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Missouri utility regulators plan for peak pricing prompts pushback from top Republican
Over the objections of Evergy Missouri, staff with the Missouri Public Service Commission last year pushed for power prices to be based on the time of day when the electricity was consumed, with a small premium for use at peak times. The commission, known as the PSC, adopted the concept but not the particulars, opting […]
Judge hears challenge Missouri Senate redistricting plan splitting Buchanan County, Hazelwood
Residents of five Missouri Senate districts – and perhaps a sixth – will have to wait until this fall to learn if the boundaries will be revised. At the end of a day-long trial Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem directed attorneys challenging and defending the map drawn last year to submit final briefs […]
Trial this week to decide boundaries of five Missouri Senate districts
A political activist who spent much of the past six years in the fight over how Missouri legislative districts should be drawn will be the prime witness in a case challenging the state Senate map. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem on Monday denied an effort to exclude testimony from Sean Nicholson, principal at GPS […]
Missouri will exempt Social Security, public pension payments from state income taxes
Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday signed the tax cut he said a week earlier was responsible for his decision to veto most of the 201 spending items he cut from the state budget. The bill, exempting Social Security benefits and public pension payments from income tax, would reduce state general revenue by an estimated $309 […]
Effort to boost payment for wrongly convicted vetoed by Missouri governor
The state shouldn’t be responsible for paying people released after their convictions have been overturned, Gov. Mike Parson wrote explaining his veto of a bill that expands who is eligible for compensation for being wrongly imprisoned. Under current law, only someone shown to be innocent by means of a DNA test is eligible for compensation […]
GOP legislative leaders won’t rule out overriding Missouri governor budget vetoes
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s budget vetoes weren’t necessary to protect state finances and could lead to overrides when lawmakers meet in September, Republican legislative budget leaders said Wednesday. While overrides, both for budget items and other legislation, became common when Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon was in office, a governor has only been overridden twice in […]
Despite $8 billion surplus, Missouri governor vetoes $550 million in state spending
From the $8,000 set aside so the Lone Jack Police Department could buy rifles to $46 million for an allied health building at St. Louis Community College, Gov. Mike Parson’s veto ax fell heavily on earmarked spending as he finished work on the coming year’s Missouri budget. Parson announced his actions late Friday on the […]
Missouri surplus peaking at $8 billion as governor prepares to act on state budget
Missouri will enter the new fiscal year Saturday in its best financial shape ever. But there are unmistakable signs that the massive surplus, now approaching $8 billion, has likely peaked. Revenues have fallen by double-digit amounts during the last three months, and the state will meet the general revenue projection made in December only because […]
Citing appeal, judge declines to order Missouri AG to comply with order on abortion initiative
A Cole County judge on Monday rejected a call from the ACLU of Missouri that he direct Attorney General Andrew Bailey to comply with a court order to certify the fiscal summary on an abortion rights initiative. Circuit Judge Jon Beetem last Tuesday gave Bailey 24 hours to certify the fiscal summary to the auditor’s […]
Missouri Supreme Court sets hearing date for abortion rights petition case
The Missouri Supreme Court will hear arguments July 18 to decide whether the attorney general can override the state auditor and demand changes in the estimated cost of initiative petitions. On Tuesday, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem gave Attorney General Andrew Bailey 24 hours to certify the fiscal note summary prepared by State Auditor […]
ACLU calls ‘shenanigans’ on Missouri AG’s refusal to follow court order on abortion petition
Complying with an order to certify the fiscal summary on 11 abortion petitions would be an “affirmative irreversible action” that he is entitled to refuse until an appeal is heard, Attorney General Andrew Bailey argued in a court filing Wednesday. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ordered Bailey on Tuesday to issue the certification to […]
Missouri AG misses deadline on abortion petition as appeal is filed
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey did not deliver his certification of the fiscal note summary on 11 abortion rights petitions within the 24 hours ordered Tuesday by Judge Jon Beetem. Instead, Bailey filed a notice of appeal with Beetem’s court that he wanted to take the case to the Missouri Supreme Court. As of early […]