(Missourinet) – With most tax documents having been received, the IRS says this weekend will be the high water mark for filers to prepare their returns.

Michael Devine is with the agency’s St. Louis office. He says the best option is to prepare taxes on a computer using an agency approved free software program.

“Free file is a program where the IRS partners with 12 different tax software companies” said Devine. “And you can pick one of those 12 companies, and they will let you do your tax return for free if you made less than $64,000.”

Free software programs are available at irs.gov. Devine offers a personal experience to stress the difference between preparing taxes manually and through a software program.

“I actually live in Illinois and I work in Missouri, so I get to do my federal return and two state tax returns. I once did them all by hand just to see how hard it was. After that, I promised myself I would never try to do a tax return without using a computer again.”

Devine says many of the programs will also do state taxes without requiring filers to resubmit their information. The returns are then e-filed through a secure system with refunds normally being distributed within 21 days. The chance of making a mistake using a software program is less than one percent, according to Devine.

There are still perks for those who file manually, however. There are volunteers in most areas which offer free in-person assistance for seniors and people making less than $54,000.

IRS brick-and-mortar locations will not be open over the busy preparation weekend. The agency’s also discontinued walk-in service. The IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers now provides face-to-face service only by appointment.

However, the agency’s toll-free phone service has expanded its hours of operation to accommodate the volume tax preparations being made over the weekend. Callers can dial 1-800-829-1040 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST Saturday and 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST durng the Presidents Day holiday Monday.

Another condition tax filers need to be aware is the beefed up security requirements the IRS has put in place because of a spike in tax fraud in recent years. Devine says filers will have to provide more information to verify their identity.

“It can be challenging sometimes to have to answer all those questions” said Devine. “But we’re trying to protect your tax information, protect your money, and stop fraudulent refunds”

Filers will need to know their “adjusted gross income” to prepare their taxes. That figure can be accessed from last year’s return. Filers can also order a transcript of past tax returns if needed.

(Missourinet) – The Missouri House passed two bills Thursday that aim to give more protection to police officers.

One measure would create a “Blue Alert System” that would send out text and broadcast alerts in a locality if a police officer was attacked. A similar system has been established in several other states in response to ambush-style killings of law enforcement personnel.

The other bill would increase criminal penalties for assaulting a police officer, as well as damaging or trespassing on police property.

The House voted overwhelmingly in favor of both proposals. The Blue Alert System bill passed 140-6, but was not without critics.

Speaking before the House, Rep. Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis) said he is concerned that a “Blue Alert System would dilute the message of AMBER Alerts, and encourage vigilantism. Merideth said Blue Alerts in a state with constitutional carry and stand your ground laws could create dangerous situations.

“When  you add those to getting an alert on your phone with a description of somebody who is labelled a cop killer and you see someone matching that description,” Merideth said, “I think it’s pretty understandable to imagine a citizen of this state pulling out their gun to both protect themselves and to enforce the law.”

Merideth unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill so that messages sent by the alert system would advise recipients to not pursue suspects. He ultimately voted in favor of the final bill.

Rep. Randy Dunn (D-Kansas City) emphasized the measure’s importance in showing support for police.

“I hope that those unintended consequences will not become a reality, but again, I think this is an opportunity for us, as a body, to show our support for our law enforcement officers who do put their lives on the line”.

The other proposal, which would increase penalties for crimes committed against police officers, passed by a slightly closer margin, 120-35. It would revise Missouri’s criminal code to designate law enforcement officers as “special victims.” Attacking or killing a police officer would become a higher class of felony.

Also included in the bill is a provision making rioting a felony if police are targeted.

Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D-Kansas City) said neither of the measures approved Thursday will do much to protect police.  She claimed the bigger issue facing lawmakers is restoring the general public’s faith in the criminal justice system.

McCann Beatty introduced legislation this week to require a special prosecutor for cases in which charges or a complaint are filed against a police officer involved in a shooting.

(Missourinet) – State lawmakers are now sifting through funding requests from state agencies, and comparing them to Governor Greitens budget.

The House Budget Committee held a hearing Wednesday to review funding proposals for children’s services.  The state Department of Social Services is asking for $600 million to cover programs such as foster care and the purchase of child care for low income families.

Governor Greitens has proposed a budget of about $14 million less, which Children’s Division Director Tim Decker said he thinks will work out.

“Our growth of kids in care is trending down, so we forecast based on the trend line,” said Decker. “Since our numbers are down a little bit even more this year, not an overall decrease, but the growth has decreased, we adjust the numbers. So we believe the governor’s number is adequate for what we’re seeing right now.”

