(Missourinet) – Missourians who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) should not count on receiving their tax refund shortly after the holidays to help pay for gifts.

IRS spokesman Michael Devine says a change in federal law will delay their tax refund until at least February 15, 2017. He says the law will make it easier for the IRS to detect and prevent refund fraud.

“The returns are being held so that we can do matching of the information on that tax return with the information that’s coming from your employer so that we can make sure that those are not fraudulent tax returns, trying to stop criminals from making up fraudulent returns, maybe even using your information that they’ve stolen and then creating false W-2s or 1099s,” says Devine. “This year we’re going to be able to stop a lot more fraud, but it’s going to mean that some people are going to have their refund delayed. People shouldn’t go out spending the money for Christmas presents that they might need because they are going to have to wait until they get their refund.”

According to Devine, the Earned Income Tax Credit has been around since Presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. He says it helps lower-families move up the economic ladder. It can be worth more than $6,000, depending on your income and the number of children you can claim on your return. The Additional Tax Credit is for families who also have children but may not be able to get all of the Earned Income Tax Credit.

As of June, about 500,000 Missourians received $1.2 billion in the EITC alone, putting an average of $2,459 into the pockets of low-income working individuals. Similarly, 332,100 Missourians received a total of $438.97 million in the ACTC, an average of $1,322 per individual.

The IRS issues more than nine out of 10 refunds in less than 21 days, some returns however, are held for further review. Devine suggests filing taxes electronically.

“If you file electronically, you’re going to know within 24 hours that we’ve accepted your return,” says Devine. “That’s critical because if a criminal has stolen your identity and filed a return using your information, you’re going to know immediately that you’ve got a problem.”

Devine says those who don’t claim the EITC and ACTC credits should not expect a delay in their tax returns next year.

(Missourinet) – State Senator Jill Schupp (D-Creve Coeur) plans to sponsor legislation next session that would undo some of Missouri’s abortion regulations.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June has prompted Schupp to spearhead the measures. The nation’s highest court struck down Texas’ abortion clinic laws that require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and for clinics to meet standards of an outpatient surgical center.

“Now that we’ve had that precedent spelled out for us, we have some provisions in Missouri law that I know are absolutely obstacles put in place in order to prevent or make if very, very difficult for a woman to access her reproductive rights,” says Schupp.

Her legislation would eliminate making women wait 72-hours before having an abortion, a requirement for doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and standards abortion clinics must follow to operate as an outpatient surgical center.

“Putting an obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion, is an undue burden and it violates the constitution,” says Schupp.

Opponents of the U.S. Supreme Court decision say the court ruled based on politics. Attorneys will try and determine if there are any legal avenues to allow Missouri’s abortion clinic laws to stand.

The 2016 legislative session included 23 anti-abortion related bills.

(Missourinet) – Missouri Governor elect Eric Greitens has issued a statement on the shootings of officers Sunday in St. Louis and the Kansas City area.

In it, he said, “Two police officers in our state were shot yesterday. In Gladstone and in St. Louis, two families, and two departments, spent the night in worry and fear. These officers left their homes and stepped into the dark to protect us.  In the face of this violence, we must take action. We must stand up for those who stand guard for us. In the year ahead, my administration will push for the strictest possible punishments for anyone who assaults a police officer.”

Greitens said his administration would work to establish a “Blue Alert” system which would be similar to similar to Amber and Silver Alerts.  Emergency notices would be sent out to speed up the capture of anyone who shoots a police officer.

A man being sought as a suspect in the shooting of a St. Louis police officer Sunday night was shot and killed in a shootout with police early this morning.  The officer shot was in critical but stable condition. An officer and a suspect in suburban Kansas City were shot and wounded last night in an apparent traffic stop.

(Missourinet) – The U.S. Congress has passed a measure that would expand a Library of Congress project which collects stories from veterans.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) supports the legislation that would also allow the project to include narratives from family of missing or fallen soldiers.

“This legislation would ensure that the stories of veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice would now be included in the archives,” says Blunt. “We wouldn’t be who we are today if it wasn’t for the acts of courage and selflessness of our fallen heroes. We owe it to them, but we also owe it to their families.”

The bi-partisan measure, called the Gold Star Families Voices Act, is headed to the President Barack Obama’s desk.

“Families of these fallen heroes are in the best position to share their stories so that future generations of Americans may never forget the people we owe our freedom to and our opportunity to,” says Blunt.

The Veterans History Project, which was established by Congress in 2000, includes stories of more than 100,000 veterans who have served since World War I. The authorizing legislation, sponsored by Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI), Amo Houghton (R-NY), and Steny Hoyer (D-MD) in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators Max Cleland (D-Georgia) and Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) in the U.S. Senate, received unanimous support and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton (D).

To view the Veterans History Project, click here.

