The state's public defender office is mulling over the most effective use for money aimed at paring down its caseload. Approximately $2 million for the Public Defender Commission was tucked into a wide-ranging bill featuring some projects funded with federal stimulus money. After a series of starts and stops through the legislative process, the bill passed both the Senate and the House on Thursday evening, a little less than a day before a mandatory budget deadline. Pictured is House Budget Chairman Allen Icet, R-Wildwood.

Tagged with: Allen Icet budget public defender stimulus

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

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

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