May 22, 2012

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Senate clobbers attempt to move pres. primary (AUDIO)

May 3, 2012 By

A proposal to move Missouri’s 2016 presidential primary back to March has been crushed in the state senate by Republicans who think the national party overreached.

National Republicans told Missouri party officials the state had to move its primary from February to March or half of Missouri’s national convention delegation would not be recognized.  When the legislature refused to change the state law, the state party ruled delegates would be picked in caucuses, not on the basis of the February primary votes. The February primary showed only 11% of the voters turned out.  Only about one percent  showed up for the county caucuses.

Senator David Pearce of Warrensburg says Missouri should change its law to avoid a repeat of caucuses that he says made Missouri a laughing stock.

Carpe Girardeau’s Jason Crowell has led the opposition, charging the state party caved in to the national party, to the detriment of Missouri Republicans. He says Missouri has been awarded by getting prime hotel space for national convention delegates, seven minutes closer to the convention hall than the hotel for delegates from Florida, which ignored national party demands.

Crowell says Missouri’s change means this state’s Republicans never saw the major candidates.  Rick Santorum was the only one who seriously campaigned here. 

Pearce calls the caucuses a fiasco.  Crowell says the Missouri GOP should tell national leaders, “We don’t give a rip what you say,” and that Missouri is not going to change the date of its primary in 2016.

Pearce’s proposal was shouted down by the senate. 

AUDIO: Senate debate 25:33

Filed Under: Elections, Featured, Human Interest, News, Politics & Government

Research: Missouri losing hundreds of millions in sales taxes (AUDIO)

May 1, 2012 By

New research suggests Missouri fails to collect enough sales taxes each year to finance the budgets of eight state agencies

The study estimates Missouri loses about $468 million every year because it does not collect taxes on internet sales–and that’s just for internet merchants outside our borders. 

That’s more money than Governor Nixon recommend the state spend on the elected officials, legislators, and state judges combined (about $380 million).  It’s three times the revenue department’s proposed budget of $145 million; eleven times more than the agriculture department budget of about $40 million; more than triple Nixon’s proposed conservation budget ($146 million). It’s one third more than the combined budgets of the Revenue, Agriculture, Labor, and Conservation Departments, which totaled $343 million in Nixon’s January budget recommendations.   .   

The study has been done by University of Missouri professor David Valentine, who was the head of state senate research for 24 years. It estimates the state will miss out on $1.4 bilion in possible tax income in the next three years. 

The study has been released as lawmakers consider what programs to cut because of lack of state tax collections. 

Seven of our eight neighboring states have joined the 24-state streamlined sales tax compact that does collect internet sales taxes.  Missouri lawmakers have shown little interest in being the 25th state.  They’re waiting for Congress to do something and a federal internet sales tax does not appear very high on the congressional radar although Senator Blunt is co-sponsoring a bill that lets states enter the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement or create their own system.  The bill would give states more enforcement powers to increase collections.

 AUDIO: Valentine interview approx 17:00

 

Filed Under: Business, Featured, Finance, Human Interest, News, Taxes

Senate passes bill limiting CRNA pain killing (AUDIO)

April 30, 2012 By

The legislature is moving to make sure people involved in pain management are well-trained in the most delicate procedures, an idea that came to Senator Tom Dempsey of St. Charles when he had an epidural, an injection into nerves in or near his spinal cord to block the transmission of pain signals.

His concern is for certified registered nurse anesthetists whose work in such procedures is outside their scope of practice—meaning they lack the specific training for such a delicate procedure. Dempsey’s bill limits those procedures outside of a surgical, obstetrical, or post-operative course of care to licensed physicians.  His bill allows certified  registered nurse anesthetists or licensed anesthesiologist assistants to continue performing surgical or obstetrical anesthesia services or post-operative pain control. 

Dempsey says regular anesthesiologists who want to do these procedures go through a one-year training program. But he says hundreds of CRNAs do these procedures without that training.

Dempsey says it’s not just placement of the injection. He says the CRNAs need to be trained in the procedure and be prepared for any adverse occurrence. He says he’s told their representatives the law can change when their profession has a program to properly train them.

