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Missouri legislators are cutting their work week short because of concerns over a winter storm that's expected to dump snow, sleet and freezing rain on much of the state.

The House and Senate usually meet from Monday until mid-day Thursday each week. But with a mixture of ice and snow expected on Thursday, the Senate has decided to quit for the week around noon Wednesday -- early enough to give lawmakers time to get home before the weather hits.

The State House will also give members a chance to leave early, planning only a technical session on Thursday, in which no bills will be debated.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A proposal to name a new Mississippi River bridge for the late St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial is moving ahead in the Missouri Senate.

The measure was approved by the Senate's transportation committee last week and has been placed on the Senate's debate calendar. It's not clear when the full chamber might take it up.

Musial died last month at age 92. A movement quickly began to name the new Interstate 70 bridge over the Mississippi for the seven-time National League batting champion.

Lawmakers in both Missouri and Illinois would have to approve the name. The bridge is expected to open sometime next year.

The Missouri Senate bill is sponsored by Republican Eric Schmitt, of St. Louis County. A similar bill has been introduced in the Missouri House.

 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri senators have endorsed legislation intended to replenish an insolvent state fund for injured workers.

Senators gave initial approval Tuesday night to a bill that would raise fees on businesses and narrow the type of future injuries covered by the Second Injury Fund. The fund has a $25 million deficit, which is expected to grow unless lawmakers take action.

The Second Injury Fund was created 70 years ago to cover disabled employees who suffer a second work-related injury or illness.

The legislation also seeks to reverse recent court rulings that concluded occupational diseases are not required to be covered by the workers' compensation system. The bill says they are, and it sets limits on how much money can be awarded for exposure to toxins like asbestos.

Governor Jay Nixon's plan to expand Medicaid in Missouri has encountered a new wrinkle of opposition from some lawmakers. Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee raised concerns Monday that the Medicaid expansion could hurt the state's credit rating.

Missouri currently enjoys a triple-A rating.

But Moody's Investors Service last week assigned a negative outlook to Missouri because of the proportion of the state budget that already comes from the federally and state-funded Medicaid program.

If Missouri expands Medicaid eligibility as called for in the federal Healthcare Reform Act, it would get billions of dollars more from the federal government in coming years.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri Senate has endorsed a measure that could speed up state intervention in failing school districts.

The bill given initial approval Tuesday night is aimed mainly at the Kansas City School District, which lost its accreditation in January 2012.

Under current law, Missouri officials must wait until at least June 30, 2014, before intervening in the Kansas City district.

The Senate legislation would let the state intervene immediately after a district loses its accreditation. The state Board of Education could prescribe conditions under which the existing local school board could continue to oversee the school, or it could set up an alternative governing structure.

Those alternatives could include creating a special administrative board, merging the district with neighboring ones or splitting the district into several new ones.