Missouri Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler says Missouri’s cattle industry needs more markets and competition. The Missouri Republican has teamed with a California Democrat to introduce a bill that the two lawmakers say will fix regulatory roadblocks that hurt livestock auctions and small meat packers. The “A-PLUS” Act would amend the Packers and Stockyards Act to allow […]
Tag: rules
Missouri lawmakers’ heated exchange on transgender athletes’ rules goes viral
A heated admonishment of one Missouri lawmaker to another has gone viral, getting millions of views on social media. An amendment to a bill in the Missouri House of Representatives is not unusual, but the emotional response to a so-called “anti-transgender law” is getting global attention. Republican Representative Chuck Basye, of central Missouri’s Rocheport, added […]
Missouri Supreme Court declines to immediately hear appeal of COVID ruling
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a request by five counties and health departments to quickly hear arguments and review a case that they say “upended the longstanding public health framework” in Missouri. The decision means an appeal of a Cole County judge’s November ruling will have to first go through […]
Missouri Senate committee takes up bill targeting Grain Belt Express transmission line
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Senate is poised to take up a long-running effort to stymie the Grain Belt Express, a massive transmission line meant to carry wind energy from southwest Kansas across three states. The $2 billion project would carry 4,000 megawatts of energy, dropping some off in Missouri before ending at the Illinois-Indiana […]
Control of Title X federal family planning funds remains with Missouri nonprofit
(Missouri Independent) – Despite facing competition from the state health department, the nonprofit Missouri Family Health Council Inc. will continue to administer federal Title X family planning funds. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded more than $250 million in Title X funding this week, including $5.3 million to Missouri. That money helps pay […]
Rules amended for anyone attending court proceedings in Livingston County
Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox reports there are new requirements at the Livingston County Courthouse in Chillicothe for anyone attending court proceedings. Electronics, cell phones, weapons, pepper spray, pocket knives, drinks, food, bags, and purses were already prohibited in courtrooms. New items added to the list are smartwatches and similar devices. Cox says anyone appearing […]
Missouri Department of Agriculture launches annual “Focus on Missouri Agriculture” photo contest
The Missouri Department of Agriculture is launching the 13th annual Focus on Missouri Agriculture photo contest. The Department is asking Missourians to share their agriculture story through photographs. The contest, which runs through June 10, is an opportunity for photographers across the state to submit their best images of Missouri agriculture. That image may take […]
Missouri Attorney General joins multistate action to end CDC’s mask mandate on public transportation
The Missouri Attorney General joined 20 other states in a multistate action against President Biden’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s continued use of the unlawful mask mandate on public transportation. The attorneys general argue that the mandate exceeds the authority of the CDC. The Biden administration continues to use a failed interpretation of a […]
Corteva Enlist products now available in all Missouri Counties
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of Corteva herbicide products Enlist One and Enlist Duo in all Missouri counties. A seven-year registration announced by EPA in January 2022 had restricted the use of Enlist One and Enlist Duo weed management options in five Missouri counties (Barton, Bates, Cedar, St. Clair, and Vernon). “The […]
GOP senators attack and interrupt Judge Jackson in final day of questioning U.S. Supreme Court nominee
(Missouri Independent) – In the third day of hearings Wednesday on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, several Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee interrogated her about sentences she handed down for child pornography offenses, disagreeing vehemently with her judicial decisions. Republicans grilled her with questions she had already answered […]
As CAFO lawsuit heads to Missouri Supreme Court, counties weigh options
(Missouri Independent) – As a fight over who can regulate industrial hog and cattle operations awaits action by the Missouri Supreme Court, counties that sought more stringent protections against them wait in limbo. The Missouri Supreme Court is expected to hear an appeal by county commissioners who sought to regulate concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, […]
Livingston County Library to begin loaning wi-fi hotspots to patrons
The Livingston County Library recently received an LSTA Technology Mini-grant grant for the library’s Technology Reboot Project that included the purchase of 10 new hotspots that will be available to the public beginning April 1, 2022. Mobile wi-fi hotspots are portable and allow up to 12 devices to connect to the internet at the same […]
Audio: Missouri Supreme Court rules in favor of state’s public defenders in “sex assault survivors” law
The Missouri Supreme Court has sided with the state’s public defenders in the so-called Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights challenge case. Missouri State Public Defender Mary Fox and other public defenders challenged the part of the law that required the defense in a sex crimes case to inform the alleged victim of their rights […]
Ethics panel dismisses complaint alleging Greitens funneled money into Senate campaign
(Missouri Independent) – The Missouri Ethics Commission has dismissed a complaint against former Gov. Eric Greitens accusing him of illegally using leftover money from his gubernatorial campaign committee to subsidize his quest for U.S. Senate. The complaint, filed in October by Campaign Legal Center, alleged Greitens used money from his state account to pay his eventual […]
Missouri is first state to adopt rules requiring investment advisor representatives to ask customers if they have a trusted contact
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division has announced that Missouri is the first state to adopt rules requiring investment advisor representatives to ask their customers if they have a trusted contact. A trusted contact, as defined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), is the person you authorize your financial advisor or firm to […]
Change to bill cutting Missouri sales tax on food transformed it into massive tax hike
(Missouri Independent) – With a change of just a few words, a bill to expand the sales tax exemption for food purchases became a bill virtually ending the exemption, infuriating its sponsor and forcing a Missouri House committee to give it another look. On Monday, the House Rules – Administrative Oversight Committee voted to send state Rep. […]
Farmers who plant cover crops will be eligible for crop insurance premium subsidies
Farmers who plant cover crops will be eligible for crop insurance premium subsidies worth $5 an acre for the second year in a row. To qualify for the payments from USDA, farmers must report their cover crop acreage to the Farm Service Agency by March 15. Last year, USDA made payments totaling $59.5 million for 12.2 million acres of cover […]
Missouri Senate passes $4.6B spending bill with pay raises, federal school funds
(Missouri Independent) – With a deadline looming that could cost Missouri almost $2 billion in federal education aid, the bill to distribute the money passed the state Senate on Wednesday after Democrats slammed a zero-dollar funding line as a partisan attack on Planned Parenthood. The $4.6 billion spending bill approved on a 25-7 vote is the first legislation requiring […]
State judges across the U.S. face growing GOP pushback against rulings in election cases
Missouri Independent) – In mid-December, Texas’ highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general’s ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court weakened Attorney General Ken Paxton’s power to independently go after perpetrators of voter fraud, a problem he says […]