Thursday, March 05, 2009

Jeff City Whip

THURSDAY'S NEWS FROM JEFF CITY:
  • Mark Templeton was approved by the State Senate to be the Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The Templeton confirmation completes Gov. Nixon’s Cabinet.
  • The Missouri House passed a bill that would make it illegal to "coerce" a woman into having an abortion. Planned Parenthood denounced the measure as an intrusion into doctor-patient privacy and noted that "anti-abortion Missouri legislators have spent 5 of just 33 legislative days debating abortion" while Missouri's unemployment rate is at a 25-year high.
  • Gov. Jay Nixon criticized House Republicans for not including an expansion of SCHIP funding in their supplemental budget. Republicans didn't include it because they don't believe the mid-year budget bill should be used to expand programs. "Yesterday, the Missouri House of Representatives turned down an opportunity to provide health care to 2,000 Missouri children, eliminate premiums for 19,000 others and take the first step to enroll 20,000 more children. By refusing to make a minimal investment of $1.9 million in the health of our kids, House Republicans turned away $5.5 million in federal matching funds from the Children’s Health Insurance Program and sent a disappointing signal that health care for Missouri children is not one of their priorities," Nixon said in a statement Thursday.
  • From the AP Wire: Missouri senators voice their support for the renewal of horse slaughtering in the United States. Rural senators say old horses can make good meat for animals and are considered delicacies by some people in other countries.

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