Government

The House Appropriations Committee has approved an amended version of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to issue more bonds for a federal lab in Manhattan. They delayed a decision Wednesday on the governor's proposal to help fund the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, but after a briefing from Brownback's chief of staff, the committee approved the plan for $200 million in bonds.

Missouri lawmakers have sent a nearly $25 billion budget to Democratic Governor Jay Nixon.  However, he's not happy with how the Republican-led General Assembly pulled portions of it together. 

A proposal to cut state income taxes in Missouri for both individuals and businesses is on its way to Democratic Governor Jay Nixon.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is threatening to lay off state workers unless Republican lawmakers fully fund the Missouri Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicles Division for a full fiscal year.

The warning comes one day after House and Senate budget negotiators agreed to only fund the state division for eight months, as a means of pressuring state Revenue officials to stop scanning and storing source documents of driver's license applicants.  Nixon, a Democrat,  says he'll treat the 8-month appropriation as a full year's funding if GOP leaders don’t reverse themselves.

Lawmakers just returned to the Statehouse after a break, but already it looks like a disagreement on taxes could push the session past the 80 day deadline. To meet the 80 day mark they'd have to be done early next week, but House and Senate Republicans disagree on whether to extend a temporary sales tax increase. It's set to expire later this year, and House leaders want to let it end as planned.

Former president Bill Clinton was in Kansas City to receive the 2013 Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award, which is presented every year on President Truman's birthday.

Clinton told the 1,000 persons attending the luncheon that the award was a fitting reminder of a president who was an active force in creating the United Nations and the Marshall Plan.

Across the country, software geeks are building multi-platform applications to do all sorts of things. Among them, apps to encourage civic engagement and help cities run more efficiently.

Code for America, a non-profit out of San Francisco, is out front in this effort. The organization has fellows working in nine cities nationwide.  They're focusing on ways to make government work better for everyone.