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Stories by Sara Bondioli include:

• 5/14/2004: Newspaper Story - Gay marriages, child abuse and the lieutenant governor dominated the last day of the Missouri legislature's 2004 regular session.
• 5/13/2004: Newspaper Story - Gov. Holden received a stripped down version of his "Jobs Now" initiative Thursday afternoon after the measure was approved unanimously by the General Assembly.
• 5/ 7/2004: Newspaper Story - As the legislative session enters its final week, the priorities presented by the Republican leadership remain mostly unachieved.
• 5/ 5/2004: Newspaper Story - The state economy is improving and legislators have passed an increased education budget, but the governor's spokeswoman said he still backs his plan for a half billion dollar tax increase.
• 5/ 5/2004: Newspaper Story - Missouri's departments of Economic Development and Revenue released a report Wednesday showing the state's economy is doing better than the majority of other states.
• 5/ 4/2004: Newspaper Story - The legislature passed lower and higher education budgets and continued working on the budget.
• 4/28/2004: Newspaper Story - The Appropriations Conference Committee approved increases for higher and lower education for the coming budget year.
• 4/22/2004: Newspaper Story - When Republicans attempted a motion to force a vote on liability lawsuits, Democratic Floor Leader Ken Jacob countered with a substitute motion.
• 4/21/2004: Newspaper Story - Democrats adjourned the Senate to prevent debate on lawsuit limits.
• 4/19/2004: Newspaper Story - Senators delayed a vote on the $350 million higher education bond bill with arguments over its scope and the use of limited state funds.
• 4/15/2004: Newspaper Story - Missouri still lags behind other states in repairing its difficult budget situation, but all states are looking toward full recovery, even if it's a long time coming.
• 4/14/2004: Newspaper Story - The Senate Appropriations Committee added $20 million to the higher education budget while cutting $13 million from general revenue for elementary and secondary education.
• 4/ 7/2004: Newspaper Story - The House passed an $18.6 billion budget Wednesday that provides a bigger increase for educatin than the governor reccomended -- without tax increases. The budget was passed on the same day that the Revenue Department released numbers showing that state revenue collections are up significantly.
• 4/ 7/2004: Newspaper Story - Revenue collections through March exceeded expectations of the House Budget Committee chairman.
• 4/ 5/2004: Newspaper Story - The House Budget Committee passed a budget Monday of almost $18.5 million. The budget rejects the governor's proposals and contains few substantial changes from the fiscal year 2004 budget.
• 3/31/2004: Newspaper Story - The House Budget Committee directed highway funds from the state treasurer's office and the Natural Resources Department to MODOT.
• 3/17/2004: Newspaper Story - Gov. Bob Holden's plan to send excess sales tax to the state instead of businesses is dying in a committee -- and leaving Missouri businesses with millions of dollars in extra taxes paid by consumers.
• 3/15/2004: Newspaper Story - Rep. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, resigned from the House Budget Committee and was replaced by Rep. Theodore Hoskins, D-St. Louis County.
• 3/15/2004: Newspaper Story - When the two budget leaders in Missouri's Senate first came to the legislature decades ago, they were far apart -- both geographically and philosphically. Now, the two longest-serving members of Missouri legislature are heralded by colleagues and lobbyists as models for bi-partisan cooperation -- as well as targets of private criticism within their own parties. But after this year, term limits will drive out Republican John Russell and Democrat Wayne Goode.
• 3/15/2004: Newspaper Story - An info box on the two senior members of Missouri's Senate.
• 3/10/2004: Newspaper Story - The House Budget Committee is considering a resolution that would amend the state constitution to restrict the amount of general revenue money the legislature could appropriate each budget year.
• 3/ 8/2004: Newspaper Story - State revenue collections were higher than House Republican leadership expected as teh Revenue Department released February numbers.
• 3/ 3/2004: Newspaper Story - Missouri businesses currently receive a discount for filing and paying their employees' withheld state income tax on time.
• 3/ 1/2004: Radio Story - House Speaker Catherine Hanaway filed as a Republican candidate for secretary of state.
• 2/23/2004: Newspaper Story - As Missouri candidate filing opens Tuesday, some state representatives have decided they won't run again in the House. Term limits will force 15 representatives out of the House. Others will leave by their own choice.
• 2/18/2004: Newspaper Story - U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft returned to the state capital for the first time since he joined the Bush administration.
• 2/13/2004: Newspaper Story - A House bill would exempt vehicles made in Missouri from state sales tax. Individual cities could decide to exempt Missouri-made vehicles from local sales tax as well. The bill's supporters said this would likely increase sales of Missouri-made vehicles and encourage other manufacturers to open plants in the state.
• 2/ 9/2004: Newspaper Story - Another month of unexpectedly high revenue collections leads to another round of Republican criticism that Gov. Bob Holden should release education withholdings.
• 2/ 4/2004: Newspaper Story - All convicted felons in Missouri would have DNA tests on file under a proposal discussed in the Missouri Senate Wednesday. The bill would also compensate individuals cleared of a crime because of DNA evidence and released from prison.
• 1/28/2004: Newspaper Story - Some Senate Republicans have expressed support for revenue increases to help balance the budget. Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Jackson County, introduced bills that would increase gambling boat admission fees and court fees with the proceeds earmarked for education.
• 1/21/2004: Newspaper Story - Tax increases the legislature rejected last year were proposed again by Gov. Bob Holden in his State of the State address Wednesday. The governor's proposed revenue increases, totaling $689 million per year, are similar to his package of last year that failed in the legislature including increases in taxes on corporations, gambling and tobacco.
• 1/14/2004: Newspaper Story - Identity theft penalties would be increased from six months in jail to a possible class A felony under a bill initially approved by the House.
• 1/14/2004: Newspaper Story - Missouri's first black Supreme Court Chief Justice called for increased diversity during the State of the Judiciary address.
• 1/13/2004: Newspaper Story - Sen. Ken Jacob, D-Columbia, proposed a deal to trade $200 million in bond proposals for the University of Missouri system for the Southwest Missouri State University name change.
• 1/ 7/2004: Newspaper Story - Partisan squabbles replaced bipartisan cooperation with in an hour of the start of the 2004 legislative session.
• 1/ 6/2004: Newspaper Story - On the eve of Missouri's 2004 legislative session, legislative leaders and the governor's office still were in dispute about how much money the state will have to spend.
• 1/ 6/2004: Newspaper Story - Nearly half of Missouri's school districts file suit against the state's system for funding local schools.

