Marshall Griffin

Spring break has arrived for Missouri lawmakers, as they take a week off before returning to Jefferson City on March 25th.

They’ll have plenty of items on their plate when they get back -- among the House’s priorities is debating and voting on the state budget, which still does not include Medicaid expansion. Speaker Tim Jones (R, Eureka) says the federal health care law does not require states to add more people to the Medicaid rolls.

Members of the Missouri House Budget Committee are proposing a new fund to provide tuition assistance for National Guard members who are also enrolled in college.

The move comes because the federal government has suspended federal tuition assistance for National Guard soldiers due to sequestration cuts.  House Budget Chair Rick Stream (R, Kirkwood) says they’ve reallocated $1.5 million in next year’s state budget to make up the difference.

Two sets of tax credits were passed by Missouri lawmakers Wednesday and sent to Governor Jay Nixon (D).

Legislation that would provide tax breaks for amateur sporting events held in Missouri has become the first one sent to Governor Jay Nixon (D) during the 2013 regular session.

The incentives would equal about $5 per ticket sold, and they would be capped at $3 million a year.  It was sponsored by State Senator Eric Schmitt (R, Glendale).

One of the leading Republicans in the Missouri Senate blasted the Department of Revenue over its scanning of documents for driver’s licenses and conceal-carry applicants.

Kurt Schaefer of Columbia accused the state agency of lying to lawmakers when its leaders said this week they’re not collecting data for the federal government.

Some concerns have been raised in the Missouri Senate over a proposed constitutional amendment that would create a temporary one-cent sales tax to fund transportation needs.

The one-penny sales tax is expected to raise nearly $8 billion over ten years.  All money raised would go directly to the Missouri Dept. of Transportation (MoDOT), and that provision is not sitting well with some Senators.  Republican Kurt Schaefer of Columbia says lawmakers should have at least some say into how that money would be spent.

The Missouri Senate has given first round approval to a scaled-backed version of the so-called Paycheck Protection bill.

The head of the Missouri Department of Revenue says his agency is not forwarding electronic copies of documents from Missouri citizens to the federal government.

Director Brian Long told the House Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability that once he heard the allegations, he questioned other officials and employees within the Department of Revenue about it.

“I was repeatedly and independently assured that these scanned source documents, as part of the license process, are not, nor is there any plans, to share them, again, with the federal government or any third-party vendor," Long said.

Updated 12:02 p.m. Edited formatting 12:44 p.m.

Health care workers could refuse to participate in procedures or research that violates their religious, moral or ethical principles under a measure passed by the Missouri House.

The House sent the measure to the Senate Tuesday with a 116-41 vote.

Earlier story:

State Department of Revenue leaders told a Missouri House committee today that they are NOT sending copies of documents from Missouri citizens to the federal government. 

Director Brian Long and Deputy Director John Mollenkamp say they now require documents from state residents, including conceal-carry endorsements, to be scanned into a computer system as part of an effort to cut down on fraud.  Republican House Member Todd Richardson says, though, he’s still skeptical about the agency’s intentions