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Bill increasing penalties for protesters wins initial approval in Missouri Senate
Republican state Senators advanced sweeping legislation early Tuesday morning aimed at penalizing protestors who block streets, while also providing further protections for law enforcement under investigation for misconduct or excessive force. The bill also aims to prevent municipalities from decreasing the budgets for law enforcement agencies in Missouri by more than 12 percent over five […]
Republicans renew push to make it harder to change Missouri’s constitution
When Alice Barber was collecting signatures to put the Clean Missouri constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2018, she once stood outside the Springfield DMV in the snow for three hours — until her hands went numb inside her gloves. “I got about fifteen signatures,” she recently told the Missouri House elections committee. “The ballot […]
With gun deaths climbing, Missouri lawmakers push to loosen firearm restrictions
While Missouri continues to struggle with one of the highest rates of gun deaths in the country, Republican lawmakers are advancing a litany of bills aimed at further loosening the state’s gun laws. One proposal would allow guns on college campuses, while another would ban churches from prohibiting guns in places of worship. Others aim […]
Gov. Parson signs bill to approve $324 million for rental assistance
Gov. Mike Parson signed into law Thursday legislation allocating $324 million in funding for rental assistance — part of the COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress in December. The funds are available for both tenants and landlords through the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC). The federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program includes up to 12 months […]
Federal appeals court sides with journalists who were tear-gassed in Ferguson protests
On the fifth day of the Ferguson protests in August 2014, St. Charles County sent their SWAT team in armored military vehicles to help block off West Florissant Avenue, which was considered “Ground Zero” for the protests. Ash-har Quraishi, Marla Cichowski and Sam Winslade — reporters who were working for Al Jazeera America news network […]
Bill to ban chokeholds now paired with controversial residency bill for Kansas City police
Just as a criminal justice reform bill appeared to be gaining traction in the Missouri Senate, it was attached on Monday to a controversial measure to eliminate the requirement that Kansas City police officers live in the city. On its own, Democratic Sen. Brian Williams’ bill would ban police chokeholds, specifically neck restraints that restrict […]
Missouri takes steps toward tightening accountability for law enforcement
Brian Williams grew up in Ferguson, where Michael Brown Jr.’s shooting death sparked a national movement for police accountability in 2014. Four years later, he was elected to the Missouri Senate as a Democrat representing his hometown district. Williams, now 37, recalls times of being pulled over for “just driving while black.” “I was handcuffed […]
Missouri legislators, staff receive COVID vaccine intended for other state employees
Some Missouri state lawmakers received the initial doses of COVID vaccine Wednesday at an event that was intended for employees from Missouri’s Department of Public Safety and Department of Transportation. Ahead of Gov. Mike Parson’s State of the State speech, Democratic and Republican members of the House and Senate were seen entering and leaving the […]
Missouri House budget committee signs off on $320 million for rental assistance
Missouri lawmakers are hoping to quickly approve about $320 million in funding for rental assistance — part of the $25 billion in rental assistance passed by Congress in December’s COVID-19 relief package. The House Budget committee unanimously voted to advance the funding bill Tuesday afternoon. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Jasper County, expects the […]
Missouri housing advocates look to Biden administration to strengthen eviction moratorium
Freezing rain was pouring down when sheriff deputies knocked on Anthony Stinson’s apartment door in Kansas City. It was 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 6. At that time in Washington D.C., armed insurrectionists had begun battling police officers at the U.S. Capitol. While people across the country were gasping in horror, Stinson’s children — a two-year-old […]
Missouri GOP push bill to discipline officers who ‘infringe’ on Second Amendment rights
Missouri law enforcement officers could be permanently disbarred and face fines if they “infringe” on residents’ Second Amendment rights, under a bill debated by a state Senate committee on Tuesday. Republican state Sen. Eric Burlison’s legislation would create a “Second Amendment Preservation Act,” which prohibits any state or local officer from enforcing federal firearms laws […]
Effort to stop charging 17-year-olds as adults has stalled in Missouri
Khadijah Wilson had a bully during her junior year at Francis Howell North High School in St. Charles. She told her principal and teachers about the name calling, and how the other girl constantly threatened to beat her up. But no one intervened. It went on for several months. “I reported it more and more,” […]