Last November, Gov. Jay Nixon announced his support for a plan to have electric ratepayers help pay for a company's successful application for a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission early site permit.
Winning a permit would show that the location chosen - Ameren Missouri's Callaway Nuclear Plant site near Reform, where Callaway One has been operating since 1984 - meets today's engineering and safety standards for construction of a second nuclear plant.
But Thursday night, with less than 24 hours before this year's session ends at 6 p.m. today, the two sides in the debate said they still were negotiating a possible compromise that could win passage in the House and the Senate.
And no one was saying what the deal might be, but there were ....