MO Statehouse

Missouri lawmakers have endorsed legislation intended to limit lawsuits against large-scale animal farms.

Bills given initial approval Wednesday in the House and Senate would affect nuisance lawsuits against the owners of land used for agricultural purposes such as animal or crop production.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed in Missouri in recent years alleging that odors from large barns of hogs are a nuisance to neighbors.

Missouri House members have voted without dissent to require information about the governor's travel to be posted on a state website.

A House committee has voted along partisan lines to advance a proposal eliminating Missouri's income taxes and replacing them with a higher sales tax.

The vote Wednesday by the House Tax Reform Committee marked the first step toward moving the so-called "Fair Tax" proposal to the 2012 statewide ballot. All the Republicans on the committee voted for the measure and all the Democrats opposed it.