The Missouri Legislature concluded its annual session Friday. Here's a look at some of the bills that passed and failed.
PASSED
BUDGET
Authorizes $24 billion of expenses for the fiscal year starting July 1 while sparing education from cuts. Provides a 2 percent pay raise to state employees earning up to $70,000 annually. Provides nearly full funding for a health care program for the blind that had originally been targeted for cuts. HBs2001-2013
BILLBOARDS
Authorizes several thousand traditional billboards along Missouri highways to be converted to digital formats. SB607
CELLPHONES
Allows cellphone numbers to be added to Missouri's no-call list for telemarketers, which currently applies only to residential land-line phones. HB1549
CHARTER SCHOOLS
Allows charter schools, which are currently limited to Kansas City and St. Louis, to open in districts lacking full accreditation. Also allows charter schools in accredited districts if approved by local school boards. Imposes new oversight requirements for the sponsors of charter schools. SB576
HEALTH CARE
Allows employers to refuse to provide health insurance that covers contraception, sterilization or abortion. SB749. Refers to the statewide ballot a measure that would bar the implementation of a health insurance exchange unless authorized by a state law or a subsequent vote of the people. SB464
JUDGES
Asks voters to decide later this year whether to give governors greater power in Missouri's process for nominating appeals court judges. Allows the governor to appoint an additional person to the panels that submit judicial finalists to the governor and also expands the number of finalists. SJR51
PRISONS
Seeks to reduce the number of people in prison for nonviolent crimes by allowing 120-day jail sentences for some felons who violate parole. Also allows nonviolent offenders on probation or parole to receive 30 days of credit toward their sentences for every month without a violation. HB1525
VETERANS HOMES
Dedicates much of the state's casino fees to veterans' nursing homes. Funds early childhood programs, which had received casino fees, with part of Missouri's share of a nationwide settlement with tobacco companies. HB1731
VEHICLE TAXES
Allows cities to once again impose sales taxes on vehicles bought out of state after the state Supreme Court ruled against the practice earlier this year. Gov. Jay Nixon has expressed opposition to the legislation, saying he considers it a tax increase without a vote of the people. HB1329
WORKERS
Prohibits employees from suing their co-workers over accidental on-the-job injuries covered under the state workers' compensation system. Passed by lawmakers as a separate bill after HB1540
FAILED
DISCRIMINATION
Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed legislation that would have made it harder for employees to win workplace discrimination lawsuits by requiring them to prove discrimination was the "motivating factor" and not simply a contributing factor in the employer's action. HB1219
EDUCATION
Lawmakers couldn't come to agreement on bills revising the school funding formula, paring back seniority protections in the teacher tenure system, modifying student transfer laws for unaccredited districts, or eliminating a two-year waiting period before state officials can intervene in unaccredited districts.
INJURY FUND
Proposals would have raised the fees charged to businesses to finance Missouri's financially strapped Second Injury Fund, which pays benefits to partially disabled workers who suffer subsequent on-the-job injuries. HB1403
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
A Senate filibuster blocked bills seeking to create a state-run database to track prescriptions for certain medicines, an attempt to prevent "doctor shopping" by drug addicts or dealers. HB1193 and SB710
REDISTRICTING
A proposed constitutional amendment would have required the state commissions responsible for redrawing state legislative districts based upon the census to meet in public sessions and be subject to Missouri's open records requirements. SJR37
SEX ABUSE
Proposed criminal penalties for adults who fail to report child sexual abuse, a measure put forth after the sex abuse scandal at Pennsylvania State University. SB457
TAX CREDITS
A Senate plan would have capped tax credits for the renovation of historic buildings while authorizing new tax breaks for amateur sporting events. Separate House bills would have authorized various new tax incentives and would have imposed more due diligence procedures on Department of Economic Development officials screening applications for incentives.
TOLL ROADS
Neither chamber ever debated a proposal that would have authorized a partnership with private contractors to rebuild Interstate 70, with the costs recovered through tolls. SB572
VOTER IDENTIFICATION
After a judge invalidated the ballot summary for a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing a voter photo identification requirement, lawmakers failed to approve a replacement measure with a new summary.
WORKERS
Nixon vetoed legislation that would have included occupational diseases under Missouri's worker's compensation system instead of allowing lawsuits over those claims. An attempt to pass a revised bill failed. SB572. Separate bills prohibiting union dues from being a condition of employment never received debate in the chambers.
Online:
Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov