Lawmakers have rejected an effort to make Missouri the 26th right-to-work state.
The Republican-led House voted 96 to 63 for the right-to-work bill during a veto session Wednesday. The vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to overcome Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's veto.
RELATED: Missouri lawmakers set to attempt to overturn Nixon's vetoes
The contested measure would have prohibited workplace contracts with mandatory union fees.
The Republican-controlled legislatures in Missouri's Midwestern neighbors of Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan have recently enacted similar policies with the help of GOP governors.
Six of eight states bordering Missouri have the law.
The bill's failure is a national setback for the measure. Enacting it in a heartland state with a Democratic governor would have been a significant victory.
RELATED: Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, James P. Hoffa attend rally against right-to-work bill
But even with supermajorities in Missouri, Republican lawmakers couldn't muster enough support because of GOP division.
Missouri Senate backs immigrant scholarship ban
Missouri senators have voted to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill eliminating college scholarships for some immigrants who are not U.S. citizens.
The Republican-led Senate voted 24-8 Wednesday for the legislation that would prohibit the state's A+ Scholarship from going to students brought to the country illegally as children.
The vote sends the measure to the House, where a similar two-thirds majority is needed to complete the override.
RELATED: Nixon vetoes bill that would have required scholarship applicants to be American citizens
The bill targets students who lack legal status but have been deemed lawfully present in the U.S. under President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The A+ Scholarship pays for two years of tuition at a community college for students who meet GPA, attendance and service requirements.
Missouri lawmakers enact corporate security bill
Corporate security officers will gain greater powers as a result of a measure enacted by Missouri legislators over Gov. Jay Nixon's objections.
Legislators voted Wednesday to override Nixon's veto of the legislation that he had described as a "broad grant of police authority to private individuals."
The bill is a follow-up to one Nixon signed last year giving the state Department of Public Safety the authority to license "corporate security advisors." This year's bill expands that by giving the department director the authority to "commission" those corporate officers.
Bill supporters said trained officers on public transit and corporate grounds need the power to detain people.
Nixon said the bill would give them power to arrest, search people and seize property not only on corporate grounds, but anywhere in the state.
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