Kurt Schaefer and Scott Sifton both are state senators, partners in large law firms and have worked in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. That’s where the similarities end.

Tagged with: Kurt Schaefer Missouri Attorney General

Missouri lawmakers avoided increasing taxes this year despite an ailing state budget, but they still hope to get more money from animal shelters, some parents and large animal owners.

Tagged with: AP's Monday Focus budget fees jason crowell Jay Nixon Kurt Schaefer Missouri House Missouri Senate taxes

A Republican state senator says he will block for now the nomination of one of Gov. Jay Nixon’s longtime aides to the Administrative Hearing Commission. Joe Bindbeutel served in Nixon’s attorney general administration as the senior chief counsel for the ...

Tagged with: Jay Nixon Joe Bindbeutel Kurt Schaefer

A Republican state senator says he will block for now the nomination of one of Gov. Jay Nixon’s longtime aides to the Administrative Hearing Commission. Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a Columbia senator who is also an attorney for Lathrop & Gage, ...

Tagged with: Administrative Hearing Commission E. coli Jay Nixon Joe Bindbeutel Kurt Schaefer Lake of the Ozarks Lathrop & Gage

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: filibuster Jim Lembke Joan Bray Kurt Schaefer Matt Bartle Nonpartisan Court Plan

The Missouri Senate began debate Wednesday on substantial changes to the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, the first time such alterations have been debated in the Missouri General Assembly’s upper chamber. “I won’t call it the Nonpartisan Court Plan, because it’s ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission Jim Lembke Kurt Schaefer Matt Bartle Nonpartisan Court Plan Stanley Cox

The Missouri Senate may debate changes to the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan after a resolution altering how some judges are selected passed out of a Senate committee. Rep. Stanley Cox’s proposed constitutional amendment would, among other things, add another gubernatorial ...

Tagged with: Appellate Judicial Commission judicial selection Kevin Engler Kurt Schaefer Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan Stanley Cox

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee seemed amenable to legislation prompting convicted felons to serve 85 percent of their sentences, even as a defense lawyers’ organization and a civil liberties group expressed concerns about the bill’s impact. Sen. Kurt ...

Tagged with: American Civil Liberties Union Kurt Schaefer Lathrop & Gage Senate Judiciary Committee

Missouri’s campaign finance system, which imposes no limits on the size of contributions, isn’t likely to face much of a threat from pro-limit supporters during this year’s new legislative session. After a faulty attempt in 2006, Republican opponents succeeded last ...

Tagged with: campaign finance Charlie Shields Chris Kelly Jay Nixon Kurt Schaefer Mel Carnahan