Lawmakers threaten to sue the Governor for declaring part of a budget bill unconstitutional

Intro:	Lawmakers say the governor overstepped his bounds and now they say they are considering suing him.
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Wrap: Legislators are threatening to take Governor Nixon to court over his decision to ignore part of a budget bill Tuesday.

Nixon says the bill unconstitutionally tried to exclude some school districts from being affected by state budget cuts.

Senator Jason Crowell, a Cape Girardeau Republican, says Nixon doesn't have the right to do that.

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Description: "To allow the governor to be both the governor and the judiciary is un-American, un-Missourian, and cannot be allowed and I've shown one more example of the hypocrisy in the statements that have surrounded that action that was taken by the governor yesterday.

Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says it endorses the governor's decision.

Reporting from the State Capitol, I'm Sami Hall.

Intro:	Threats to sue the governor come after he ignores part of a budget bill.
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Wrap: Legislators say they are not happy with how Governor Nixon handled a budget bill on Tuesday and now say they may sue him.

Nixon's top spokesmen Jack Cardetti says the bill tried to protect some schools from budget cuts.

Cardetti says lawmakers don't have the right to do that.

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Description: "The prohibition against legislating by appropriations is well established in Missouri law. The governor felt that legislating through appropriations, not only was that unconstitutional, it was unfair to school districts."

The state's lower education department says it will follow Nixon's version of the bill.

Reporting from the State Capitol, I'm Sami Hall.

Intro:	Lawmakers stall debate after the governor changed a budget bill Tuesday.
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Wrap: Senators spent hours saying how they felt about Governor Nixon's decision to get rid of part of their budget bill.

Nixon says those lawmakers tried to illegally change state law by protecting certain schools from state budget cuts.

Dexter Republican Senator Rob Mayer says he expected the heated debates after what the governor did Tuesday.

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Description: "The governor has the option to veto that appropriation. He failed to do that and basically just gave a directive to the department not to follow what was written in the legislation. That's really unacceptable."

Some senators say they want to sue the governor for what he did.

Reporting from the State Capitol, I'm Sami Hall.