A Republican state lawmaker from Columbia was elevated to a higher placement in one of the General Assembly’s budget-writing committees. Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, was appointed as the vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The position became vacant after the previous occupant – Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter – was elevated to chairman after Sen. [Click Here]

The big news out of Jefferson City last week involved Gov. Jay Nixon’s announcement of more budgetary cuts made in the face of declining state revenues. As noted in a story for the CBT, the cuts included the elimination of hundreds of state government positions. But the restrictions totaling roughly $204 million also included cuts [Click Here]

When Gov. Jay Nixon announced his support for a bonding plan that could spur development of higher education capital improvement projects, Rep. Chris Kelly saw it as a major opportunity to move forward. Kelly, D-Columbia, was the lead sponsor this session of a proposal that would have issued bonds paying for capital improvement projects. The [Click Here]