After about three hours of testimony Thursday, the Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee approved two bills to extend medical provider taxes vital to funding the state’s share of Medicaid. The first bill brought up for a vote would extend the taxes for five years, limit the types of contraceptives available to women on Medicaid and block Planned Parenthood from […]
The governor has called a special legislative session to extend a key funding mechanism for Missouri’s Medicaid program, warning that failure to extend the FRA would cost Missouri 591-million dollars in the fiscal year 2022. The FRA is the state’s Federal Reimbursement Allowance. Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz says lawmakers have been working on […]
(Missouri Independent) – A special session to extend provider taxes essential to the state’s Medicaid program will begin at noon Wednesday, Gov. Mike Parson announced Tuesday afternoon. The announcement was issued just minutes after a noon deadline set by Parson on Monday. The call came after seven members of the Senate Conservative Caucus sent him a letter demanding […]
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson gave lawmakers a deadline of noon Tuesday to strike a deal to renew medical provider taxes vital to funding Medicaid or accept responsibility for more than $700 million in cuts from the state budget that takes effect July 1. If not, the governor says he will freeze funding in Missouri’s […]
(Missouri Independent) – President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law legislation declaring a legal public holiday annually on June 19, the date of the end of slavery in the U.S. known as Juneteenth. “Throughout history, Juneteenth has been known by many names—Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Liberation Day,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at the […]
Gun dealers in northeast Missouri are praising the governor’s signing of the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA), describing it as a win for Second Amendment rights. Reporter Dylan Austin from Missourinet Quincy affiliate WGEM has the story: SAPA declares that it’s the duty of the courts and law enforcement agencies to protect the […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri lawmakers appear to be headed into a special session next week to renew medical provider taxes vital to sustaining the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Mike Parson met Tuesday with the state Senate Republican caucus. The group discussed language that would bar the state from paying for some contraceptive medications and devices and extend […]
Speaking at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said that President Joe Biden has created a “moral crisis” by sending the message that the U.S. Southern border is open. Senator Hawley said the Senate Democrats’ proposed immigration reform plan would create new loopholes for illegal immigrants and devalue legal immigration. […]
Legislation that declares it’s the duty of the courts and law enforcement agencies to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms has been signed into law by Missouri’s governor. GOP Governor Mike Parson signed the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) Saturday in Lee’s Summit, where he was joined by the bill […]
(Missouri Independent) – Retired St. Louis Judge Evelyn Baker once sentenced a 16-year-old Black boy to 241 years in prison for two armed robberies. No one was seriously injured in the robberies, but the boy “didn’t express any remorse,” Baker said, remembering the sentencing hearing. Now, when she thinks back, Baker deeply regrets the sentence […]
(Missouri Independent) – Vicky Hartzler made her entry into the 2022 U.S. Senate race official Thursday, kicking off her campaign at a firearms store surrounded by supporters. One day before Republicans gather in Kansas City for their annual Lincoln Days meetings, Hartzler said her experience in Congress will make her the best candidate over the […]
The Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Missouri could end up including a crowded field of candidates. West-central Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler is holding a “special campaign announcement” Thursday morning near Kansas City. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, former Governor Eric Greitens, and St. Louis attorney Mark McCloskey have already announced a bid for […]
Starting Saturday, Missouri will no longer offer additional federal pandemic unemployment benefits. A growing number of Republican-controlled states have chosen to end the federal aid that added $300 per week. Last month, Governor Parson announced the decision because he said the extra funding is causing worker shortages among some Missouri businesses. Missouri House […]
Missouri’s governor says the only special session he plans to call this year AT THIS POINT involves congressional redistricting, which is required because of the new U.S. Census data. Governor Mike Parson tells Capitol reporters that he currently has 13 requests for special sessions, on his desk: The requests for special sessions include […]
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Ranking Member and Chairwoman of the Committee on Rules and Administration, and Gary Peters (Mich.) and Rob Portman (Ohio), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a bipartisan report on the security, planning, and response failures related to the violent […]
(Missouri Independent) – Even the stuffy, florid name of the procedure, “filibuster” sounds like something conceived around a table of wig-wearing Founding Fathers. While the name has its roots in the 18th Century (with pirates nonetheless), the concept and practice in the United States Senate is much younger, not being implemented in a modern form until […]
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) along with Senators Jacky Rosen (Nev.) and James Lankford (Okla.) introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning recent antisemitic incidents in the U.S. and around the world. The resolution also calls on leaders to denounce antisemitism and take specific steps to address it and prevent it. “The recent rise in acts of […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway has announced today that she will not be running for re-election or any other office next year. In a statement Galloway released on social media, she says she is ready for the next chapter of service and life with her family. The Columbia Democrat says she has missed countless […]
Missouri’s governor says there was no path forward for Medicaid expansion without legislative funding and that the courts will decide the issue. Governor Mike Parson says he never supported Medicaid expansion because he didn’t think the state could afford it. The governor says he called for its implementation because voters approved it in August: […]
Senator Josh Hawley has teamed up with Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Though they are often on opposite sides, in this case, they agree on how the military should handle sexual assault cases. “This legislation would aid the Department of Defense in identifying next steps to professionalize the role of Sexual […]