(Missourinet) – The FBI’s St. Louis division includes a Child Exploitation Task Force with law enforcement from 14 different agencies – making it the largest of its kind in America.

Supervisory Special Agent Daniel Netemeyer tells Missourinet the task force members work full-time investigating children who are exploited through things like sex trafficking, pornography and enticement.

“Over the past several years, we’re generally among the nation’s leaders in child recoveries, arrests and indictments across the board relating to crimes against children,” says Netemeyer.

The task force has recovered 20 exploited children so far this year.

“There’s never a better success story other than when you can return an abducted child or a missing child to a parent’s arms. That hits both the professional and personal aspect of it,” says Netemeyer. “To be able to do that is very rewarding.”

Netemeyer says the task force has about 120 child exploitation cases open at any given time.

“A lot of this is not a whole lot of fun. The investigators are constantly out there looking at things and doing things they’d prefer not to be doing, but they understand that it’s for the greater good,” says Netemeyer.

Most sex trafficking victims are females, but Netemeyer says males have also been advertised for sex.

“They get the same attention. A juvenile is a juvenile, whether they are male or female,” says Netemeyer.

Truck stops and hotels are common places for sex trafficking incidents to occur, but Netemeyer urges people not to rule anywhere out. He says the public’s help is critical when investigating any crime, especially those against children.

There are 63 Missourians listed in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s database. To view the database, click here.

(Missourinet) – There’s an organized effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri.

The secretary of state’s office has received an initiative petition to place the issue before voters.

The Political Action Committee “Total Legalization” plans to start circulating a petition to gather required signatures in January.

Organizer Charles Jones was involved in a similar effort several years ago which failed because it failed to include a  minimum age limit.  He says interest waned while signatures were sought for the Missouri Cannabis Restoration and Protection Act which was filed in late 2014.

Jones is now more optimistic.

“It’s just going to take a little bit of time and effort,” said Jones.  “I think we can make it happen. We’ve put together a team and a foundation that, with the right funds, we can definitely get this on the ballot in 2018.”

Jones claims the committee has “designated leaders” in all eight congressional districts, while there’s a plan to have county organizers in all 114 counties.  To successfully reach the ballot, a petition must be signed by eight percent of legal voters in any six of the eight congressional districts.

With results from the latest election in, Jones thinks the atmosphere surrounding recreational use of marijuana is changing quickly as other states take steps to legalize it.

“There is no sense in a person going to jail for a non-violent, victim less crime for possession of cannabis. That’s just the craziest thing in the world.”

After this month’s election, recreational marijuana is currently, or will soon be legal in seven states and Washington D.C.  If it ends up going to a public vote in Missouri, it’s expected to draw strong opposition from a number of groups, including law enforcement officials.

Total Legalization claims to be in good standing with the Missouri Ethics Commission.  On its website, the group states it “registered as a Political Action Committee with the purpose of changing cannabis laws and educating the public about the cannabis plant.”  Jones say hemp oil from the plant alone could have a major impact on the state’s agricultural industry.

“Hemp seed oil as of May 2014 was 30 dollars a gallon. That’s $9,000 an acre. There is no other crop that is out there that’s anywhere close to bringing in this kind of money.  That’s just off of the oil that a less than average yield would bring.”

Jones claims the legalization of marijuana in other states has opened the door for widespread testing to find benefits from cannabis plants.  He notes Total Legalization’s three board members and ten advisers work on a volunteer basis with no financial compensation.  The organization is seeking donations through its website.

(Missourinet) – The state’s transportation community is reacting to this month’s election results.

President elect Donald Trump has said he’s committed to rebuilding the country’s roads and bridges.

Len Toenjes heads the Associated General Contractors of Missouri, which represents the construction industry. He said he thinks Trump’s pledge sounds good, but lacks details on funding.

“I guess until a piece of legislation is actually introduced at the federal level, that’s sort of the question mark,” said Toenjes. “I think there’s a commitment to spending. The question is ‘What’s the commitment to funding.’ That’s sort of the unknown at the federal level.”

Toenjes says current ideas for funding infrastructure projects center on public-private partnerships which have no recognized revenue stream. He notes 65 percent of money for roads and bridges comes from the federal government.

Within the state, Governor elect Eric Greitens will have a significant impact on the future of roads and bridges. Toenjes says Greitens has talked about making the state spend existing money more efficiently and using the savings for road projects. He’s skeptical the plan would generate enough funding to address the state’s needs.

“I’m sure there are some places to get some dollars to reposition, or reallocate into transportation funding. The question is what’s really the long term plan because, ultimately, I think almost everyone in the transportation community realizes the current level of revenue is not sufficient.”

After coming under fire for waste and abuse of funding itself, the state Department of Transportation has reorganized itself over the past few years, eliminating over 1,200 positions and closing several district offices.

