A group of bills standardizing mandatory minimum prison terms and repealing conditional release provisions was debated by a Missouri Senate committee on Wednesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee discussed three bills, sponsored by Republican Sens. Curtis Trent of Springfield, Jill Carter of Granby and Joe Nicola of Grain Valley, which include identical provisions for restructuring prison […]
Missouri lawmakers are weighing a slate of bills aimed at reining in artificial intelligence, from proposals targeting “deepfakes” to limits on the technology’s use in political campaigns. At the same time, lawmakers are also considering measures that would limit the liability of companies that develop or deploy AI systems when those systems cause harm. But […]
Missourians are right to be concerned about the cost of health care. Prescription drug costs remain one of the most visible and painful expenses for families, seniors and small employers. But recent claims that pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform will increase costs and expand government control fundamentally misrepresent how the current system works — and […]
Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released a scathing report Wednesday on the state’s marijuana program, concluding that missteps in the 2019 licensing process triggered costly litigation and raised persistent questions about whether licenses were awarded fairly. The nearly three-year audit of the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation alleges “perceived and actual deficiencies” in the application […]
A coalition of public health and environmental groups filed a suit Wednesday challenging the Trump administration’s recent finding that the Environmental Protection Agency could not regulate climate-warming greenhouse gases. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump announced last week the administration was finalizing a repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding, which declared the agency could […]
Legislation creating a state-run video lottery system to replace and regulate “gray market” slot machines that have proliferated for years in gas stations, bars and fraternal halls across the state narrowly cleared the Missouri House Wednesday, winning passage by just one vote. The bill, which now heads to the Missouri Senate for consideration, is the […]
Republicans are pushing to restore a law that would grant the secretary of state more power over the language voters see when they head to the polls. A law with a similar provision was struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court earlier this year because it strayed too far from the bill’s original meaning. Sponsored […]
A major property tax reform bill in the Missouri House was sent back to a special committee Tuesday over concerns that the bill needed more changes. Sponsored by state Rep. Tim Taylor, a Republican from Bunceton, the wide-ranging bill would change how property taxes are calculated and when property tax measures are voted on. “There […]
Ten Democratic-leaning states are using their own money to help people buy Obamacare health plans, at least partially replacing the federal tax credits that expired at the end of last year. The state assistance, some of it offered through programs that existed before the federal subsidies expired, is helping hundreds of thousands of people lower […]
Missouri lawmakers are drawing up separate proposals in the House and Senate to respond to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s push for a public school accountability system that grades schools on an “A” through “F” scale. Kehoe’s executive order, unveiled during his State of the State address last month, calls for the state’s education department to draw […]
Lawmakers in Jefferson City have introduced two bills that purportedly would drive down costs for patients. Instead, they will raise costs and increase government control over health care. The bills would increase prescription drug fees and interfere with the ability of employers to work with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to continue to reduce costs for […]
WASHINGTON — Tributes poured in across the country for the revered civil rights figure the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., who died Tuesday morning at 84. The two-time Democratic presidential hopeful and Greenville, South Carolina, native died peacefully, surrounded by his kin, according to his family. Jackson, who was active in the civil rights movement […]
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Maryland Tuesday barred U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from re-detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the Trump administration lacks plans to remove him from the United States. “Respondents have done nothing to show that Abrego Garcia’s continued detention in ICE custody is consistent with due process,” District of Maryland Judge […]
German chemical giant Bayer has agreed to pay $7.25 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer. The proposed settlement — which must be approved by a St. Louis court — would compensate people nationwide who were exposed to Roundup products and diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as those who […]
WASHINGTON — Republicans, Democrats and the White House are methodically, calmly inching toward a common goal: agreeing on a thick package of laws that would do something quickly about slowing housing costs and boosting supply. There’s no talk of gridlock here. No partisan sniping. Just an under the radar effort to show constituents in an […]
Outrage erupted last month when Oklahoma City residents learned of plans to convert a vacant warehouse into an immigration processing facility. Making matters worse was the secrecy of the federal government: City leaders received no communication from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aside from a mandated disclosure related to historic preservation. Planning a major development […]
Using snapshots of the history of Blacks as a corrective and curative measure for one month is tantamount to applying a band-aid to treat a virulent and stubborn disease. Except for providing a minimal degree of comfort for Black Americans, what lasting meaning does it have for the rest of America? There is a better […]
A requirement that public schools and universities report antisemitic discrimination to the state passed the Missouri House Monday on a 109 to 21 vote. Combatting antisemitism is especially important to the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. George Hruza, a Republican from Huntleigh. His mother survived the Holocaust after imprisonment in the Mauthausen concentration camp, and two […]
Despite immigration detention numbers receding from recent highs and even as conservative judges are opting to release more detainees by rejecting President Donald Trump’s mass detention policy, tools for detainees to seek release or appeal cases are disappearing. A proposed federal rule will make it harder to appeal immigration cases nationally. And a federal appeals […]
When Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Todd Gollihare introduced a bill last year to strengthen state law protecting places of worship from protesters, it stalled. This year, his church protest bill sailed through the legislature. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed it into law three days after Gollihare reintroduced it. In recent weeks, Republican and Democratic lawmakers […]
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