Mo. Senate shuts down debate to pass "right-to-work"
JEFFERSON CITY • Missouri Senate Republicans shut down debate Tuesday to pass a “right-to-work” measure after Democrats filibustered the bill for more than eight hours.
In return, Senate Democrats plan to shut down everything else until the session ends at 6 p.m. Friday.
The Republicans “are the ones who chose the nuclear option,” said Sen. Scott Sifton, D-St. Louis County. The rare measure to shut down debate, known as the previous question, has been used in the Senate only 14 times since 1970. It’s often used in the House.
The Senate’s vote of 21-13 to pass the measure, which would bar unions statewide from collecting fees from nonunion members, means Democrats will make the passage of a bill renewing health care provider taxes very complicated. Those taxes are used to draw matching payments from the federal government for the state’s Medicaid program.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/mo-senate-shuts-down-debate-to-pass-right-to-work/article_0a78e410-d6d1-538c-bd94-46cd5624174f.html