There were a lot of empty chairs in the House on Wednesday night when legislators killed the proposal to use tax credits to finance scholarships for special-needs children.

The school-choice movement had campaigned hard for the proposal, dubbed “Bryce’s Law” after the late grandson of the sponsor, Rep. Dwight Scharnhorst, R-St. Louis County.

After a contentious debate, the proposal sank 80-58, with 23 legislators absent. The large number of absences sparked talk in the halls that scholarship supporters had persuaded some opponents to “take a walk” instead of voting.

Where were the missing House members? We asked a few of them.

On the Democratic side:

House Minority Leader Paul LeVota of Independence said he opposes the scholarship plan but “went to my office and sat down” rather than vote because he wanted Republicans to decide the bill’s fate.

“I did not want to help the Republicans get out of their jam,” LeVota said. “They have been promising school vouchers for three years.”

Rep. Jamilah Nasheed of St. Louis said she, too, opposes the plan but was “out of the building” for the roll call.

“I had a prior engagement before I knew that was coming up,” Nasheed said. “I had to take care of something at my home” in Jefferson City.

Rep. Clint Zweifel of Florissant missed the vote because he was en route to St. Louis, preparing to catch a plane to Washington the next morning (his flight was canceled, three times). He said he strongly opposes the tax-credit scholarships.

“I don’t get lobbied on that issue because they know where I am,” said Zweifel, who is running for state treasurer.

On the Republican side (contributed by my colleague Tony Messenger):

Rep. Walt Bivins of Mehlville: “I wasn’t asked to take a walk. They already knew I had another engagement. I had let folks know I was in favor of Bryce’s Law. I guess they thought I didn’t need any lobbying.”

Rep. Brian Munzlinger of Williamstown said he didn’t take a walk. He said he was at a meeting.

Two legislators had ironclad excuses: Reps. Mark Bruns, R-Jefferson City, and Michael Spreng, D-Florissant, were in the hospital.

Here’s the full roll-call on the amendment. Scroll in the Journal to House Amendment No. 12. Keep in mind that a “yes” vote was to kill the scholarship proposal. A “no” vote favored the scholarships.

The main force behind the proposal was multimillionaire Rex Sinquefield who, according to a recent study by the Missouri Citizen Education Fund, gave more than $1 million to candidates and political organizations in 2007.