President-elect Don Beissel of the Missouri Association of Nurse Anesthetists complains the bill allows licesed physicians to conduct the procedures “regardless of the physician’s skills, education, training or clinical experience” while at the same time “prohibiting all other healthcare professionals, including Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, from performing these procedures, even if these practitioners have the skills, education, training and clinical experience to perform them.”  

The senate has sent the bill to the House.

The measure is SS/SCS/SB682

  AUDIO: debate 14:08

 

Filed Under: Featured, Health & Medicine, Human Interest, News

Senate advances court plan change (AUDIO)

April 27, 2012 By

A proposed change in Missouri’s non-partisan court plan is called “minor” by supporters but is considered the first big chip taken out of a plan designed to minimize politics in the selection of Missouri’s most important

The Missouri non-partisan court plan has been a model for many states to use in picking judges for appellate and supreme courts. It was born 72 years ago when citizens became fed up with the control over the courts exercised by Kansas City political boss Tom Pendergast that led to several disputed judicial elections.

The legislature has been feeling pressure, internal and external, to change the plan for years. The senate has tentatively approved a proposed constitutional amendment that lessens the influence of the legal profession in reviewing applicants for those high judgeships. Sponsor Jim Lembke of St. Louis says it’s a common sense plan.

Senate judiciary chairman Jack Goodman of Mount Vernon reluctantly let the proposal out of his committee, fearful it ultimately might lead to statewide elections of those high court judges. .

Goodman fears the next generation of legislative leaders will push even harder for the election of high court judges which he says could expose the judicial system to corruptive influences in a state that has no limits on campaign donations.

He says a person whose case goes before the supreme court should be confident the court will look at the constitution, not at a list of campaign donors who want to influence the judges.

 AUDIO: Goodman 17:07

AUDIO: Sposor Jim Lembke 13:51

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Featured, Human Interest, News, Politics & Government

House advances proposed changes to adoption law (AUDIO)

April 25, 2012 By

The Missouri House of Representatives has adopted a proposal that, its sponsor says, would lead to more foster parents to adopt children in the foster system.

Representative Jay Barnes (picture courtesy; Missouri House Communications)

The plan was amended to another bill dealing with adoption issues. Its sponsor, Representative Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City), says it deals with cases in which parents voluntarily terminate their parental rights.

It would allow natural parents to enter a post-adoptive agreement for limited contact with the adoptive parents. “Either party could come to court. If, for instance, the natural parents were not living up to their obligations under the agreement the adoptive parents could shut off contact. If on the other hand the new adoptive parents were not allowing access to the natural parents, those natural parents could have their rights enforced.”

Representative Chris Kelly (D-Columbia), a self-described opponent of all changes, to the current adoption system, told Barnes he backs the plan.

He asked Barnes, “Under your amendment, nobody has to do anything.”

Barnes confirmed, “No, this is all voluntary. This involves a situation where the natural parents and the adoptive parents agree that this is what they want to happen.”

Kelly says the plan allows adoptive parents, “for example, allow the birth parents to visit with, to see, to kinda keep track of how their birth child is doing, but all the responsibility and authority still resides with the adoptive family.”

Representative Rory Ellinger (D-University City) disagrees with the goal of having more foster parents adopt children out of the foster system.

“We should urge more reunion, more help, to a mother who may have had drugs, a father who was an alcoholic, so that the natural family can be reunited. We don’t want to make adoption easier because every time you make adoption easier you tear a family apart and then try to put it together again. That’s why the law is so tough in this area.”

Barnes’ amendment was approved by the House. It is now part of a bill sponsored by Representative Jeannie Lauer (R-Blue Springs) that aims to help adoptees obtain medical information from birth parents.

Another positive vote would send the package to the Senate.

AUDIO:  Listen to debate of the amendment between Representatives Jay Barnes, Chris Kelly, Thomas Long (R-Battlefield) and Rory Ellinger

Filed Under: Human Interest, Legislature, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , ,
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