Toenjes contends $400-to-500 million in additional money per year will be needed to maintain roads. He says the cost will be much higher if projects to rebuild highways such as I-70 and I-44 are undertaken. Toenjes also thinks lawmakers and Governor elect Eric Greitens must come up with a plan to adequately maintain roads and highways.

“Is it $500 million tomorrow? I don’t think so. But I think over time, you’re going to have to have, or the legislature and the governor are going to need to come up with something to really address this over the next three to five years.”

Toenjes notes Arkansas has passed a half-cent sales tax to pay for road projects while Iowa hiked its gas tax by ten cents which will raise $215 million annually for its roads.

Looking at surrounding states which compete to bring in goods and services and attract industry, Toenjes contends Missouri is falling behind.

Critics of increased road spending say the state maintained network is too large, and should be divided more evenly with counties and cities.  Lettered county roads are part of the 34,000 mile system which the state maintains.  Missouri has the 7th biggest network of roads to maintain, but is 47th in funding.

(Missourinet) – The field of candidates to lead the Democratic National Committee could include Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander.

State Rep. Kip Kendrick (D-Columbia) has nominated Kander via social media as the next DNC chairperson.

“He (Kander) clearly was speaking to a much broader audience than a lot of Democrats across the state,” says Kendrick. “We have to listen. We have to lead and it’s that next generation that’s going to do it. Jason is, in my opinion, is best suited to take on that role.”

In Missouri, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by 19 points. Republican Senator Roy Blunt defeated Kander by three points to retain his seat in the U.S. Senate. Kendrick says Kander’s campaign message resonated with Missourians.

“So many independent voters, Democrats and some Republican voters as well, appreciated what he (Kander) had to say. I think that needs to be taken into strong consideration by the national party,” says Kendrick. “We need a new generation to step up to the plate and lead this party. I think it is very clear after Tuesday that Democrats were not pushing a message that resonated, not just here in Missouri but across the entire nation.”

Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned in July after emails surfaced showing that she favored presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination.

Other possible DNC chair candidates include U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, South Carolina party chair Jaime Harrison, New Hampshire party chair Ray Buckley and former DNC Chair Howard Dean.

(Missourinet) – A Missouri based constitutional law professor said he thinks Democrats will have a tough time eliminating the Electoral College.

The party’s retiring U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer introduced a bill to do just that Tuesday.

Greg Magarian of Washington University in St. Louis notes the Electoral College is part of the Constitution, and only an amendment could remove it.  He said accomplishing such a feat has been rare since the early 20th century.

“The Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970’s was, sort of, the break point,” Magarian said.  “(It’s) where you saw what seemed to be a pretty well run and highly motivated push to amend the Constitution fail.  Since then, constitutional amendments have tended to go nowhere.”

Magarian said since the Electoral College has only hurt Democrats, Republicans will fight to keep it in place.

Democrats have now lost two election under the college since 2000, even though they won the popular vote both times.

Further, Magarian contends scrapping the Electoral College would be messy for the states – while some would benefit, others would be negatively impacted.

“The Democratic candidates would spend all their time trying to run up their numbers in New York and California,” Magarian said. “Republicans would spend all their time trying to run up their numbers in Texas and other southern states. A lot of states would be neglected.  And I think that’s a serious thing to take into account. But I also think that under our current system, if you’re not a so-called swing state, then you’re not getting any attention.”

Magarian also said he thinks an existing effort to sidestep the Electoral College, the National Popular Vote, is a longshot.

“Number one, again, there’s a problem of the Democrats seeming to benefit from this at this point in history, the Republican not. Number two, it involves a bunch of states, sort of trusting each other, which is kind of a dicey proposition.”

Ten states and the District of Columbia have signed onto the National Popular Vote Compact which awards electoral votes to whoever wins the popular vote.  The compact will need greater participation to be effective.  The current ten states and D.C. account for 165 electoral votes, well short of the required 270 to win the election.

(Missourinet) – Missouri will pay a $9 million settlement to the family of an Iowa college student who drowned in handcuffs while in the custody of a state trooper in 2014. The settlement ends a civil lawsuit that Brandon Ellingon’s family filed in federal court.

Highway Patrol trooper Anthony Piercy took the 20-year-old Ellingson into custody on May 31st of 2014 on suspicion of boating while intoxicated. Ellingson was handcuffed and fell out of the boat on the way back to shore and drowned.

The attorneys for the family released a statement that says the Ellingsons “wish to express their deep and sincere appreciation to the tens of thousands of people in Iowa, Missouri, Arizona, and across the country who have supported them during this very difficult time.” It goes on to say that “No amount of money will lessen the suffering that the Ellingson family, relatives, and friends have endured since his death two and a half years ago.”

A hearing in the manslaughter case against Piercy is set for Monday in central Missouri’s Morgan County. Piercy is on unpaid administrative leave.