(Missouri Independent) – The pathway to renewing provider taxes essential to funding Medicaid before Missouri lawmakers adjourn for the year became much narrower when issues raised by abortion opponents forced removal of the taxes from a health care bill. When a conference committee met to work out differences between the House and Senate on the bill, […]
Tag: federal law
Two suspects detained, 9 victims rescued, during human trafficking operation at Holiday Inn East Hotel in Columbia
The Columbia Police Department, Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Attorney General’s Office, and a multitude of other local, state, and federal agencies conducted a successful joint human trafficking operation at the Holiday Inn East hotel in Columbia, Missouri on Friday night. The joint operation, organized by the Columbia Police Department, the […]
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission files suit against Hiland Dairy Foods for disability discrimination
Hiland Dairy Foods, a Missouri-based producer and distributor of dairy products, violated federal law when it refused to hire a man to work in its Norman, Okla. plant because he was vision-impaired, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit filed. According to the suit, Hiland interviewed the man, toured the plant with […]
Audio: Missouri Legislature’s state budget negotiators recommend the hiring of 53 public defenders
The Missouri Legislature’s state budget negotiators are recommending the hiring of 53 attorneys for the state Public Defender System. During negotiations, Senate Minority Floor Leader John Rizzo of Independence says his wife corrects some cases handled at the local level by overworked attorneys. The system has nearly 400 lawyers handling about 90,000 cases […]
Missouri man pleads guilty to multiple counts of possessing illegal firearms, drug trafficking; faces at least 20 years in prison
A Missouri man has pleaded guilty in federal court to multiple charges of illegally possessing firearms, including stolen firearms, and drug trafficking. Brandon L. Hill, 33, of Independence, Missouri, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Thursday, April 29, to three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, two counts […]
Federal bill would make juvenile-justice system more fair, age-appropriate
A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers will introduce a package of bills to make the way children and teens are treated more fair and age-appropriate in the federal criminal justice system. The reforms include ending sentences of life without parole for children, establishing a minimum age for prosecuting children, and protecting due process rights of […]
Audio: Missouri House gives initial approval to working animal legislation
Legislation that prohibits cities and counties from banning working animals has received initial approval from the Missouri House, on a voice vote. Sedalia State Representative Brad Pollitt says it’s improper for political subdivisions to regulate an industry out of business. The bill is backed by Missouri Farm Bureau and by Cape Girardeau’s Lazy […]
Missouri woman pleads guilty to illegal firearm after being arrested following high-speed chase in stolen car
A Missouri woman who led police officers on a high-speed chase in a stolen car pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally possessing a firearm. Erin D. Bisby, 29, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, Bisby was […]
New anti-abortion effort derails Missouri Medicaid funding bill
(Missouri Independent) – A third attempt to get a bill that funds one-quarter of Missouri’s Medicaid program through the state Senate failed Tuesday night when a new anti-abortion issue was injected into the legislation. Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, brought the bill that has been in limbo since late March to the floor just a few […]
Biden Administration to suggest model ‘red flag’ gun laws for states
(Missouri Independent) – The Department of Justice will distribute model “red flag” legislation to states so they can enact laws that would allow courts to temporarily remove a firearm from an individual who is distressed, according to senior Biden administration officials. “The president will not wait for Congress to act before the administration takes our […]
Holding Medicaid hostage over birth control defies law and reason
(Missouri Independent) – While playing politics with healthcare in Missouri is certainly nothing new, holding Missouri Medicaid hostage over basic birth control is a stunning — and consequential — shift. As captured in headlines across the state, state Sen. Paul Wieland has put the entire Missouri Medicaid program in jeopardy with his late-night amendment to a […]
Missouri man sentenced to five years in federal prison for possession of stolen firearm
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing the firearm stolen from a vehicle in the parking lot at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Mo. Jeffrey Ray Dean Ford, 28, of Joplin was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to five years in federal prison without […]
Lawmakers introduce legislation to close loophole in Child Citizenship Act preventing citizenship from those raised by American parents
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.), Mazie K. Hirono (Hawaii), Susan Collins (Maine), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) announced that they have introduced the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021. The bipartisan bill would close a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA), which has prevented internationally-adopted children, who are […]
Evanston, Illinois to provide housing grants as form of reparations
Black residents of Evanston, who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969 or are direct descendants of someone who did, can start receiving what the City Council calls reparations in early to mid-summer, in the form of housing grants. The plan is to provide $25,000 grants for home repairs, mortgage assistance, or down payments, to […]
Former Police Captain David Dorn receives Congressional Medal of Honor Citizen Honors Award
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society announced retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn would be posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor Citizen Honors Award for his courage when he was mortally wounded while saving his friend’s business from looters during the riots in St. Louis last June. U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) nominated him […]
Abortion amendment puts bill to finance Missouri Medicaid program in limbo
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Senate leadership pulled a bill vital for funding the state’s Medicaid program from floor debate Tuesday after adopting an amendment barring the use of public money for common contraceptive treatments. The amendment, sponsored by Republican Sen. Paul Wieland, could endanger the state’s entire Medicaid program by eliminating a health care service required by federal […]
COVID-19 vaccinator eligibility expands to additional medical professionals and students
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently amended the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act Declaration to allow more qualified professionals to serve as COVID-19 vaccinators. This action surpasses current Missouri standing orders for vaccine administration and authorized additional categories of qualified professionals to prescribe, dispense, and administer COVID-19 vaccines anywhere in […]
Lawmakers say President Biden is escalating border crisis by unlawfully freezing border wall funding
Amid the rapidly escalating crisis along the southern border, U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) and dozens of his colleagues joined U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, in sending a letter to Government Accountability Office Comptroller Gene L. Dodaro highlighting President Joe Biden’s suspension of border wall […]