(AP) – The Missouri Senate has given first-round approval to legislation requiring health insurance navigators to take an exam and undergo a background check.

Senators also advanced a measure Tuesday that would let people collect up to $50,000 in a lawsuit if a navigator unlawfully releases personal information about a client.

Navigators help consumers sign up for health plans on the exchange marketplace.

Republican supporters said the bills would protect Missourians from fraud. Democrats said the legislation would create barriers for people trying to buy health care on the exchange.

A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction against an existing Missouri law that requires navigators to be licensed by the state.

Both measures require one more Senate vote before moving to the House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A company that makes car safety seats is recalling nearly 3.8 million of them because children can get trapped by buckles that may not unlatch.

But the action by Graco doesn’t satisfy federal regulators, who say the recall should include another 1.8 million rear-facing car seats designed for infants.

The recall covers 11 models made from 2009 through 2013 by Graco Children’s Products of Atlanta. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it’s the fourth-largest child seat recall in U.S. history.

But the agency criticized Graco in a letter today, saying that the recall excludes seven infant car seat models with the same buckles. It says the company and the government have received complaints about stuck buckles on those seats — and that parents have sometimes had to cut harness straps to remove their child.

Graco says its tests found that food or beverages can make the harness buckles sticky and harder to use. A spokeswoman says the rear-facing infant seats aren’t being recalled because infants don’t get food or drinks on their seats. She says the company will send replacement buckles to owners of infant seats on request.

(AP) – Missouri’s Senate has started debate on legislation that seeks to send federal agents to jail for enforcing gun control laws.

The Republican-led Senate began considering the measure Tuesday evening. It would declare federal gun controls laws that infringe on gun rights to be null and void. Federal agents enforcing those laws could be prosecuted and punished by up to one year in jail.

Sponsoring Republican Sen. Brian Nieves, of Washington, says the measure protects liberties. A Senate Democrat argues the measure would lead to more violence.

The measure would be likely to face a court challenge. And courts have consistently ruled that states cannot nullify federal laws.

The bill would also allow designated school personnel to carry concealed weapo

(AP)  A new effort to make Missouri the final state to approve legislation authorizing creation of a government database to track prescription drug purchases won first-round approval Tuesday in the state House.

The database is aimed at stopping “doctor shopping” in which people get prescriptions from multiple physicians for personal use or so they can sell the medications. Opponents of establishing a database cite concerns about privacy and individual liberties.

Sponsoring Rep. Kevin Engler said Missouri has become the “doctor-shopping capital for the country” and that people are dying after illegally obtaining prescription drugs. He said there is a real problem and that it should trump any hypothetical fears about what could go wrong. Some lawmakers recounted examples of friends and family members who have abused prescription medications.

“This is killing people in Missouri, and we can do something to help,” said Engler, R-Farmington.

Under the House legislation, pharmacies would submit information about the identity of the patient, pharmacy and prescribing doctor. The drug’s quantity, the date, whether the prescription is new or for a re-fill and other details also would be provided. The state Department of Health and Senior Services would be responsible for establishing and maintaining the program.

Data within the database would be considered confidential but information could be provided to doctors, pharmacists, regulators and law officers who have a subpoena or a court order. Someone who wrongly discloses information could be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.

Funding the database would need to come from gifts, grants and donations.

The concept has come up previously at the state Capitol. Prescription drug monitoring legislation backed by Engler in 2012 prompted an eight-hour filibuster in the Senate and ultimately did not pass. A proposal in 2008 passed the Senate but never cleared the House.

Prescription drug monitoring programs are gathering data and allowing authorized people access to it in 48 states, according to the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws. The alliance said New Hampshire is developing regulations and that Washington, D.C., has approved legislation and is awaiting review by Congress.

On Tuesday, a one-time supporter of Missouri’s efforts to develop a database joined the opposition. Rep. Keith Frederick, an orthopedic surgeon and the sponsor of bills in 2011 and 2012, questioned the efficacy of a monitoring database and its potential ramifications.

Frederick, R-Rolla, said studies have indicated the number of deaths and overdoses have not really gone down in states with a database. He also worries about the security of the database and the potential for government officials to use information for other purposes.

He said he could see information about prescription drugs being relayed to law enforcement and used to question whether someone should be driving a car, or turned into a basis to prevent people from buying a gun or ammunition.