The biggest expense for the Children’s Division is funding to assist low income families and provide services such as early childhood learning. The Division is asking for just over $189 million, while Greitens has budgeted $3 million less.

The next big item ticket is roughly $89 million being sought to provide financial assistance to parents who are adopting children from state custody. Greitens has proposed just over $1 million less.

The third biggest expense for the Children’s Division is field staffing, including social workers. The department is requesting about $89 million, while Greitens has earmarked $88 million.

Foster Care comes in fourth at $66 million, but spirals to over $100 million if related expenses such as Case Management Contracts are thrown in. The Governor, like with the three other services, is proposing a slight decrease in funding.

Some of the programs, including assistance to low income families, have spiked in the past year. Director Decker says the rise in these areas is largely because of the time children spend in care.

“We have to work both ends of it,” said Decker. “We have to try to invest on the front end to hopefully prevent kids from having to come into care. But then we also have to make sure once they are, that they’re in care for as short a time as possible to make sure that they’re safe and well cared for.”

The Children’s Division has been saved from some of the much larger cuts from Governor Greitens which total $572 million during the next fiscal year starting in July.

(Missourinet) – A state House committee has passed a resolution which supports the state’s sheltered workshops, and seeks changes to federal guidelines surrounding them.

The workplaces which employ individuals with developmental disabilities are under threat of closure after the federal law was passed without funding.

The law, known as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, passed Congress with bipartisan support in 2014, but its effects, which some think were unintended, weren’t realized until 2015-16.

It requires those with the disabilities to choose either a sheltered workshop or competitive employment, when many of them split time between both work environments.

Democratic House member Rory Rowland of Independence is sponsoring the resolution, which was approved by a 10-0 margin.  He said he thinks the federal requirements in their current form, will cost taxpayers a lot of money.

“The state of Missouri pays, basically $19 a day for someone to be in a sheltered workshop,” said Rowland. “However, though, if we take them to a day rehabilitation center, the state pays $19.50 per 15 minutes, almost $80 an hour for them to be in that program compared to a sheltered workshop.”

The high cost of rehabilitation centers comes in spite of federal assistance through Medicaid. The federal law was designed to encourage higher paying opportunities in competitive employment, but Rowland says its failure to allow for work choice endangers sheltered workshops.

Roughly 6,300 people with developmental disabilities earn money at the facilities in Missouri. The state’s system is known as the Extended Employment Sheltered Workshop Program. It’s not connected to Medicaid and is funded state, local and business activities.

Rowland says among the pitfalls of the federal law is its elimination of the “bridge from school to work.”

“In the state of Missouri, children have to leave high school at the age of 21 if they have intellectual disabilities. On their 21st birthday, they have to leave school. Right now, sheltered workshops can’t accept them until they’re 25. So there’s a gap there where there’s nothing for them.”

Rowland has a son with Down Syndrome who is among those who are employed at a sheltered work shop. He says he and his wife have to get him competitive jobs, but he’s not ready yet.

According to Rowland, federal changes which encourage higher paying opportunities in competitive employment, are threatening the existence of sheltered workshops.

“If you take that option away from them, they’re not going to be paid at all. If they don’t have any ability to develop their skills, they’re not going to be employed in two, three, four, five, six years.”

(Missourinet) – The state Senator who has championed measures in recent history that would increase Missouri’s gas tax doesn’t plan to file one this year.

Poplar Bluff Republican Doug Libla tells Missourinet it’s the House’s turn to bring forward a way to help fund repairs of the state’s roads and bridges. Last year, his measure passed in the Senate, but did not make it to the full House for consideration.

“In my opinion, the Senate has done its job,” Libla said. “It sent a plan to the House and they decided they didn’t like our plan. So I’m still patiently awaiting what their plan is.”

Libla reached a compromise last year with other colleagues in his chamber on a proposal involving a 5.9 cent increase. The bill also would have asked Missourians for their blessing to increase the tax.

Libla still thinks a gas tax increase is the best option. Since 1924, Missouri has helped fund maintenance for its roads and bridges by way of the state’s motor fuel tax.

The last time Missouri’s fuel tax was increased was in 1996. The state has one of the lowest gas taxes in the nation – 17 cents per gallon. Libla says Missouri is using 20th century transportation funding on 21st century needs.

“It defies logic, to me, for anybody to think that we can maintain the roads and bridges we need for safety and commerce at the same level that we had in 1996,” Libla said. “Cars and pickups get a lot better fuel mileage nowadays. In my research over the last 10 to 15 years minimum, has been that the motor fuel purchases in our state have been relatively flat. Although the cost of keeping our roads repaired and asphalted and overlaid has more than tripled.”

