The Missouri Senate has passed a $34 billion state budget proposal without funding an expansion of Medicaid. The upper chamber sided with the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Missouri House of Representatives by rejecting attempts to put expansion funding into the budget that begins in July. Gov. Mike Parson’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2022 […]
Tag: oppose
Audio: Missouri House committee approves gas tax hike proposal
A Missouri House committee has unanimously approved a proposed gas tax increase. Under the bill, the state would boost the fuel tax by 2.5 cents per year for the next five years. Drivers could request a rebate for the amount of the tax hike. Ross Lien, with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, says the current […]
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 […]
Democrats vow court battle if lawmakers don’t fund Missouri Medicaid expansion
(Missouri Independent) – With the Missouri Senate poised for what promises to be a lengthy debate over Medicaid expansion, legislative Democrats said Tuesday that the fight over funding will move to the courts if lawmakers don’t approve money for the new coverage. During a rally on the Capitol Building lawn, Senate Democrats promised to push […]
Coalition of attorneys general urge President Biden to reject United States Supreme Court packing scheme
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general in writing to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders to voice opposition to the recent steps towards packing the U.S. Supreme Court. “President Biden’s and Congressional leaders’ attempts to pack the United States Supreme Court will undermine the independence and impartiality of […]
Audio: Anti-Grain Belt Express bill gets another Senate hearing with testimony lasting two hours
The Grain Belt Express project plans to run wind power transmission lines across eight rural counties in northern Missouri—from Buchanan through Ralls. Though the Public Service Commission has approved it and the commission’s approval won a court challenge, agricultural opponents have once again found support in the Legislature. The Missouri House passed HB 527 to stop utility […]
Missouri spending bill would offer money for mortgage help, utility bills
(Missouri Independent) – Help may be coming for Missouri homeowners behind on their mortgage payments because of COVID-19 income losses. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday added $150 million in federal mortgage assistance funds to the supplemental spending bill for the current fiscal year, one of several new sections using money from pandemic relief bills passed by Congress […]
Grain Belt transmission line forges ahead amid landowner, lawmaker pushback
(Missouri Independent) – On the heels of a historic cold snap that left thousands across the Midwest without power, Kansas and Missouri residents could soon reap the benefits of a massive high-powered transmission line delivering renewable energy. Grain Belt Express, a project a decade in the making, is starting to acquire land along its route spanning […]
Young at Heart Resources to hold regional elections
Young at Heart Resources holds regional elections to its board of directors each year. The board is comprised of nine members representing 18 counties in Northwest Missouri. Each member term is three years. The area is divided into three regions. The service agency’s primary clients are adults at least 60 years old and their caregivers. […]
Audio: Congresswoman Cori Bush on U.S. House passing bill to close gender pay gap
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Paycheck Fairness Act – a bill that would boost equal pay protections for women. On the House floor, Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, a Democrat from St. Louis, says she supports the plan. As a nurse, Bush says she earned about 60-percent of what white males in the […]
Audio: Hawley votes against legislation designed to fight hate crimes against Asian Americans
Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley has voted against legislation designed to fight hate crimes against Asian Americans. Hawley, a Republican, was one of only six lawmakers who opposed the measure. Hate crimes against Asian Americans have been increasingly reported during the pandemic and the bill would speed up a U.S. Department of Justice […]
Video: Lawmakers introduce bill to subject Major League Baseball to antitrust Laws
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have introduced a bill to remove the antitrust exemption that has been in place for Major League Baseball to subject them to existing law. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), with over 20 cosponsors, has produced companion legislation in the House. “MLB […]
Chillicothe Police Department acquires new tools to assist with community safety
The Chillicothe Police Department has acquired new tools as part of a community safety initiative that started last year after receiving the law enforcement tax. Police Chief Jon Maples reports the department now has the LexisNexis Community Crime Map and four radar speed display trailers. The Community Crime Map connects law enforcement with the community […]
Audio: Missouri Senate passes transportation package with vaccine passport ban, vehicle safety inspection change
The state Senate has passed a transportation package that would ban entities in Missouri from requiring a vaccine passport to access transportation services. Companies are developing vaccine passports to encourage travel. Springfield-area state Senator Lincoln Hough is sponsoring the legislation that would also waive safety inspection requirements for new vehicles immediately before the vehicle is […]
Election results in northern Missouri for the Tuesday, April 6, 2021 election
There will be two new members each for the Trenton R-9 Board of Education and the Trenton City Council following the election on Tuesday. Voter approval was given to the local use tax for the city of Trenton and brush control for Grundy County. It was a 17% voter turnout (992 votes out of 5,859 […]
Audio: Missouri’s House Budget Committee Chairman outlines Medicaid-related budget bill
Missouri’s House Budget Committee learned details today (Tuesday) about a budget blueprint from Chairman Cody Smith to use dollars slated for Medicaid expansion for other programs instead. Funding includes 26-million dollars for adult daycare and home-delivered meals. Chairman Smith testifies the funding also includes 88-million dollars for nursing home care. This involves a […]
Absentee ballots for today’s election up slightly from 2020 election
The Grundy County Clerk’s office reports 116 absentee ballots were cast in advance of today’s elections. This includes 17 who voted prior to the 5 o’clock deadline of Monday afternoon. There are requests for another 20 absentees but they had not been voted and returned yet to the clerk’s office at the Courthouse in Trenton. […]
Audio: Missouri bill would lower school immunization requirements
Missouri children attending daycares, K-12 public schools, or college might not be required to get vaccinated against certain illnesses – if they have a “conscientious belief” opposing the immunizations. Lebanon State Representative Suzie Pollock is proposing the change for vaccinations against polio, rubella, mumps, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, and others. Her bill would also […]
Workers, small-business owners oppose bill to cut minimum wage
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 […]