MLM Counties News. Notices. Need-to-know Information.

The Missouri House has brought a package of projects back from the legislative graveyard on Monday, a move that resuscitates $2 million aimed at helping the public defender system. The House unexpectedly defeated a bill last Thursday that featured a ...

Tagged with: Allen Icet public defender stimulus

After a legislative push to alter the Nonpartisan Court Plan faltered on Wednesday, opponents of how some judges are selected in Missouri see the initiative petition process as the vehicle to achieve their aims. A proposed constitutional amendment altering the ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Jim Lembke Missouri Bar Missouri Plan Nonpartisan Court Plan Skip Walther Stanley Cox

A legislative package that included projects funded with federal stimulus dollars was defeated on the floor of the Missouri House, a development that puts a $2 million allotment for the public defender system in jeopardy. The Missouri House quickly put ...

Tagged with: Allen Icet budget public defender stimulus

The Missouri House’s stimulus spending plan no longer contains an appropriation to remove mold from the Missouri Supreme Court Building. However, the plan, passed Wednesday on a 97-56 vote, does include $2 million to assist public defenders. Meanwhile questions abound ...

Tagged with: Allen Icet Missouri Supreme Court mold stimulus

Sen. Jim Lembke (pictured) championed reform of the Nonpartisan Court Plan on the floor of the Missouri Senate on Wednesday. It was the first time the controversial proposal had been debated by the full Senate. Lembke, a Republican from Lemay, took charge in shepherding a proposed constitutional amendment altering the plan used to choose judges in various parts of the state. And the longtime opponent of the current plan could point out opponents of his resolution, many of whom possessed a notebook about an inch and a half thick that featured talking points in support of the current plan.

Tagged with: David Pearce filibuster Jim Lembke Joan Bray Kurt Schaefer Matt Bartle Nonpartisan Court Plan

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Monday that he would scuttle a controversial plan to, among other things, convert drug court commissioners into associate circuit judges. Senate Judiciary Chairman Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit, said that a Senate draft ...

Tagged with: drug court commissioners Jeff Smith Judiciary Committee Chairman Bryan Stevenson Matt Bartle Nonpartisan Court Plan Senate Judiciary Committee

With just three weeks left in the legislative session, an effort to alter the Second Injury Fund this year appears all but dead. Nonetheless, those watching the fund still expect it to become insolvent in the near future. In 2007, ...

Tagged with: Dan Mehan Gov. Jay Nixon Missouri Chamber of Commerce Rep. Barney Fisher Rep. Mary Still Second Injury Fund Susan Montee

A Cole County judge upheld ballot summary language put forward by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan to describe a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at the funding of embryonic stem cell research and abortion services. Earlier this year, a St. Louis ...

Tagged with: ballot summary language Missouri Roundtable for Life Patricia Joyce Robin Carnahan stem cell research Todd Jones

As debate looms in the Missouri Senate on a constitutional amendment altering the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, The Missouri Bar is reiterating its opposition to changing the way the state chooses some of its judges. Bar President Tom Burke and President-elect Skip Walther held a press conference on Tuesday morning to skewer proposed changes offered in House Joint Resolution 10. The two attorneys portrayed the alterations as a way of injecting politics into the plan and giving more power over judicial selection to the governor.

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Charlie Shields Matt Bartle Missouri Bar Missouri Plan Nonpartisan Court Plan Skip Walther Stanley Cox Tom Burke

Lawmakers are considering whether to take aim at an insidious force threatening to eat away at the very foundations of the Missouri Supreme Court. No, they're not talking about shoddy attorneys or activist judges. They're seeking to eradicate an ancient menace: mold. The chairman of the House Budget Committee is proposing to spend around $6.5 million worth of federal stimulus funds to refurbish the state Supreme Court Building (pictured) in Jefferson City. House Budget Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood, included the item in a budget bill that would fund a number of capital improvement projects.

Tagged with: Allen Icet House Budget Committee Missouri Supreme Court mold

Legislation barring public entities from paying punitive damages is sparking conflict between individuals who don’t want taxpayer dollars paid out in lawsuits and others who wish to keep governmental bodies accountable for wrongdoing. The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. ...

Tagged with: David Moen Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Missouri Human Rights Commission public entities punitive or exemplary damages Tim Jones University of Missouri-St. Louis