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New Missouri House speaker says massive budget surplus should mean more tax cuts
Missouri’s top lawmaker opened the 2023 legislative session Wednesday by proclaiming that the state’s massive budget surplus should translate into more tax cuts. House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, noted that Missouri lawmakers approved a nearly $800 million tax cut in September. But with a projected state budget surplus of $6 billion, Plocher believes “there […]
Missouri lawmakers reconvene focused on sports betting, teacher pay, initiative petitions
Before the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 27, GeoComply defeated 82,000 attempts by Missourians to access sports gambling sites. Missouri hasn’t legalized sports wagering, and a gambler must be in a state that has, like Kansas or Illinois, to make a legal bet. The blocked bets before the Chiefs’ game […]
Andrew Bailey officially takes over as Missouri’s new attorney general
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, […]
Cole County judge confirms $2M jury award in sexual harassment case against Missouri Department of Corrections
The Missouri Department of Corrections must pay $2 million in punitive damages in a sexual harassment case brought by a prison nurse who felt trapped between two corrections officers as one described plans to kidnap, drug and rape her. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem on Tuesday confirmed a November jury award for “a hostile […]
Cole County judge blocks effort to deny Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood
Lawmakers cannot use appropriation bills to limit the list of eligible Medicaid providers, a Cole County judge ruled Wednesday in a decision allowing payments for health services provided by Planned Parenthood. Circuit Judge Jon Beetem, ruling in a case filed by the two Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri, directed the Department of Social Services to […]
Sports wagering, video lottery games again in conflict as legislature prepares for 2023 session
In the first week of legal sports wagering in Kansas, more than 100,000 Missourians found out how precise online location tools have become when they were blocked from making bets. How many more crossed the border – or went to any of the other four legal sports wagering states adjoining Missouri to make bets – […]
Missouri Republican pushes for constitutional change to recognize same-sex marriages
With the right to same-sex marriage now protected by federal statute, a Jackson County Republican lawmaker believes it is time for Missouri to retire a portion of the state constitution that says the only valid marriages are “between a man and a woman.” Rep. Chris Sander, R-Lone Jack, for the second year has introduced a […]
Judge will wait on Missouri Supreme Court to rule on law used by AG to sue schools
When arguments ended Tuesday in the trial challenging a 2021 law used to sue school districts over COVID-19 mask policies, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green told the attorneys he would hold his ruling until the Missouri Supreme Court decides a similar case. For about an hour, Green listened to attorneys for Overland, a city […]
Lawsuit seeks to toss Missouri law used by AG to sue schools over COVID policies
The issue of how far legislators can go when they change a bill with amendments will be debated again Tuesday afternoon in a Cole County courtroom. Overland, a city in St. Louis County, is asking Circuit Judge Daniel Green to throw out a 2021 law used as a hammer by Attorney General Eric Schmitt in […]
Economic slowdown, tax cuts likely to limit Missouri revenue growth, officials say
Missouri general revenue, which has enjoyed double-digit growth for more than two years, will slow dramatically in early 2023, a new estimate of state government finances indicates. The annual consensus revenue estimate – used as the benchmark for budgeting by both the state executive and legislature – issued Tuesday projects net general revenue tax receipts […]
Missouri violated collective bargaining rights of prison guards, appeals court rules
Gov. Mike Parson’s administration improperly tried to starve the labor union representing Missouri corrections officers by cutting it off from dues deducted from paychecks, the Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. In a unanimous opinion, the court ordered the state to resume dues deductions for the Missouri Corrections Officers Association, affirming on every point […]
Missouri Democrats re-elect party chair following online feud over leadership
Missouri Democrats re-elected a party chairman for the first time in almost a decade Saturday after a nasty fight over the role the state party should play in promoting the election of Democratic candidates. Michael Butler, St. Louis Recorder of Deeds, defeated two challengers to retain the post he first won after the 2020 election. […]