MOHELA

The fate of MOHELA is unknown at this time. After a 16-hour filibuster in the Senate, SCS SB 389 has been laid over to the informal calendar. Bills on the informal calendar can be brought up at any time, but may remain until the end of session. The Governor proposed selling off the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority to fund construction at public university campuses 15 months ago. After pressure from pro-life groups who said the university buildings could possibly be used for stem-cell research, the Governor cut several buildings out of the proposal. The cut buildings were almost all in districts with Democratic state senators. Now, in an effort to garner votes from rural Democrats, the proposal includes building projects geared toward agriculture research. The President Pro-Tem of the Senate has expressed that attempts at a compromise have failed; meanwhile, the Governor has gone on record saying that he knows that his proposal has the votes to clear the Senate.