Politics

The Missouri Senate has passed a tax credit measure after hammering out an agreement between GOP leaders and fiscal conservatives who’ve been trying to reign in tax breaks for years.

The agreement would cap historic preservation tax credits at $75 million per year, give a one-year extension to food pantry and other charitable tax breaks, and create incentives to draw amateur sporting events to Missouri.  State Senator Eric Schmitt (R, Glendale) urged the chamber to pass it before time runs out on the regular session.

Obstruction Charge in Phone Hacking Case

Stephen Wright and Tim Shipman, The Daily Mail: "'It's a witch hunt': Rebekah Brooks and husband Charlie lash out after they are charged with perverting the course of justice in phone-hacking scandal"

Missouri lawmakers have sent the governor legislation prohibiting workers from suing each other for accidental on-the-job injuries.

The Missouri House and Senate have both passed a scaled-back version of a workers’ compensation reform bill. 

With just a few days left to go in Missouri’s legislative session, Governor Jay Nixon says he’s optimistic about reaching a deal with lawmakers on workers’ compensation legislation he previously rejected.  While visiting a medical supplies company in North Kansas City on Tuesday to highlight positive economic and employment trends in the state, Nixon said he met with lawmakers Monday evening, before continuing work on the workers’ comp legislation.

The Missouri House has approved language designed to bar the creation of a Kansas Jayhawks specialty license plate.  The measure was added onto a larger higher education bill passed by the House Tuesday.

Most of the big issues this legislative session were tied to the state budget, which has been passed and sent to Governor Jay Nixon.  That has many political pundits wondering if the last week of the 2012 session will be anticlimactic.  But as St. Louis Public Radio’s Marshall Griffin tells us, there are still a few hot-button items left to fight over.

Workers' comp

Perhaps the biggest unresolved issue this session is workers’ compensation reform.  The General Assembly passed a bill earlier this year that was vetoed by the governor – it would have barred employees from suing each other over workplace injuries and illnesses, and would have restored workers’ comp coverage of occupational diseases.