MO House won't give info on gun database access to governor
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri House is not planning to give Gov. Jay Nixon's administration data related to an attempted access of the list of gun permit holders.
The Office of Administration requested computer logs last week after a House computer was used to access a secure website containing the gun data. The House computer used credentials the state had previously provided to a federal agent.
House Speaker Tim Jones says the attempted access was part of an investigation into the Nixon administration. House Clerk Adam Crumbliss sent a letter to the Nixon administration Monday that says releasing the House computer data could compromise the ongoing investigation.
Commissioner of Administration Doug Nelson says the access was unauthorized because the information on the website had been intended for use by law enforcement.
MO House defeats evaluations for principals
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri House has rejected tough new evaluation standards for school principals and administrators.
The House voted 82-76 to defeat the measure Wednesday, one of Republican House Speaker Tim Jones' top education priorities.
This marks the second defeat of legislation to impose evaluations based largely on student achievement. Previous versions of the bill would have subjected teachers to the evaluation standards, but that provision was removed from this bill in an effort to pass the measure.
The evaluations would have started in the 2014-15 academic year and would've included multiple measures and be conducted at least annually. School personnel would have been classified on a four-point scale ranging from highly effective to ineffective.
House computer used in attempt to access conceal carry list
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Jay Nixon's administration says a Missouri House computer was used in an effort to access a secure website with the list of people who have a concealed weapons permit.
The Office of Administration filed an open records request to determine who did it. Spokeswoman Misti Preston said Friday the user tried unsuccessfully to view the list 23 times.
She says the website was accessed using log-in information that state officials previously provided to a federal agent. That agent told a Senate committee this week he wanted the list of permit holders for an investigation into Social Security fraud.
Preston says the log-in information was made public during the Senate's investigation but the data was removed from the website in March.
Missouri House officials were not immediately available for comment.
MO bill would make it harder to get unemployment
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - People fired for missing work and not following company rules could have a harder time claiming unemployment benefits under a bill sent to Gov. Jay Nixon.
The House voted 98-57 to pass the measure Wednesday. The Senate passed the same bill in February.
Fired workers who engaged in "misconduct" at the workplace can be denied benefits under current law. But the legislation expands the definition of "misconduct" to include chronic absenteeism and "knowing" violations of an employer's rules. The current standard requires "willful disregard" of an employer's regulations.
Supporters say many workers fired for reasons such as sleeping on the job are allowed to collect benefits under the current system. Opponents say the measure could deny benefits to people fired wrongly.
Missouri House votes to examine Medicaid expansion next year
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - After declining to expand Medicaid coverage this year, the Missouri House has passed a bill that would create a committee to study the issue next year.
The House passed the measure 133-27 Monday. It would create a joint committee of House and Senate members to look at ways to "transform" the state's Medicaid program. The committee would begin at the end of the current session until the 2015 session's start in January.
Gov. Jay Nixon called for lawmakers to expand coverage for 260,000 adults starting in 2014. The Republican-led Legislature rejected that appeal numerous times and abandoned plans for an alternative proposal earlier this month.
The bill now heads to the Senate.
Missouri House passes change to conceal carry approval
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri House has passed a bill that would allow county sheriffs to issue concealed weapons permits instead of the Revenue Department.
Missouri sheriffs already have the responsibility of receiving concealed-carry applications, reviewing applicants' backgrounds and issuing paper permits. But under current law, recipients take the paper permits to a local licensing office overseen by the Department of Revenue to receive a photo ID card noting their concealed-carry status.
Republican lawmakers want to allow sheriffs to print the permits after learning the Revenue Department compiled a list of concealed weapons permit holders to share with a federal agent at the Social Security Administration.
The measure passed 123-34 Monday. It would also allow designated school personnel to carry concealed weapons in schools buildings. It now heads to the Senate.
MO House joins Daylight Saving Time pact
Missouri Residents could soon be on Daylight Saving Time all the time.
On Monday, the Missouri House voted to join the "Daylight Saving as the New Standard Time Pact." The legislation they passed says that once 19 other states sign on, Missouri will stay on Daylight Saving Time all year, instead of returning to Standard Time in the fall.
The bill must still be approved by the Missouri Senate.
Daylight Saving Time year round would mean in December, the sun wouldn't rise in St. Louis until after 8 AM.
MO lawmakers consider fining cities that ban smoking
Should local communities have the power to ban indoor smoking in public places?
A group of St. Charles County lawmakers apparently don't think so. Republican State Representative Kathie Conway has introduced a bill that would levy fines against cities and counties with local smoking bans. Seven other lawmakers from St. Charles County have signed on as co-sponsors.
The measure would force the communities to give up any property or sales tax revenues from businesses affected by the ban. The money would go to local school districts instead. Conway told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that she plans to narrow that to include only bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, casinos and other entertainment-related businesses, because they're the ones who lose money because of smoking bans.
The bills opponents call it an attempt to intimidate local governments.
Only two communities in St. Charles County have smoking bans in place: O'Fallon and Lake St. Louis. St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis also have smoking bans in place. They would be subject to the fines too, since it's a state-wide measure.
MO House endorses sweeping gun proposals
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri House has preliminarily approved sweeping measures that would expand gun rights in the state and allow certain school officials to carry concealed weapons in school buildings.
The bill would allow appointed "protection officers" to carry concealed weapons as long as they have a valid permit and register with the state Department of Public Safety. The officers would also be required to complete a training course established by the peace officer training commission.
The proposals adopted Wednesday would also lower the age required to carry a concealed weapon and allow firearms less than 16 inches in length to be openly carried. One of the measures would also criminalize the enforcement of any federal gun control laws adopted after January.
Missouri House endorses bill giving parents more time to give up newborns
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Parents could give up newborn babies without legal consequences 45 days after birth under a bill given first-round approval by the Missouri Senate.
The measure endorsed Tuesday increases parents' "safe harbor" period from the current five-day window.
Parents of newborns can currently hand over a baby to medical professionals, firefighters, emergency medical technicians or law enforcement. The legislation would add pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes to that list.
Sponsoring Sen. Ryan Silvey, a Republican from Kansas City, says his measure would help protect children from being abused or neglected by parents unfit to care for their child.
His bill also includes a provision requiring students attending a public university to be vaccinated for meningitis if they live in on-campus housing and do not have religious objections.
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