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

Short week at the Capitol features State of the State Address and hearings, hearing, hearings

Marshall Griffin | St. Louis Public Radio

Missouri lawmakers will try to make the most of a short week, which could include the next batch of ethics bills.

The shorter work week is due to the Martin Luther King holiday, as well as Gov. Jay Nixon's State of the State Address Wednesday night.

The next four House ethics bills are headlined by a proposed ban on gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers, their families and staff. Another would require former lawmakers to dissolve any candidate committees they still have before becoming lobbyists.

"I'm hopeful that those bills will move out of committee, and hopefully we'll have them to the floor very soon," said House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff.

Credit Marshall Griffin | St. Louis Public Radio

Hearings on the next wave of ethics bills are scheduled Tuesday.

Richardson doubts they would be able to send the new ethics bills to the Senate this week, but he did tell reporters that they could receive first-round approval, also known as "perfection."

Senators, meanwhile, will hold hearings on several bills. They include that chamber's version of the proposal to require photo IDs for voting, along with a bill that would abolish the death penalty in Missouri.

Also, Majority Floor Leader MikeKehoe, R-Jefferson City, says they may conduct some procedural moves for the four ethics bills passed by the House last week.

"It's more than likely never going to be good enough, far enough, long enough, early enough, low enough amount, high enough amount, to satisfy everybody," Kehoe said. "It's just one of those issues that has too many moving pieces, but as I've said all along, if we can start moving the ball down the field on ethics reform, I think it's a much better position than what we're in right now."

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:  @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.