Audio: Missouri House Committee to hear testimony this week on transgender athlete legislation

A Missouri House committee will meet Monday to discuss whether they’ll hear remote testimony this week on legislation involving transgender high school athletes. Rocheport GOP State Representative Chuck Basye is sponsoring the House joint resolution and says this is an important issue.     Basye’s legislation would require that students who participate in sex-separated athletic […]

Voter ID

Missouri Republicans look to reinstate voter ID requirement

(Missouri Independent) – About 137,700 registered voters in Missouri did not have a state-issued identification in 2017, according to an analysis from the Secretary of State’s Office.  Another 140,000 voters had expired IDs, and 2,000 more voters had forfeited their driver’s licenses. Under a bill passed Wednesday in the Missouri House, those registered voters would either have to […]

Bible Bullets and Handgun (Concealed Carry)

Audio: Missouri House Committee approves legislation involving concealed firearms in churches

Legislation that would allow Missourians to carry a concealed gun inside churches and other places of worship without the minister’s consent has been approved by a Missouri House committee. House General Laws Committee chairman Curtis Trent announced Thursday afternoon’s close vote.     The bill is sponsored by GOP State Representatives Ben Baker of Neosho […]

Coronavirus Stimulus Payment Graphic

Audio: Bipartisan support in Missouri legislature involving federal stimulus checks and taxation

There is bipartisan support for legislation ensuring that Missourians cannot be taxed on their federal stimulus checks. Missouri House Budget Committee chairman Cody Smith of Carthage presented his bill Wednesday in Jefferson City,     Smith tells lawmakers it’s important to act, noting that under Missouri’s tax code, federal stimulus checks related to COVID are […]

Unemployment Graphic

Missouri House committee votes to forgive federal unemployment debts

(Missouri Independent) – Thousands of Missourians facing repayment of mistakenly paid unemployment benefits would get some relief under legislation passed with a bipartisan vote Wednesday in a Missouri House committee. The bill, which will likely be debated on the House floor next week, would forgive debts due to overpayments from federal coronavirus relief programs but would not […]

Higher Education (college)

Audio: Missouri Senator wants additional higher education funding to make college affordable for all students

The Missouri House Budget Committee is scheduled to hear today Governor Parson’s state budget proposal for higher education. Kansas City State Senator Greg Razer says state funding provided to Missouri’s colleges and universities is almost identical to what the state gave to them in 1999. Razer says in 1999, 70% of the University of Missouri-Columbia’s […]

Unemployment Graphic

Audio: Missouri House Government Oversight Committee to vote Monday on unemployment overpayment legislation

Missouri lawmakers in both parties say residents who received unemployment overpayments due to the state’s mistake should be able to keep that money.     The Missouri House Government Oversight Committee is set to vote Monday on several bipartisan bills, requiring state Labor officials to waive non-fraudulent unemployment overpayments. State Labor director Anna Hui has […]

State Reps. Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, (left) and Curtis Trent, R-Springfield

Audio: Proposed Missouri constitutional amendment would protect those with pre-existing conditions

You could be voting in 2022 on a proposed constitutional amendment in Missouri, requiring health insurers to cover preexisting conditions. House Joint Resolution 50 is a two-page proposal. It’s sponsored by State Rep. Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, the powerful House Majority Floor Leader. He says the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn the Affordable Care Act this year. […]

Gas Tax

Audio: Missouri House Transportation Committee Chair files gas tax legislation, modeled after South Carolina

The Missouri House Transportation Committee chairwoman has filed gas tax legislation that has a new aspect: a possible rebate.     Festus GOP State Representative Becky Ruth has filed a bill to raise Missouri’s gas tax by two cents annually for five years. Missouri’s 17-cent gasoline tax has stayed the same since 1996. Under her […]

Vaccine Distribution or Covid-19 or Coronavirus

Audio: Missouri’s Governor and Health Director say there have been issues with COVID vaccine distribution process

Missouri’s governor announced Thursday in Jefferson City that there have been issues with the COVID vaccine distribution process, and warns that there will be consequences for vaccinators that allow people to jump the line. Governor Mike Parson briefed Capitol reporters during a Statehouse press conference, emphasizing that his administration will vaccinate the most vulnerable and […]