JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — County governments could legally assemble lists of sick and disabled residents under legislation endorsed by the Missouri Senate.

The bill given initial approval Wednesday would allow creation of voluntary registries of people with “health-related ailments.” The purpose would be to identify people who may need help in disasters or emergencies.

The lists would remain closed records. But if a disaster or emergency affected someone on a list, an incident report could be made public.

The legislation needs another Senate vote to move to the House.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Nursing mothers could not be penalized for breast-feeding in public nor be required to serve on juries under legislation advancing in the Missouri House.

The bill gained first-round approval Wednesday and needs another vote before moving to the Senate.

Nursing mothers would be excused from jury duty with a written note. The bill also states breast-feeding in public or private would not count as sexual conduct or be considered public indecency or obscenity. Local governments could not enact ordinances that restrict breast-feeding.

The legislation is sponsored by Democrat Rory Ellinger, of University City. Ellinger has been diagnosed with liver cancer and could not attend Wednesday’s House debate, much of which focused on praising his service.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon wants legislators to draft a more “manageable” version of a 700-page bill overhauling the state’s criminal laws.

A spokesman for the Democratic governor said there is simply no room for error when it comes to making changes to the criminal code.

Nixon’s office said the governor is encouraging lawmakers to break the measure down into a series of bills, rather than one large package.

The legislation would create new classes of felonies and misdemeanors, and reorganize crimes to fit the new punishment scale.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Lawyers for a Guatemalan woman seeking to overturn her biological son’s adoption by a southwest Missouri couple have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

The Joplin Globe reports (http://bit.ly/1grlvmK ) attorneys for Encarnacion Romero filed the request Monday. The Missouri Supreme Court has refused to hear the woman’s challenge to a state appeals court ruling terminating her parental rights to the boy, who is now 7.

A lawyer for the adoptive parents says those issues had been argued in earlier proceedings. The adoptive parents have been caring for the boy for about six years.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is backing a bipartisan bill continuing her fight to protect and expand manufacturing across Missouri.

The Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act would establish a manufacturing hub network to improve American manufacturing competitiveness and domestic production.

“Manufacturing is a crucial segment of Missouri’s economy and a source of good jobs that we have to protect and grow,” said McCaskill, who returned to Washington this week after a tour across Missouri aimed at boosting jobs and business opportunities in the state. “This bill takes a creative, effective approach to boosting and revitalizing manufacturing and innovation and it will directly benefit Missouri families. I’m grateful so many institutions, companies, and universities have partnered in this effort and I’m looking forward to working with them and with my colleagues to keep Missouri’s economic recovery moving in the right direction.”

The legislation, which is sponsored by Senators Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), would officially establish a Network for Manufacturing Initiative-creating a manufacturing network led by the Department of Commerce.

The manufacturing sector directly employs 289,000 Missourians at an average salary of nearly $70,000. This bill has been endorsed by the National Association of Manufacturers, the US Conference of Mayors, the Association of Public & Land Grant Universities, the United Auto Workers, and the American Auto Policy Council.

Last year, President Obama announced a similar plan to revitalize American manufacturing by creating 15 manufacturing innovation hubs across the country. These hubs will operate through partnerships between the public and private sector including research institutions, universities, suppliers, manufacturers, and corporations-with partners pledging financial resources to match or exceed federal funding. The first hub was established in 2012 in Youngstown, Ohio. In February 2014, two new manufacturing hubs were announced for Detroit and Chicago, supported by $200 million from five federal agencies and matching funds from businesses and universities. The Chicago manufacturing hub involves more than 73 universities, companies, and research labs across the Midwest, and includes Missouri partners Missouri S&T, the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, and Boeing.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A state judge has been asked to put an immediate halt to Missouri’s acceptance of joint tax returns from gay couples who got married legally in other states.

The request for a temporary restraining order was filed Wednesday in Cole County Circuit Court.

The lawsuit contends Nixon’s policy change violates a Missouri constitutional provision recognizing marriage only between a man and a woman.

Nixon has noted that Missouri’s tax code is tied to the federal code, and that federal officials are now accepting joint tax returns from married same-sex couples.

Lansing-  A Kansas man was injured in a Tuesday afternoon crash Leavenworth County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported Matthew Foster, 30, Leavenworth was driving a 2004 Olds Bravada southbound on K-5,  1.5 miles south of Lansing.

Foster told the KHP he heard a pop. The vehicle went off the right side of the highway, struck the embankment and a tree, rolled and landed on it’s top.

Foster was transported to KU Medical Center.

The KHP reported Foster was properly restrained.