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Missouri Republican calls for a change in Senate leadership over handling of FRA bill
The simmering division among Republicans over a bill crucial to funding Missouri’s Medicaid program boiled over this week, with the state senator at the center of the debate calling for a change in the chamber’s leadership. Sen. Paul Wieland, R-Imperial, led the charge to include language banning the use of taxpayer money for certain contraceptives […]
Medicaid? Voting rights? Critical race theory? Parson faces special session demands
A tax that funds $2 billion of Missouri’s Medicaid program. A push to ban the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. An effort to undermine changes to Kansas City’s police budget. And a litany of bills seeking to overhaul how Missouri conducts its elections. The calls from Missouri lawmakers for Gov. Mike Parson […]
Republican lawmakers call for special session over Kansas City police budget
Four Republican lawmakers from the Kansas City area are asking Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to call a special session in response to the City Council vote to give the city more control over its police budget. The council, led by Mayor Quinton Lucas, voted to reduce the police department’s $240 million budget by $42 million. […]
Missouri treasurer joins push against Biden effort to get banks to drop coal
A group of 15 Republican treasurers, including Missouri’s Scott Fitzpatrick, are threatening to remove their state’s assets from banks that “refuse to lend to or invest in coal, oil and natural gas companies.” The move comes in response to efforts by the Biden administration to get banks to help reduce U.S. carbon emissions. Specifically, the […]
Missouri medical marijuana companies win tax relief from state lawmakers
Missourians voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2018. But under federal law, growing, transporting or selling marijuana remains a crime. Unsurprisingly, that dynamic has created a lot of headaches for the fledgling industry. One notable example: Unlike every other legal business in the state, marijuana companies are prohibited from deducting business expenses on their taxes. […]
Top aide to Gov. Parson leaving to lobby for biodiesel industry
Gov. Mike Parson’s legislative director is leaving his post for a lobbying job with a national trade association representing the biodiesel industry. Jeff Earl, who began working in the governor’s office under Eric Greitens and stayed on after Parson took over, will serve as director of state regulatory affairs for the National Biodiesel Board. In […]
Court orders state to turn over records related to Missouri medical marijuana program
A state appeals court ruled Tuesday that Missouri regulators were wrong to withhold copies of successful medical marijuana applications from litigants who are appealing a denied license. The Missouri Court of Appeals in the Western District sided with a California-based company that argued it needs copies of those applications to prove it was wrongly denied […]
Missouri lawmakers head home without passing bill crucial to Medicaid funding
Missouri lawmakers ended the 2021 legislative session with a $2 billion question left unanswered. For the first time in 30 years, the General Assembly failed to renew taxes on hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies that last year accounted for $2.3 billion of Missouri’s $10.8 billion Medicaid program. A fight over birth control and abortion derailed […]
Push for disclosure of Missouri medical marijuana records runs into veto threat
An effort by lawmakers to require disclosure of ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses was derailed on Thursday, when state regulators suggested a possible gubernatorial veto. On Tuesday, the Missouri House voted to require the Department of Health and Senior Services provide legislative oversight committees with records regarding who owns the businesses licensed […]
Are Missouri Republicans pushing to change primary elections because of Eric Greitens?
Missouri Republicans are pushing for changes in the state’s primary elections to require a runoff if no candidate garners more than 50% of the vote. And some think they know what inspired the change. “We are changing the way we are doing elections in Missouri for one person,” said Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence. […]
Missouri lawmakers strike a deal on crime bill after governor’s veto threat
House leadership backed off its insistence that a wide-ranging crime bill include stiffer penalties for lying under oath to the legislature a day after Gov. Mike Parson threatened a veto. Parson said Tuesday that he objected to giving lawmakers more investigative power, calling it “a total power grab.” He said any bill that included the […]
Missouri House votes to require disclosure of medical marijuana ownership records
The Missouri House voted Tuesday afternoon to require state regulators to turn over ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses to legislative oversight committees. The amendment, which was approved 82-59, was sponsored by Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis. He said the Department of Health and Senior Service’s decision to deem ownership records confidential has […]