s Real ID standards. People who object to the new licenses could get a…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri lawmakers would need to wait a year to lobby under a bill that has initial House approval. House members gave first approval to the measure Wednesday. Members also voted to beef up the proposal from a full-session ban after officials leave office to a one-year ban that starts after…
