Senate leader: Nuclear bill will be debated

Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer said Thursday that lawmakers will get a chance to debate a proposal to help Missouri's nuclear power industry grow.

"We need to bring it up sometime soon," Mayer, R-Dexter, told reporters Thursday afternoon. "It doesn't necessarily have to be on the floor here in the Senate before spring break."

Lawmakers are in Jefferson City next week, then they take a week off before resuming their work on the state budget, congressional redistricting and a host of bills proposing new laws or changes to existing ones.

The Senate's Veterans' Affairs, Emerging Issues, Pensions and Urban Affairs Committee heard nearly 61⁄2 hours of testimony Wednesday night on two bills that would allow Ameren Missouri - or another electric utility - to win ratepayers' reimbursement for its expenses in applying for, and winning, a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission early site permit.

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