News

Local Control Hits Another Roadblock

Just when it appeared the local control issue was moving forward in the Missouri Senate, the bill has been delayed again.  This time, some Senate Republicans are holding off on advancing the bill in order to force the House to pass the Senate’s tax credit overhaul measure. 

While no one’s openly saying that the local control bill is being held up, Senate President Pro-tem Rob Mayer indicates they’re willing to delay bills from the House if their leaders continue to sit on Senate bills.

The Missouri State Treasurer is making low-interest loans available to over 40 counties trying to rebound from a string of weather-related disasters.

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel, who was in the St. Louis region Tuesday, says the loans will help homeowners and businesses qualify for loans in less than 24 hours.

Zweifel also says the new program will cut red tape and help qualified borrowers receive low-interest assistance loans in less than 24 hours.

The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners has reached a collective bargaining agreement with the St. Louis Police Officers' Association.

It's a three-year deal that locks in salaries, benefits and department operating procedures. Mayor Francis Slay called the hard work it took to reach the deal worth it.

"I think it gives us a good opportunity to have a stronger partnership and to work together more closely for a better department and one that helps us address crime and other issues in the city of St. Louis," he said.

Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri is co-sponsoring legislation that would end tax breaks for the five largest oil companies in the U.S.

The Democrat-backed measure would cut off Shell, Exxon Mobil, Conoco Philips, BP and Chevron from $2 billion per year in subsidies. McCaskill says the savings would go to pay off the country’s spiraling deficit.

The Missouri House has given final passage to legislation that would require some Missourians on public assistance to undergo drug testing.

Under the bill, work-eligible recipients of the state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program would lose that assistance for three years if they test positive for drug use or refuse to take a drug test.