Libla says the funding issue is not just a state problem.

“The reason why it’s a national problem is the movement of goods of services across the center of the United States. Not everything starts and ends in Missouri,” Libla said. “So lots of trucking companies, goods and supplies that people need on the east coast, west coast and in between, move through Missouri. We’re so far behind [in transportation needs] that it’s causing bottlenecks in interstate commerce.”

More than 800 of the state’s bridges are in poor condition with about 60% of those beyond their lifespan.

Libla says he hates to answer the question of what it will take to help solve the Missouri Transportation Department’s infrastructure needs.

“I worry every day. I’m worried about school buses going to little basketball games somewhere taking kids home in a school bus. I worry about a bridge collapsing and they don’t know it,” Libla said. “I’m worried about the highways that don’t have paved shoulders on them yet because we don’t have the money to do it and people lose control of their cars. You know, we’re great reactors in the United States of America but we’re not real proactive.”

State lawmakers generally agree that Missouri must increase its transportation funding, but some disagree about how to help pay for those needs.

“I guess I don’t understand what the fog is,” Libla said. “Everybody is always trying to figure out ‘we know how important our roads and bridges are. We just have to figure out how to pay for them.’ We already have a way to pay for them. It’s a motor fuel user tax.”

Libla says general revenue in the state budget has never been used in Missouri to fund the state’s transportation costs. The money collected from the fuel tax goes into a special fund and highway commissions and planning commissions determine what projects the money will be used for.

He says as much as 50% of the revenue generated from the tax is from non-Missourians who are traveling through, stopping to eat and spending money.

St. Joseph Republican Senator Rob Schaaf is proposing this session to ask voters if the fuel tax should be increase by 3.5 cents on diesel and 1.5 cents on all other fuel. His measure would change part of the state Constitution that gives funding for lettered state highways and transfer control and maintenance responsibilities of those highways to county highway commissions.

(Missourinet) – During a NAACP event Tuesday at the Missouri Capitol, House Speaker Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff) said “the House was not at its best yesterday.”

He’s responding to state Rep. Bill Lant (R-Pineville), who refused to let NAACP leader Nimrod Chapel finish his committee hearing testimony Monday on proposed changes to employment discrimination laws.

About 100 people attended the Tuesday event in the rotunda.

“This is a place in this Capitol where we ought to always welcome the free exchange of ideas,” said Richardson. “This is a place where, more than anywhere else, we are supposed to respect the times we disagree with each other but still have that dialogue. Mr. Chapel, I want to tell you personally, on behalf of the Missouri House, that you are always welcome to present your views and your thoughts and you are most certainly always welcome to present your views of this great organization to our members.”

Chapel also spoke at Tuesday’s event and thanked Richardson for his support.

“If we as people can’t come to the Capitol and articulate concerns on a policy level and at least be heard, I think that our democracy is broken. I think we have a long way to go but we made some exciting exchanges today,” said Chapel. “Senate bill 43 that was introduced would legalize discrimination. That is a person who harasses or discriminates against another human being would not be held legally liable for the harms that they create.”

Lant is the chairman of the House’s special committee on litigation reform. During that Monday hearing, Chapel testified in opposition to bills that he said would make it more difficult for employees to sue for discrimination.

Lant asked Chapel to speak on the bill. Chapel responded by saying his comments were related to the bill. He told the committee “this (legislation) was nothing but Jim Crow.”

Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in primarily the Southern United States until the mid-1960s.

Chapel’s microphone was turned off. Lant then thanked Chapel for his testimony. Chapel attempted to continue, but was not allowed to.

Lant has not returned Missourinet’s request for an interview by the time this story was posted.

Richardson has asked Lant to hold a second public hearing about the legislation. According to a statement from Lant, his committee will honor that request.

“It is my responsibility to keep the discussion in our hearings focused on the bill under consideration,” said Lant. “At the same time, it’s vitally important that our public hearings provide a forum for a free and open dialogue on the issues. In my effort to keep discussion in our Monday hearing germane to the bill, I prevented the exchange of ideas and viewpoints that is essential to our legislative process.”

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D-Kansas City) has requested that Richardson replace Lant as the committee’s chair.

(Missourinet) – The new state Department of Corrections director testified Monday in Jefferson City that she wants to reserve prison space for Missouri’s most dangerous criminals.

Her comments came late in a Statehouse budget presentation, after House Budget Committee chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) told committee members a man who exposed himself and touched a 14-year-old girl recently received only a four-month prison sentence, from a judge.

