Marshall Griffin

The Missouri General Assembly has sent its first bill to Governor Jay Nixon (D) this year, which would revamp the state’s workers' compensation system.

The House passed the bill today, while the State Senate passed it last month -- it passed both chambers on partisan votes.  The bill would bar employees from suing each other over workplace injuries and illnesses, and would restore workers’ comp coverage of occupational diseases.  State Rep. Dave Schatz (R, Sullivan) argued that it would give Missouri a more business-friendly climate that would be less subject to massively expensive court judgments.

News surfaced Monday that radio commentator Rush Limbaugh is to be inducted this year in the Hall of Famous Missourians at the Missouri state Capitol. Now, Democrats in the Missouri House of Representatives have sent a letter to House Speaker Steven Tilley asking that the plans to induct Limbaugh be "abandoned."

The letter says that "Fame alone has never been considered sufficient to earn someone a place in the Hall of Famous Missourians" and that, if that were the case, "outlaws Frank and Jesse James  - two of the most famous Missourians of all time - would have been inducted long ago."

House budget writers finish reviews of Missouri's proposed spending plan for next year

Members of the budget committee now have until 4 p.m today to offer amendments, which will be debated and voted on Wednesday.   

Republican Ryan Silvey of Kansas City chairs the House Budget Committee:

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh will be inducted this year into the Hall of Famous Missourians. The news comes as the conservative commentator is under fire for comments he made on his nationally-syndicated show last week.

Limbaugh called Georgetown University law school student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” after she spoke last week before a group of congressional Democrats in favor of President Obama’s birth control mandate for religious employers.  Limbaugh has since apologized while several advertisers have left his show.  Despite the controversy, House Speaker Steven Tilley (R, Perryville) is moving forward with plans to induct Limbaugh into the Hall.