Missouri State Government
More than 170 items were struck from the Missouri state budget Friday as Gov. Mike Parson cut $1 billion from the spending plan passed this year by lawmakers. In a statement explaining his cuts, Parson said he vetoed earmarked items that he believes were loaded into the budget for special projects and organizations without considering the future…
Read Full Article When Missouri outlawed abortion two years ago, Nicole was far more worried for her grown children than for herself. It had been two decades since she last gave birth, when she suffered a serious stroke during labor followed by severe postpartum depression. She was outraged that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to…
Read Full Article It’s time for the turn card in the poker hand that is the Missouri governor’s race. Quick review for poker neophytes: in Texas Hold ‘Em, two cards are dealt face down to each player, while five “community cards” are dealt face up in three rounds – first, a group of three cards (“the flop”), then…
Read Full Article TOPEKA, Kansas — The Kansas City Royals and Chiefs could receive hundreds of millions of dollars in sales tax revenue to move from Missouri and build new stadiums across the state line under legislation passed Tuesday by Kansas lawmakers. The House voted 84-38 and the Senate voted 27-8 to approve legislation that would expand a state incentive program in an…
Read Full Article In a battle that pits some of the biggest players in health care against each other, the Missouri General Assembly has come down on the side of hospitals who want unlimited access to discounted drugs for their pharmacies. On the last day of this year’s legislative session, the Missouri House passed a bill making it illegal for…
Read Full Article The Kansas Senate president and House speaker said Tuesday they were intrigued by the potential of putting together an incentive package capable of attracting the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to a new stadium complex in Kansas. The Kansas Legislature will be in Topeka starting June 18 to consider a tax relief bill after…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL— State Representative Louis Riggs (R-Hannibal) secured nearly $20 million for projects in Northeast Missouri during the 2024 General Assembly session. Riggs obtained $2 million for construction of the Hannibal Bypass on US 61 that was supposed to have been built decades ago as part of the Avenue of the Saints and another $2.5 million…
Read Full Article Missouri lawmakers gave counties a dose of much-needed clarity in May when they passed a bill aimed at clarifying a 2023 law that lets counties pass a senior property tax freeze, aimed at those 62 and older. The law passed last year gave counties the power to freeze property tax rates for Missourians who were eligible for…
Read Full Article A United States District Court judge in St. Louis heard arguments Monday morning on whether the federal government can continue with a student-debt-forgiveness plan due to begin next month. The lawsuit, filed last month by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, seeks to block an income-driven repayment plan for borrowers proposed by President Joe Biden’s administration. …
Read Full Article Missouri’s Constitution has banned noncitizens from voting since 1924. And state law requires individuals to verify they are a U.S. citizen in order to register to vote. But GOP lawmakers contend the constitutional and statutory language isn’t strong enough. Instead of saying that “all citizens” can vote, Republicans argue the state constitution should be changed to make it clear…
Read Full Article The final day of the 2024 legislative session lasted less than 10 minutes in the Missouri Senate. The lightning-quick adjournment was aimed at avoiding bitter flare ups that plagued the previous day, when a member of the Freedom Caucus tried to amend the Senate Journal to say a “stampeding herd of rhinoceroses” had rumbled through…
Read Full Article Missouri’s murky and complicated past with puppy mills has resurfaced once again with the release of the Humane Society’s 2024 Horrible Hundred report. According to the Humane Society, the report is a “list of known, problematic puppy breeding and/or puppy brokering facilities” across the country and it ranks states based on how many of these…
Read Full Article When the final budget votes were over Friday and the constitutional deadline was met, Missouri House Republicans crowed about holding the line on spending while Democrats accused the GOP of failing the state’s most vulnerable citizens. A budget process that had the least public input in years — with just a pro-forma public hearing in the House and…
Read Full Article Missouri’s primary is on August 6. Missouri Times Publisher Scott Faughn breaks down where the candidates stand as the spring and summer campaign season begins to heat up. ‘24 Statewide Races Governor: Republican Primary: TOSS UP – Democrat Primary: Toss UPGeneral: LIKELY REPUBLICAN RepublicansLt. Governor Mike KehoeLot of things are going right for Mike Kehoe. He has…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Missouri Governor Mike Parson said he wasn’t trying to compare himself to Mark Twain when he made a stop Tuesday in Hannibal to promote his new book “No Turnin’ Back”, but that didn’t mean Hannibal’s most famous son wouldn’t be referenced. Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum Director Megan Rapp introduced the…
Read Full Article A proposal to allow a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks on Sunday was the final initiative petition submitted for a possible slot on Missouri’s ballot later this year. The Osage River Gaming & Convention committee said in a news release that it turned in over 320,000 signatures in an effort to meet the requirement…
Read Full Article JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Wednesday’s Midwest March for Life at the Missouri Capitol had a different tone this year. It was about fighting. Nearly two years ago, the crowd celebrated Missouri becoming the first state to ban abortion after Roe V. Wade was overturned. But on Wednesday, a new worry loomed over the annual event: Abortion…
Read Full Article JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — None of the demands Missouri Freedom Caucus members said must be met before they would drop a filibuster against legislation renewing taxes that fund Medicaid were achieved when the group decided to end its resistance a little before 3:30 a.m. Thursday. After a 41-hour-filibuster, the Senate gave initial approval Thursday morning to a…
Read Full Article The Missouri Senate’s budget plan approved in a committee Wednesday has more money for workers who help people with developmental disabilities, more to help low-income families afford child care and more for counties to defray the cost of holding people convicted of felonies. There are also big new road projects and a boost to higher education funding. The committee…
Read Full Article Missouri House members on Wednesday took a step toward prohibiting exports of water, arguing the state’s “most precious resource” should be protected and reserved for residents. The bill, which prohibits water exports without a state permit, cleared an initial Missouri House vote 115-25. It needs second approval before it moves to the Missouri Senate, where a…
Read Full Article Missouri has plenty of money left in reserve as the state Senate prepares to work on the almost $51 billion budget passed Thursday in the House, but one looming issue could disrupt final passage and put the surplus in danger of disappearing. Lawmakers must renew a set of medical provider taxes, known as the federal reimbursement…
Read Full Article The Royals and the Chiefs had everything. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce — fresh off of a Super Bowl victory — endorsed a “yes” vote in ads airing on TV and on YouTube. Endorsements rolled in from the city’s top political players: Mayor Quinton Lucas (belatedly), U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and nearly every union in…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Marion County Democrat Central Committee is holding a meeting at 7 p.m. April 16 at the Palmyra, Mo., courthouse to elect state-level delegates to send to the Missouri Democratic Party’s State Convention, where delegates will be elected to be sent to the Democratic Party’s National Convention in August. In a press…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Republican candidates running in the Aug. 6 Missouri Republican primary for several offices spoke on Saturday morning at the Hannibal Nutrition Center for Lincoln Day. Lincoln Day is a yearly event across many counties in Missouri, and offers an opportunity for voters to meet their state and local candidates in a local…
Read Full Article