State News

Republican legislative leaders already were declaring the session a success.

Legislation would require education officials to seek grants and donations to help children with special needs such as autism.

The state already has a small number of what are known as veterans treatment courts that handle cases involving current and former military personnel with mental health or substance abuse issues.

Missouri lawmakers have passed a measure that would allow county sheriffs to divert income tax refunds and lottery winnings to pay jail debts.

Group spokesman John Murphy says 3,500 signatures are needed to get the initiative on a ballot.

Legislation would require scrap metal dealers to collect more information from the people who sell them metal.

The decline of two traditional sources of revenue — state money and tuition collected from rapid enrollment growth — complicates MU's quest to balance a budget that faculty say is already constricting.

The bill would restrict the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash benefits on items marketed exclusively for adults. It has been sent to Gov. Jay Nixon for approval. 

County sheriffs already have responsibility to review concealed weapons applications, applicants' backgrounds and issue the paper permits. 

The plan is a final offer to state senators, who would have to pass it before 6 p.m. Friday if it is to go to Gov. Jay Nixon. 

The measure would exempt the Doe Run Resources Corp. from punitive damages if the court determines the company is making a "good faith" effort to clean up the contaminated sites.

The bill sent to the governor Thursday marks a compromise among some business groups and attorneys who represent injured workers.

The measure is the product of a Missouri Bar committee charged with updating the criminal code for the first time since 1979.

It had been printed every two years until a 2010 law barred its continued paper publication. The intent was to save about $1.7 million in costs.

A Missourian analysis finds blacks are stopped by Columbia police for "investigative" reasons four times more than the state says they ought to be, based on their share of the population.

The bill, which passed the Missouri Senate 25-8 Wednesday, would force the Revenue Department to stop scanning driving applicants' documents and securely destroy copies of already scanned documents.

The two-part legislation is intended to reverse some of the consequences stemming from a 2005 state law that overhauled Missouri's workers' compensation system.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that two cases of explosives were taken Monday night from a business near Troy.

Missouri districts that lose state accreditation currently have two years before state education officials can step in.

A decision by the panel found that former Democratic Sen. Robin Wright-Jones used campaign money for personal expenses such as food and clothing, as well as other reimbursements and reporting infractions.