(Missouri Independent) – Congressional Democrats on Wednesday touted conservation programs for farmers and ranchers as key tools for limiting agriculture’s impact on the global climate as they took initial steps to create the next farm bill. One Republican’s response: So what? “We’ve talked primarily about climate change, and I gotta to be honest with you,” […]
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Senate refused to confirm Donald Kauerauf as Gov. Mike Parson’s health director on Tuesday, leaving Kauerauf banned from the position for life. Hours later, Parson named Richard Moore, the Department of Health and Senior Services’ general counsel, as acting director of the agency. He slammed senators who blocked Kauerauf’s nomination […]
Legislation that would make it easier for state lawmakers to block funding for abortion clinics is moving through the Missouri House. The bill would make it illegal for any public funds, including federal dollars, from being spent on abortion clinics or any facility with ties to abortion providers. It would also bar the […]
The Grain Belt Express is again bringing out passionate arguments at the statehouse. Republican Representative Mike Haffner’s bill makes it more difficult for the electricity transmission project to traverse Missouri. The measure would require county commissions’ approval before the line can cross that county. It’s another effort to keep Invenergy from using its public service […]
(Missouri Independent) – Missouri state employees counting on seeing a big raise in their February paychecks may be disappointed, as lawmakers fiddle with a $5.4 billion spending bill pushed by Gov. Mike Parson. When the Republican governor in December proposed a 5.5 percent pay raise for all state workers, he said he wanted it in effect by […]
(Missouri Independent) – The push to legalize recreational marijuana use in Missouri is coming from multiple directions, with a handful of proposed initiative petitions and at least one bill, and potentially more, backed by Republican lawmakers. Each hopes to place the issue on the 2022 ballot for voter approval. And each proposal also includes a […]
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson proposed massive new spending on infrastructure and college buildings, and still found money to set aside for pensions and future revenue shortfalls, in the budget submitted Wednesday to lawmakers. Missouri will enter the new fiscal year with nearly $3 billion in surplus general revenue, an anticipation of record future tax collections, […]
(Missouri Independent) – Gov. Mike Parson praised his administration’s handling of the still-unfolding COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday, telling a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly that the state has emerged ready to make long-term investments in its future. “The bottom line is Missouri’s economy is strong,” Parson said in his annual State of the State […]
Missourians can hear Governor Parson outline his priorities during his annual State of the State Address today (Wednesday). The governor explains what citizens can expect to hear from him. The governor says he plans to tout a workforce development program he launched. The Governor is also expected to tout his accomplishments […]
(Missouri Independent) – Proposals that would bar COVID-19 vaccine mandates and provide greater exemptions for vaccinations more broadly faced a wave of opposition from Missouri business groups Wednesday. Representatives for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Associated Industries of Missouri, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and other business associations made clear to lawmakers […]
Missouri Governor Mike Parson will kick off the Great Northwest Day at the Capitol event as the keynote speaker during a luncheon at the 20th Annual Great Northwest Day at the Capitol in Jefferson City, Tuesday, February 1. As legislators begin a new session in Jefferson City, citizens of Northwest Missouri have been preparing to […]
A Missouri lawmaker expects several legislative bills proposed this session that would make it harder for cities to ask their voters for tax increases. State Representative Bill Falkner is chairing the state House Local Government Committee. Falkner tells Brent Martin he will focus on helping municipalities address their biggest need, recruiting and retaining quality workers. […]
This is the first full week of Missouri’s 101st Regular Session of the General Assembly. Joey Parker is covering the Capitol and reports on one contentious issue that’s likely to scrutinized. Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz says he doesn’t believe we have heard the last on the issue. The 2022 legislative session […]
Meat prices have been on the rise, but family-farm advocates say higher profits haven’t been making their way to smaller cattle producers. Four companies control 85% of the beef supply, noted Darvin Bentlage, a cattle rancher and farmer in southwest Missouri. He said the executive order on promoting competition that President Joe Biden signed last summer is a […]
(Missouri Independent) – A company denied licenses to grow medical marijuana in Missouri urged the state Supreme Court Tuesday to compel regulators to provide application info that the health department has argued it’s constitutionally obligated to protect. At issue is the Department of Health and Senior Services’ refusal to turn over applications of successful license […]
State Senator Dan Hegeman of Cosby says state worker compensation will be one of the top issues facing legislators when they return to Jefferson City next month. Hegeman, a Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, notes low state pay is costing the state some quality workers. Hegeman says there is room in […]
(Missouri Independent) – Faced with over a year’s delay from the state social services department on implementing extended mental health care for new moms, a bipartisan effort now aims to expand health care coverage more broadly for low-income pregnant women. Legislation filed last week by Sens. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto, and Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, would extend […]
(Missouri Independent) – Two years ago, a company led by an influential Republican businessman faced off with the state’s environmental regulators over whether it needed to do additional testing for a chemical that health officials worried could pose a cancer risk to the company’s workers. The Moberly manufacturing facility, Orscheln Products LLC, is owned by […]
(Missouri Independent) – As the Senate works to finalize a major annual defense measure, there is a bipartisan push to include a requirement that all young Americans — including women — for the first time register for the military draft. The $777.9 billion measure, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, also would allocate millions to […]
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt proposed a Parents’ Bill of Rights ahead of the next legislative session in January. The Parents’ Bill of Rights would protect parents’ rights to have a well-informed say in their children’s education, strengthen parents’ abilities to take action related to their children’s education, and increase transparency in Missouri’s schools. “A […]