Stories by Sara Bondioli include:

• 5/16/2003: Newspaper Story - The high degree of political fighting was a surprise for many of the state House's 90 freshman legislators this session.
• 5/16/2003: Newspaper Story - While it started out as a bill to crack down on the state's child welfare system, it became a bill to protect both parents and children.
• 5/12/2003: Newspaper Story - The Senate passed a House bill Monday that would require the state to privatize at least 50 percent of its foster care system by 2006.
• 5/12/2003: Newspaper Story - The bill that would bring Missouri law into compliance with new federal voting requirements was sent to the governor Monday.
• 5/ 9/2003: Newspaper Story - Legislation pushed by Missouri businesses is on the Republican leadership's agenda as the legislature heads into its last week. Lawmakers return Monday for a five-day marathon, which ends with the close of the session at 6 p.m. Friday.
• 5/ 7/2003: Newspaper Story - Education cuts would be minimized but the Department of Social Services would suffer cuts in the budget passed out of conference committee today. The plan requires $150 million in additional revenue to be in balance.
• 4/30/2003: Newspaper Story - Several years after the legislature first took up nursing home reform, a bill that would increase fines on nursing homes with violations while relaxing inspections on those with good records is on its way to the governor's desk.
• 4/23/2003: Newspaper Story - A day after Gov. Bob Holden announced he would block any legislation that would interfere with a woman's right to get an abortion, the Missouri House gave initial approval to a bill that would stop state funding for programs that directly or indirectly subsidize abortion services.
• 4/21/2003: Radio Story - Eighteen-year-olds in Missouri can die while serving in Iraq but currently cannot serve on state juries.
• 4/16/2003: Newspaper Story - Eighteen-year-olds can die in Iraq for their country, but they can't serve on juries in Missouri. Several Missouri legislators hope to change that.
• 4/ 9/2003: Newspaper Story - A bill that would make it easier to fire Division of Family Services workers who don't follow department policy was given preliminary approval by the House.
• 4/ 7/2003: Newspaper Story - A bill in the House Crime Committee would make selling a child illegal for all reasons.
• 3/31/2003: Newspaper Story - The Supreme Court Commission on Children's Justice released a draft report Monday, which included recommendations for higher salaries and lower case loads for DFS workers. The recommendations came from each of the four committee work groups.
• 3/19/2003: Newspaper Story - Following the deaths of 2-year-olds Dominic James and Constance Porter, legislators have introduced bills to revise Missouri's foster care and juvenile justice systems. The proposals cover issues from the state child abuse hot line to the juvenile court system.
• 3/ 5/2003: Newspaper Story - On a straight party-line vote, the Joint Committee on Legislative Research approved an investigation into whether there has been efforts to gag administration officials about the state's budget.
• 2/26/2003: Newspaper Story - A House appropriations committee voted to eliminate the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides coverage to about 80,000 Missouri children.
• 2/24/2003: Newspaper Story - The Commission on Children's Justice is searching for solutions to the juvenile justice system problems by forming small working groups. The commission's preliminary findings will be published in a report due out by March 28.
• 2/19/2003: Newspaper Story - The House Education Appropriations Committee cut $107.9 million from primary and secondary education, while taking only $3.7 million from higher education for fiscal year 2004.
• 2/12/2003: Newspaper Story - The Missouri House will consider a bill placing penalties on spam e-mail. The bill includes an exemption for state-licensed businesses.
• 2/ 5/2003: Newspaper Story - A bill to create a state-wide system for abduction alerts moved closer to becoming state law Wednesday. The Senate gave preliminary approval to the bill, which would establish the "Alert Missouri System."
• 1/22/2003: Newspaper Story - The Missouri judge rejected by the U.S. Senate for a federal appeals court seat will be Missouri's first black state supreme court chief justice.