© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Gov. Nixon's nominees delayed in Senate panel

KBIA File Photo

Nominations for key boards and positions in state government are being stalled in a Senate committee.

Senators said Wednesday that a lack of communication with Gov. Jay Nixon's administration was to blame for the delay. Committee chairman Sen. Tom Dempsey says the nominations of Richard Fordyce as agriculture director, Gregg Smith as highway commissioner, and Joseph Driskill and Victor Lenz as education board members are stalled for at least one week.

Senators cited opposition to a proposed agriculture department rule that would allow gas stations to sell fuel with a higher ethanol blend. They also criticized the education board's decision not to dismiss the state education commissioner.

The panel did advance previously stalled nominees to the state's utility regulatory board and the Human Rights Commission.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.