Missouri State Government
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey terminated his emergency rule on gender-affirming care Tuesday — less than a week after the state legislature sent a ban on minors starting treatment to the governor’s desk. The ACLU of Missouri filed a lawsuit in late April seeking to block Bailey’s emergency rule, alleging the attorney general didn’t have the authority…
Read Full Article The Missouri Senate held itself together longer than most had expected. But on Friday, hours before the constitutionally mandated adjournment, it went off the rails. Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican running for governor next year, attempted a procedural move to force a vote on personal property tax cut legislation. Instead, the chamber voted…
Read Full Article The Missouri House sent legislation to the governor’s desk Wednesday morning barring transgender youth from beginning gender-affirming care. The bill passed 108-50. Only three Republicans joined every Democrat in opposition: House Majority Leader Jon Patterson, a doctor, Rep. Chris Sander, who is gay, and Rep. Gary Bonacker. Democratic Rep. Peter Merideth of St. Louis asked…
Read Full Article With just about an hour to spare before the constitutional deadline, Missouri lawmakers on Friday approved a record state budget of almost $51 billion that increases pay for highway patrol troopers and direct care workers and one of the biggest boosts in years for higher education. The $50.7 billion spending plan headed to Gov. Mike…
Read Full Article Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is still blocked from enforcing an emergency rule limiting gender-affirming care after a St. Louis County judge granted a 14-day temporary restraining order Monday. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and Lambda Legal, alleges that Bailey abused the state’s consumer protection law to create the…
Read Full Article Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s emergency rule blocking access to certain medical procedures for transgender children and adults faces a lawsuit seeking to block implementation days before it is scheduled to go into effect. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit Monday in St. Louis County calling Bailey’s rule “an…
Read Full Article A Cole County judge on Friday rejected a challenge to a 2021 law used by Missouri’s attorney general to sue school districts over COVID-19 mask policies. In a case that focused on whether lawmakers had put too much into the bill, rendering it unconstitutional, Judge Daniel Green decided that everything fit under the broad category of…
Read Full Article Differences between the House and Senate on how strict a ban on certain transgender health care could spell trouble for the proposal’s chances as the Missouri legislative session nears completion. Republican leaders in both chambers told reporters on Thursday that they wanted their versions passed and sent to the governor. The Senate passed a version last…
Read Full Article More than 200,000 lead service pipes carry drinking water to Missouri families, according to a new estimate from the Environmental Protection Agency. New lead water pipes have been banned for more than 30 years. But the EPA estimates that 9.2 million American households still get their water through aging lead pipes. Just over 2% of those…
Read Full Article Marijuana will soon be more expensive in dozens of municipalities around the state following Tuesday’s elections where almost all of the local sales tax measures passed handily. Many voters around the state saw an extra question on their ballots, asking if they wanted to add a 3% tax to marijuana and other items sold by…
Read Full Article Jay Ashcroft, Missouri’s secretary of state and son of one of the most successful Republican politicians in state history, announced Thursday morning he was joining the 2024 race for governor. In a statement announcing his candidacy on social media, Ashcroft said Missouri “stands at a crossroads.” “Red states like Florida, Texas, Tennessee, even Indiana and…
Read Full Article Missouri is one of just 13 states that levies a sales tax on grocery food items. Citing the hefty burden on low-income shoppers and rising cost of food, several other states have moved to reduce the burden of the grocery sales tax. Kansas began phasing it out this year and Illinois suspended the tax for one year. But in Missouri, renewed bipartisan…
Read Full Article MEMPHIS, Mo. — The ousted administrator of a northeast Missouri hospital is accusing board members and employees of conspiring to have him fired by falsely claiming he violated federal laws and embezzled millions. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Dr. Randy Tobler claims he has been unable to find employment because of the way he was fired…
Read Full Article Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert and a medical adviser to seven U.S. presidents, will address graduating students at Washington University School of Medicine in May, the school announced last week. But the speech by Fauci — who became a figure of scorn among some Republicans for his actions during the coronavirus…
Read Full Article The Missouri Senate passed a sweeping education bill to the House on Tuesday that would create transparency requirements for school districts and ban them from teaching some diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum. The bill also seeks to add a patriotism course for teachers, open transportation funding to intradistrict transfer programs and increase funding for districts…
Read Full Article Missouri attorney general calls for Columbia Public Schools staff to resign after drag show incident
COLUMBIA, Mo. — On the radio program 93.9 The Eagle’s “Wake up Mid-Missouri” with Branden Rathert and 104.5 NewsRadio KWOS, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey called for the resignation of some Columbia Public Schools officials after sending school children the 2023 Columbia Values Diversity Celebration that included a drag show presentation that took place on…
Read Full Article JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Republican legislators have made it clear that challenging the authority of St. Louis’ elected prosecutor Kimberly Gardner — a progressive Black Democrat — is a top priority this year. And they’ll be searching for a way to make that challenge constitutional. On the first day of the legislative session, Republican state…
Read Full Article Early in his annual State of the State address on Wednesday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson sang the praises of an income tax cut enacted by the Republican-dominated General Assembly late last year. Closer to the end of his nearly one-hour speech to a joint session of the legislature, Parson vowed to “support and defend our law enforcement…
Read Full Article State workers would get their biggest pay raise in living memory under a plan proposed Wednesday by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson. In a news release, Parson said he wants to boost all state workers by 8.7% and to offer a $2 an hour night shift differential to employees in four agencies responsible for people under…
Read Full Article The Missouri Attorney General’s office will operate in “unyielding pursuit of victory,” Andrew Bailey said Tuesday as he was being sworn into office. Bailey, in a short speech before a crowd of about 150 gathered at the Missouri Supreme Court building, said he’s grateful to Gov. Mike Parson for appointing him. Speaking to reporters afterwards,…
Read Full Article With the passing of Amendment 3 in November, parents in Missouri now have a new conversation to navigate: Adult cannabis (marijuana) use. As someone who works in alcohol and drug education, I’ve seen firsthand the impacts of substance use disorder in our communities, particularly on young people. Talking about drugs and alcohol with your kids…
Read Full Article From Missouri Independent: A ban on federal employees using TikTok on their government-issued phones is on track to become law after Congress included the provision in the year-end government funding bill released early Tuesday. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s legislation barring the popular social media platform from federal devices was one of several bills attached to the spending measure, the…
Read Full Article Crista Hogan estimates tens of thousands of people in Greene County are eligible to clean their criminal records of old non-violent misdemeanor and felony offenses — offenses she says limits their access to good-paying jobs and safe housing. But under state law, it requires people to file an arduous petition in court, along with a…
Read Full Article For the first time in its history, the only real limit on what Missouri can buy on a cash-and-carry basis is the imagination of the people spending the money. The state treasury is bulging with more than $6 billion in surplus cash, the result of 28 months of double-digit revenue growth and federal payments tied…
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