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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 […]
Missouri House approves prescription drug monitoring program, sends bill to the governor
In an historic vote, the Missouri House signed off Tuesday on legislation creating a prescription drug monitoring program — inching one step closer to ending Missouri’s designation as the only state without one. The bill now heads to Gov. Mike Parson for his signature or veto. Sen. Holly Rehder, a Sikeston Republican who has sponsored […]
Parson vows to veto crime bill if it includes penalties for lying to Missouri legislature
The fate of a wide-ranging crime bill was called into question on Tuesday over a provision that would stiffen penalties for lying under oath to the legislature or obstructing a legislative investigation. During a conference committee on Tuesday morning convened to work out differences on Senate Bill 53, House members said the bill stands no […]
AG Schmitt joins effort to convince Facebook to abandon plans for children’s Instagram
Nearly every state attorney general, including Missouri’s Eric Schmitt, signed onto a letter this week demanding Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg abandon plans to create an Instagram for kids, arguing that the company has a “record of failing to protect the safety and privacy of children on its platform.” In a letter from the National Association of […]
Secrecy around ownership records raises questions about Missouri marijuana networks
Greenlight Dispensary advertises 16 medical marijuana locations across Missouri, from Cape Girardeau to Kansas City, and all points in between. Justice Grown, a Pennsylvania-based company, has ties to 14 dispensaries in Missouri. Yet Missouri’s constitution prohibits the state from granting more than five dispensary licenses to any single entity or individual. The goal was to […]
Longtime Republican political consultant, lobbyist indicted on felony tax charge
David Barklage, an influential campaign consultant and lobbyist who has been a fixture in Missouri Republican politics for decades, has been indicted for allegedly failing to pay more than $150,000 in taxes over the course of a three-year period. The indictment was handed down in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on April 28, but […]