The Missouri Supreme Court upheld the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District’s 2019 decision reaffirming a PSC decision that approved a certificate of need and necessity for the Grain Belt Express Project (GBX). This Supreme Court action ends a long effort by project opponents to overturn the PSC decision on the Grain Belt Express. This […]
The full Missouri House is set to vote tomorrow (Wednesday) on a proposed 30-billion dollar state operating budget, which includes about 13-million dollars in federal funding for coronavirus response. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith voted for a bipartisan amendment in committee, to accept that federal funding. That money would be used for […]
Missouri’s local election officials are projecting about a 40 percent voter turnout for Tuesday’s presidential preference primary. Polls will open Tuesday morning at 6 and will close at 7 p.m. statewide. Under Missouri law, you can only choose one political party ballot at the primary: Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Green or Constitution. Poll workers will ask […]
The Missouri Legislature is being asked to ban doctors and their workers from assisting with or doing sex changes to those under 18. Representative Adam Schnelting is proposing to charge them with a felony and yank their professional licenses for providing gender reassignments, hormonal therapy, and puberty blockers, which are different from surgically changing genitalia. […]
Missouri’s health director testified Monday afternoon in Jefferson City that he’s hoping for the best and preparing for the worst regarding the coronavirus. State Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Director Dr. Randall Williams appeared before the newly-created Missouri House Special Committee on Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Williams testifies there have been no confirmed […]
A Missouri House committee has voted unanimously in favor of shrinking the amount of paperwork that Missourians must fill out to enroll or renew in federal safety net programs. The state’s paperwork to apply for things like food stamps, WIC, Medicaid or temporary assistance, can reach as many as 63 pages. Bill sponsor Mary Elizabeth […]
A Missouri Senate committee has given approval to the creation of a database designed to crack down on potential abuse of addictive painkillers. GOP Representative Holly Rehder of southeast Missouri’s Scott City, who’s sponsoring the bill, says St. Louis County’s prescription drug monitoring program covers at least 87% of Missouri. “Missouri has a PDMP,” says […]
The Missouri Legislature is being asked to strengthen the charge against suspects who fuel a high-speed chase with law enforcement. During a House committee hearing, Van Buren Police Chief Alonzo Bradwell says his department has experienced an increase in pursuits in southeast Missouri. Under Poplar Bluff State Representative Jeff Shawan’s bill, suspects would […]
The state’s Medicaid director will present his budget to the Missouri House Budget Committee Tuesday morning in Jefferson City. The hearing is set for 8:15. During his January State of the State Address, Governor Mike Parson (R) credited former House Speaker and current Medicaid director Todd Richardson for finding $84 million in savings, in the Medicaid […]
The state’s lieutenant governor says Missourians will have to decide whether a gasoline tax increase is needed. Missouri’s 17-cent gasoline tax has remained the same since 1996. Last November, voters rejected a proposed ten-cent gas tax increase. At his campaign announcement, last week at Jefferson City’s Memorial Park, Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe (R) told the audience […]
Net neutrality suffered a significant blow on Tuesday as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Trump administration’s rollback of Obama-era consumer protections. Because the court upheld the repeal, it remains legal for internet service providers such as AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon to block or throttle any sites they want, and […]
The state Supreme Court has heard oral arguments this week in Jefferson City involving a proposed concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in northwest Missouri’s Grundy County. Trenton Farms wants to build a swine operation, which is opposed by a group called “Hickory Neighbors United.” Hickory attorney Stephen Jeffery tells the court that a 2016 state […]
Historically, most of the bills passed during the Missouri Legislature’s regular session become law on August 28. Of the roughly 2,100 measures filed this year, 144 proposals made it across the finish line. Dozens of proposals become official today. Here is a snapshot of 10 key measures taking effect: Education funding In the fiscal year […]
State Auditor Nicole Galloway wants Governor Parson to call a special session to fully fund putting armed officers in Missouri’s K through 12 public schools. A statewide task force recommends that all Missouri elementary and secondary public schools have an armed officer. Galloway says eliminating a giveaway to big businesses could fund the program. […]
Livingston County Prosecutor Adam Warren announced on Wednesday the immediate refusal to prosecute misdemeanor marijuana possession and plans to dismiss all pending cases regarding the same offense. Warren says the “new policy reflects the new definition of hemp in Missouri Statutes.” The Missouri Legislature passed Senate Bill 133, which in part gives a new definition […]
A state task force has made several recommendations to boost safety within Missouri’s K through 12 schools. Member Paul Fennewald, a former FBI agent, and state Homeland Security Director, says the group suggests integrating school-based mental health services. The report says teachers and administrators are often pressed into serving as mental health caretakers when one […]
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union are suing Missouri over a contentious eight-week abortion ban bill. In a complaint filed Tuesday evening, the organizations argue Missouri’s heartbeat ban violates U.S. Supreme Court precedent that protects access to abortion. The policy would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, except in […]
Missouri will soon become the third state in the country to make insurance companies cover therapies for disabled kids. In 2010, the Missouri Legislature passed a bill requiring insurance companies to cover therapies for the state’s autistic children. A measure passed this year expands the 2010 policy by mandating insurers to include physical, […]
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri legislature and governor have taken actions to increase penalties for those caught poaching Missouri game animals and other native wildlife species. Missouri Governor Michael Parson signed HB260 into law July 11. Called the Poaching Bill, it significantly raises fines for those convicted of illegally taking Missouri […]
A former Arkansas state senator pleaded guilty in federal court to accepting multiple bribes in connection with a multi-district investigation spanning the Western District of Missouri and Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas. Jeremy Hutchinson, 45, of Little Rock, Arkansas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of conspiracy to […]