Fitzpatrick then told the committee that “we are on a collision course for a new prison.”

Director Anne Precythe testifies that Missouri must look at who’s coming to prison.

“My commitment to this (House Budget) committee is not to come back to you and say we need to build more prison beds,” says Precythe. “I think we need to be criminal justice smart on crime and not just pay for crime, and there are ways to do that.”

Precythe comes from North Carolina, where she says prison population decreased from 43,000 to about 36,000 after criminal justice reform passed there.

DOC Division of Adult Institutions Director Dave Dormire testifies Missouri is now at-capacity, with about 32,500 inmates.

“Although this summer we hit 33,900, so we’ve got a little flexibility,” says Dormire. “We pushed them into corners and everything like that, so we know we can handle 33-9.”

Missouri has 20 prisons. The last one built was the new Chillicothe Correctional Center, which opened in 2008 to address the increasing female prison population.

Chairman Fitzpatrick is frustrated about the sex offender, who was sentenced to 120 days after exposing himself and touching the 14-year-old girl.

“And I think a lot of that is pressures on judges and prosecutors, knowing that we’re at capacity when, what do they do with these guys when we’ve got county jails holding,” Fitzpatrick says.

He tells the DOC he realizes it was the court, not the Department of Corrections, who sentenced the man. Fitzpatrick tells committee members victims are worried about sex offenders being released and retaliating against those who testified against them.

After Monday’s hearing, Missourinet asked Fitzpatrick about his comment that Missouri was “on a collision course for a new prison.” He says that comment is out of frustration over sentencing practices and what has happened.

Fitzpatrick agrees with Precythe, who says prison bed space must be reserved for the most dangerous criminals. He also agrees with her call to be “criminal justice smart.”

Precythe told the committee that the criminal that Fitzpatrick described should be in prison.

Fitzpatrick and Precythe spoke briefly in the House hearing room, after the budget presentation and testimony ended.

Governor Eric Greitens (R) has proposed a $725 million dollar DOC budget, which includes $301 million for the Division of Adult Institutions.

Greitens’ proposed budget includes $2 million for reentry and recidivism initiatives, and $36,500 for restitution for those found to be innocent through DNA analysis.

LEADWOOD, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the death of a Ku Klux Klan leader in Missouri (all times local):

1 p.m.

The wife and stepson of a Ku Klux Klan leader found fatally shot next to a river in eastern Missouri have been charged in his death.

A probable cause statement alleges that 51-year-old Frank Ancona was fatally shot in his sleep on Thursday. His wife, 44-year-old Malissa Ann Ancona, and her son, 24-year-old Paul Edward Jinkerson Jr., were charged Monday with first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.

St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department detective Matt Wampler wrote in a probable cause statement that after the shooting, Ancona’s body was taken in Jinkerson’s vehicle to an area near Belgrade, Missouri, about 20 miles away.

A family that was fishing in the Big River found the body Saturday.

Ancona called himself an imperial wizard with the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

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LEADWOOD, Mo. (AP) — The wife of a Ku Klux Klan leader from Missouri who was found fatally shot over the weekend is jailed on suspicion of first-degree murder.

An official at the St. Francois County Jail told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Monday that 44-year-old Malissa Ancona is in custody. Charges have not been filed.

Her husband, 51-year-old Frank Ancona, was found fatally shot near the Big River Saturday. He had not been seen for several days. His vehicle was found Thursday on a forestry service road near Potosi.

Ancona called himself an imperial wizard with the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. A website for the group includes an image of Ancona in a white hood and robe standing in front of a burning cross.

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(Missourinet) – Charges could be filed as early as Monday in connection with the death of a missing Missouri Ku Klux Klan leader.

Autopsy results have revealed that 51-year-old Frank Ancona of Leadwood died from a gunshot wound to the head. His body was found over the weekend along the Big River near Belgrade in east central Missouri by a family who was fishing nearby. His vehicle was located in the neighboring town of Potosi.

A man has been arrested on an unrelated drug charge. KMOV-TV in St. Louis is reporting that Ancona’s stepson has been arrested by law enforcement. Multiple residences have been searched in connection with the death.

Law enforcement learned on Thursday that Ancona went missing. Ancona’s wife reported that her husband said he had to deliver something out of state for work, but his workplace says he was not assigned to a job outside of Missouri.

Ancona’s wife was also questioned by law enforcement about a Facebook post last week requesting a roommate. Mrs. Ancona reported that her husband planned to file for divorce when he returned from his trip.

Ancona held the role of imperial wizard for the Ku Klux Klan for several years.