After a heated floor debate that included numerous biblical references, the Missouri House voted Thursday afternoon to give final approval to a $34.1 billion state operating budget. The House budget does not contain funding for Medicaid expansion. The operating budget now heads to the Missouri Senate, and Medicaid expansion supporters hope senators will include the […]
Railroaders from across Missouri will rally at the State Capitol in Jefferson City today (Thursday), urging lawmakers to restore some Amtrak funding. A delegation from the American Association of Railroaders Inc. wants twice-daily Amtrak passenger train service between St. Louis and Kansas City on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The group says the tourists […]
You’ll be voting next November on a proposed constitutional amendment involving checkpoints and roadblocks if a veteran Missouri lawmaker has his way. State Rep. Justin Hill (R-Lake St. Louis) will present his proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday at noon, before the Missouri House Downsizing State Government Committee in Jefferson City. The committee is chaired by […]
A state senator from Kansas City wants to see a task force study school bus safety, particularly the effectiveness of seat belts. Kansas City State Senator Greg Razer will testify today (Tuesday) before the Missouri Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee. His bill would establish the Joint Task Force on School Bus Safety […]
The full Missouri House plans to get to work this week on the next state operating budget. Tensions could flare when lawmakers discuss a budget bill intended to defund a voter-approved Medicaid expansion effort. Missouri Hospital Association spokesman Dave Dillon tells Missourinet the fate of this effort has yet to play out. Governor […]
Workers and small-business owners are voicing opposition to a bill before the Legislature that would tie Missouri’s minimum wage to the federal minimum wage, reversing a voter-approved increase to $12 an hour by 2023. Terrence Wise, a McDonald’s worker in Kansas City and a leader of the Service Employees International Union’s “Fight for 15 and a […]
State Senator Greg Razer says minds are shifting about changing the Missouri Non-Discrimination Act. The Kansas City Democrat has filed legislation that would ban discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identity for things like housing, financial help, employment, or the use of public restrooms. Razer, who is openly gay, says he has talked to […]
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 […]
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 […]
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (Md.) introduced the No Fencing at the United States Capitol Complex Act. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) previously introduced the legislation in the House. Their bipartisan, bicameral bill prohibits funding for permanent fencing […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt officially jumped into the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, making him the second major Republican hopeful seeking to replace Roy Blunt. Schmitt’s decision comes after former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens jumped into the race earlier this week. Both made their announcements on Fox News. “Washington, D.C., needs more […]
(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 […]
A proposed constitutional amendment that would prevent Missouri seniors 65 and older with incomes of less than $45 thousand dollars from paying property tax has been heard by a House committee in Jefferson City. Branson GOP State Representative Brian Seitz testified today (Wednesday) before the Ways and Means Committee. While the proposal’s fiscal […]
U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Mark Warner (Va.) introduced legislation to prevent further financial instability for rural health clinics and safeguard the care they provide to underserved communities. The bipartisan Strengthening Rural Health Clinics Act of 2021 would make a technical fix to protect existing rural health clinics from a sudden and unexpected Medicare […]
The head of the Missouri Department of Social Services is scheduled to appear before a panel of lawmakers Wednesday about the agency’s handling of abuse investigations within boarding schools. The Missouri House Special Committee on Government Oversight has called a Wednesday afternoon hearing to question the department’s acting director, Jennifer Tidball. The Kansas City Star has […]
A Missouri House committee will hear testimony Wednesday afternoon in Jefferson City on a proposed constitutional amendment that would change the state’s legislative term limits. In 1992, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment known as Amendment 12, which established term limits. The term limits approved in 1992 remain in effect today. Missouri lawmakers […]
(Missouri Independent) – The House Budget Committee will submit its revisions to Gov. Mike Parson’s $34.1 billion state operating budget to the full House this week without the benefit of clear guidelines for spending new infusions of federal cash. The committee must also decide whether and how it will use a record general revenue surplus. The fund’s cash balance […]
Gov. Parson officially proclaimed March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in the State of Missouri, as more than 300 people with disabilities rallied virtually with Capitol lawmakers. He told the rally he has a niece who is autistic and he has learned some of the challenges. Missourians with disabilities are lobbying for more […]
Advocates for family farms, rural neighborhoods, and the environment are asking Iowa lawmakers to find a more equitable balance between the interests of factory farms and of the communities they’re in. Research has shown higher levels of nitrates and phosphorus in the water, as well as air quality issues, in communities with nearby concentrated animal feeding […]
A proposed constitutional amendment involving preexisting conditions will go before a Missouri House committee in Jefferson City on Monday afternoon. The Missouri House Health Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed constitutional amendment from GOP House Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher of Des Peres. If lawmakers approve his proposal, you’ll be […]
