Nixon said Friday that he would expedite his review of the transfer bill and decide “relatively quickly” whether to veto it. He was asked about the claim by Chappelle-Nadal and others that the private option is a must-have in the bill.

“When people say the only way they can pass a bill is to violate the Missouri Constitution and do something no one’s ever done before, which is to give public money to private schools, something tells me they’re not trying too hard,” Nixon said. “The Legislature has had three years to deal with this. An experiment with vouchers is the solution to this?”

Compared to his cautious public demeanor in his first term as governor, Nixon seems to be returning to the freewheeling style he was known for when he was first in politics, as a state senator from Jefferson County and later as attorney general.

For example, he recently criticized a bill legislators passed to triple the waiting period for abortions to 72 hours from 24 hours.

“By failing to include an exception for rape and incest, this extreme proposal would separate Missouri from all but one other state in the nation,” Nixon said in a statement. “I have profound concerns about its impact on women and especially the victims of these heinous crimes.”