A veteran Missouri lawmaker who served as an O’Fallon police officer for 13 years is proposing a constitutional amendment that involves checkpoints and roadblocks. Lake St. Louis GOP State Representative Justin Hill’s proposal would prohibit a roadside checkpoint or roadblock set up by law enforcement, except in emergency situations to prevent the escape of a […]
Tag: representative
Governor Parson appoints seven to various boards and commissions
Governor Mike Parson announced seven appointments to various boards and commissions. Tyler Seth Johnson, of West Plains, was appointed to the Missouri Real Estate Appraisers Commission. Mr. Johnson is a Missouri Certified General Real Estate Appraiser with MAI designation and co-owner of Southwest Valuation, a real estate appraisal firm in Springfield. Previously, he worked for Landmark […]
Audio: Missouri House gives initial approval to delivering goods by robots and drones
Some items you buy could soon be delivered in Missouri by robots and drones. The Missouri House has given preliminary approval to a bill that would allow the devices mainly on sidewalks and crosswalks. Holts Summit Representative Travis Fitzwater says his bill would allow the robots to travel up to 10 miles per hour and […]
Audio: Missouri House passes K-12 open enrollment bill
Roughly 44 states allow K-12 open enrollment and Missouri could become the next. The Missouri House has passed Sedalia State Representative Brad Pollitt’s open enrollment bill. He served in the public school system for about 34 years, including as a teacher and a former school superintendent in Sedalia. Representative Mark Sharp, a teacher […]
More charges announced against Missouri lawmaker after indictment for $900,000 COVID-19 fraud scheme
Additional charges have been returned by a federal grand jury against an elected Missouri state representative for a nearly $900,000 COVID-19 fraud scheme, following her indictment last month for a separate fraud scheme in which she made false claims about a supposed stem cell treatment marketed through her clinics in southern Missouri, and for illegally […]
Audio: Missouri House gives final approval to large election legislation; bill includes photo ID requirement
Legislation that requires a photo ID and the use of a paper ballot was given final approval by the Missouri House in Jefferson City on Thursday. The vote, primarily along party lines, was 109-48. House Bill 738 is sponsored by veteran State Rep. Don Rone (R-Portageville), who represents the Bootheel. Rone was unable to make it to the […]
Audio: Missouri House attempting to undo state Supreme Court’s restrictions on bail
In 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court began restricting when judges can require bail. Currently, judges can only charge bail fees for safety reasons or to help ensure defendants appear in court. The Missouri House has given preliminary approval to Lake St. Louis State Representative Justin Hill’s bill that would undo the high court’s bail rules. […]
Audio: Missouri House passes school open enrollment bill
Missouri could become a school open enrollment state. Eighty-two members of the House of Representatives have voted in favor of an open-enrollment bill – the bare minimum number of votes required to pass. Representative Brad Pollitt, a Republican from Sedalia, says his hope is to have students in districts they want to be in and […]
Audio: Missouri House Budget Committee votes against funding for Medicaid expansion in next budget cycle
The Missouri House Budget Committee has voted against funding for Medicaid expansion in the next fiscal year. The committee, made up of mostly Republicans, has voted down 1.6-billion dollars in funding for Medicaid expansion in the next state budget cycle. Last year, 53-percent of Missouri voters approved a ballot measure to expand government-funded […]
Audio: Bill in Missouri Legislature would delay full increase of minimum wage hike
In 2018, 62-percent of Missouri voters approved a gradual minimum wage hike of $12.00 an hour by 2023. A state House committee is considering a bill that would delay the full increase by three years. During a committee hearing, Representative Allen Andrews of northwest Missouri’s Grant City says he supports the bill. He says his […]
Audio: Missouri House Committee hears testimony on legislation aimed at helping seniors with property taxes
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 […]
Audio: Missouri Representatives want reporting requirement about student access to broadband
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) could be required to report annually about the number of K-12 students with limited or no access to high-speed internet at home. During a House committee hearing, Representative Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, said he is proposing to require the department to include the total number of students […]
Audio: Lawmakers to question Missouri DSS chief about boarding school abuse investigations
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 […]
Audio: Governor decrees March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness month as Missourians with disabilities lobby for caregiver funding
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 […]
Audio: Missouri Representative wants to lower requirements to become a K-12 substitute teacher
Missouri could lower the requirements to become a K-12 substitute teacher. To help alleviate a substitute shortage, State Representative Ed Lewis is proposing to reduce the required college credit hours from 60 to 36. Lewis, of northern Missouri’s Moberly, has been a teacher for more than 30 years. During a House education committee hearing on […]
Grundy County Commission approves entering into contract with NCRS for engineering
The Grundy County Commission approved March 23rd, on a vote of two to one, a motion involving the Natural Resources Conservation Service Streambank Stabilization near the Highway 6 Thompson River Bridge. Commissioner Don Sager and Presiding Commissioner Phillip Ray voted in favor of the motion, which involved entering into a contract with NRCS, with the […]
Audio & Video: More than 3,600 Missourians vaccinated on Friday at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium
Missouri’s governor says more than 3,600 Jackson County residents were vaccinated on Friday at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, the largest state-supported vaccination event thus far in the state. A second day of vaccinations took place Saturday morning at 9 and continued until 7 p.m. Two Missouri National Guard teams were at Arrowhead on Saturday, and […]
Audio: Missouri House gives initial approval to open enrollment bill
The state House of Representatives has given initial approval to a bill that would make Missouri an open enrollment state. Representative Brad Pollitt, a Republican from west-central Missouri’s Sedalia, is sponsoring the plan. He served in the public school system for about 34 years, including as a teacher and a former School Superintendent in Sedalia. […]
Grundy County Commission signs with Granite Phone Service; Grundy County to receive $2 million in next round of COVID funding
The Grundy County Commission signed a letter of agency with Granite phone service on March 16th. The letter gives the company permission to contact AT&T on behalf of Grundy County. Presiding Commissioner Phillip Ray says going through Granite for the county is estimated to reduce the cost of three AT&T lines from $500 a month […]
Senate confirms Haaland as first-ever Native American to serve in the Cabinet
(Missouri Independent) – U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland made history on Monday when she became the first Native American to ever be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold a position in a president’s Cabinet. In a narrow 51-40 vote, senators confirmed Haaland, a New Mexico Democrat, to serve as secretary of the interior, where she […]