“I have real concerns about the trade-off that we’re making,” Frederick said.

(AP) – Supporters of a higher wage are urging Missouri lawmakers to let voters decide whether to increase the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour.

Missouri’s minimum wage currently is $7.50 an hour – 25 cents higher than the federal minimum wage.

Several low-income workers testified Tuesday before a Missouri Senate committee in support of a proposed ballot measure increasing the minimum wage. The workers said they often must skip meals because they don’t earn enough to pay all the bills for food, housing, utilities and transportation.

A Webster University economist said a minimum wage increase would help the economy, because workers likely would spend the additional money.

Lobbyists for several business groups testified against the measure, citing concerns that it could squeeze low-skill workers out of jobs.

 (AP) – A southwest Missouri man has died of injuries he suffered in a January house fire started by a child playing with a lighter.

The Springfield Fire Department says 31-year-old Derrick Pelliccio died Tuesday at Mercy Hospital. Another resident of the house, 28-year-old Rachel Purcell, was also badly burned in the Jan. 16 fire and remains hospitalized.

Springfield investigators said the two adults were asleep in a bedroom when a child set the bedding on fire with a long-stemmed butane lighter.

One other adult escaped unharmed from the small, one-story house along with three children, ages 1, 2 and 5.

 (AP) — Several plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss claims against 15 companies in longstanding lawsuits involving allegations that oil companies and gasoline retailers overcharged consumers by selling “hot” fuel that contains less energy.

Federal officials earlier consolidated about 50 lawsuits filed since 2006 from consumers across the country in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan.

At issue was whether customers are shortchanged when buying gasoline that’s over 60 degrees. The volume of gasoline expands, and consumers argued they got less than a gallon of fuel for a full gallon price.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers agreed last week to dismiss claims in Kansas federal court in 22 cases against 15 defendants, which included 7-Eleven and Circle K stores.

Several larger retailers, including Costco, Wal-Mart and Valero, earlier reached settlements in their cases.

 (AP) – The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday plans to file suit challenging Missouri’s treatment of same-sex marriages.

ACLU’s Diane Balogh said Tuesday that the suit will be filed in state court in Kansas City, but she refused to discuss specifics. News conferences announcing the litigation are planned for Wednesday morning in Kansas City, St. Louis, Jefferson City and Springfield.

It’s unclear if the ACLU suit will challenge Missouri’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriages or if it would simply seek recognition of gay marriages from other states.

Missouri in 2004 became the first state to enact a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage after the Massachusetts Supreme Court permitted gay marriage there. The Missouri measure was approved with 70 percent of the vote.

(AP) – Missouri House members have given first-round approval to legislation taking aim at synthetic drugs.

The bill would add several specific substances to what is considered synthetic marijuana.

It was endorsed by a voice vote Tuesday and needs a second vote before moving to the Senate.

In recent years, Missouri has tried to keep pace with evolving synthetic drugs and twice has approved legislation targeting them. Sponsoring House member Shawn Rhoads says the current bill is needed to stay ahead in the effort.

Lawmakers in 2010 barred spice cannabinoids sold as incense known as K2. A year later, the definition of marijuana in state drug laws was expanded to cover synthetics. The 2011 measure also barred substances marketed as incense or “bath salts” that mimic the effects of cocaine and marijuana.

(AP) Despite a winter with periods of bitter cold and heavy snow, use of a federal program that helps pay utility bills has declined in Missouri.(

Applications for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, are down 5 percent statewide from last winter, according to figures from the Department of Social Services.

The program provides up to $800 in emergencies to avoid utility shutoffs and general energy assistance, with awards based on household size, household income and the type of fuel used.  To qualify, a family must have an income of 135 percent or less of the federal poverty guideline, which is $2,649 a month for a family of four.

Part of the decline could be attributed to use of weatherization programs and a portion could be because of the economic recovery, said Angela Hirsch, director of community services for the Central Missouri Community Action.

She said less than 10 percent of applicants seek the assistance for more than two years in a row.

“We are seeing with our families that people are getting back to work, and they may not be making as much as they did, but they do have some income,” Hirsch said.

Applications fell 3.1 percent in the eight-county region served by Central Missouri Community Action, from 5,794 last winter to 5,613 households this winter.