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The Missouri Senate returned to regular business Friday morning with just a few hours left before its deadline to pass the $50 billion budget after a nine-hour filibuster the day before.  Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, and GOP colleagues held the Senate floor all day Thursday in an attempt to force a vote on legislation meant […]

The post Deal puts Missouri Senate back on track after filibuster over KC landfill dispute appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri’s Republican legislators might want to give a second thought to their party’s push to impose higher vote requirements to amend the state constitution. If some of these requirements had been in effect in 1980, it likely would have led to voter defeat of a major issue for Republicans. The 1980 “Hancock” constitutional amendment requires […]

The post Capitol Perspectives: Missourians’ right to change their constitution appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Rural bank executives and crop insurance agents testified at a Thursday Senate hearing in support of a modernized crop insurance market that helps upstart producers manage growing risks, and supports food security. The witnesses told the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry that crop insurance represents one of the most important financial […]

The post Rural lenders, crop insurance agents push for bolstered safety net at farm bill hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner announced her resignation Thursday afternoon effective June 1, after brokering a deal to kill a bill that would allow a state takeover of the city prosecutor’s office. “An elected prosecutor is our city’s sole opportunity to have a say in its community’s criminal justice system,” Gardner said in a […]

The post Embattled St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner will resign June 1 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A filibuster consumed about nine hours of the Missouri Senate’s time as the Friday deadline to pass the $50 billion state budget loomed, putting a dispute over a bill designed to kill a proposed landfill in south Kansas City into the spotlight. Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, held the Senate floor for more than four hours Thursday, […]

The post Filibuster over KC landfill bill ends, Missouri Senate puts spending bills on deck for debate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Unless Congress can strike a deal, the U.S. Treasury will likely default on the nation’s bills starting June 8, triggering major consequences for the economy, according to Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics. The risk assessment organization’s chief economist testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget Thursday and urged lawmakers to suspend […]

The post U.S. default could begin June 8 without agreement, top economist tells Congress appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The ACLU of Missouri is asking a Cole County judge to force the secretary of state’s office to finalize its work on an abortion-rights initiative petition so proponents can begin collecting signatures.  The legal maneuver, which was filed Thursday afternoon, comes after The Independent revealed a behind-the-scenes push by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to […]

The post ACLU asks judge to force state to finalize ballot summary for Missouri abortion amendment appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Motorists would get a wider Interstate 70, people with developmental disabilities would get better paid help and parents would get more assistance with child care needs under a state budget plan crafted by negotiators Wednesday evening. The final tally on the operating budget portion of state spending for the coming year was unavailable immediately after […]

The post Missouri budget negotiations conclude with I-70 expansion, child care funding intact appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is trying to convince the state auditor’s office to increase the projected cost of an initiative petition seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution, according to records obtained by The Independent. Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick has refused to make the changes Bailey demanded, arguing that the attorney general is trying […]

The post Missouri auditor says AG trying to falsely inflate projected cost of abortion amendment appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Legislative budget negotiations hit an impasse as Friday’s constitutional deadline approached, with Missouri House leadership demanding the Senate pass a massive tax cut in exchange for agreeing to fund improvements on Interstate 70. Formal negotiating sessions were delayed three times as House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Lincoln Hough worked […]

The post I-70 plan, tax cut demands slow Missouri budget talks as deadline looms appeared first on Missouri Independent.

CALIFORNIA, Missouri — A federal subsidy program administered by the state helps Christa Swillum cover child care for her three young children. Without the subsidy, which cuts her daycare bill in half, the single mother wouldn’t be able to afford the $1,600-a-month cost. But getting the assistance took nearly eight months, as she had to […]

The post Bureaucratic hurdles stymie Missouri families seeking help affording child care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson made improving access to child care a major part of his 2023 legislative agenda, declaring during his annual State of the State address in January that “early childhood care is essential to our state’s success.” Since then, lawmakers have worked to enact his recommendations, but the proposals have faced roadblocks on […]

The post Missouri’s governor made access to child care a top priority. Where do his proposals stand? appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Farm and commodity trade association leaders lobbied for updating commodity programs and strengthening crop insurance programs at a Tuesday hearing of the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry committee. The industry officials said federal crop insurance and the Department of Agriculture’s Price Loss Coverage and Agriculture Risk Coverage programs are not serving as a “true […]

The post Agriculture leaders urge a stronger farm safety net at U.S. Senate farm bill hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Senate Democrats blocked a vote Tuesday night on a wide-ranging bill that would put St. Louis city’s police department and part of the city’s prosecutor’s office under state control. After nine hours of a Democrat-led filibuster, Republicans set the bill aside for the night. The legislative session ends May 12 at 6 p.m. Republicans argued […]

The post State takeover of St. Louis police, prosecutor’s office blocked by Senate Democrats appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Members of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee used a Tuesday hearing on the Interior Department’s fiscal 2024 budget to voice their displeasure with the administration’s energy production policies to Secretary Deb Haaland. The strongest criticism came from Republicans on the panel, though Chairman Joe Manchin III, a centrist West Virginia Democrat with […]

The post Interior secretary under fire at U.S. Senate hearing over oil and gas leases, public lands appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices should follow a strict code of ethics when receiving gifts and travel or doing business with political funders and attorneys, argued Democratic senators Tuesday at a hearing that Chief Justice John Roberts declined to attend. After a spate of investigative articles detailing Justice Clarence Thomas’ luxury travel and real […]

The post After revelations of luxury trips, Democrats argue U.S. Supreme Court needs ethics code appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Legislation considered essential to fund Missouri’s environmental regulatory agency now includes an amendment that could drastically hinder efforts to protect the state’s rivers from pollution. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources calls the issue — nonpoint source pollution —“the greatest threat to the state’s waters,” according to its website. The amendment, which was added in […]

The post Critics decry Missouri bill they argue jeopardizes efforts to prevent river pollution appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A prescription drug that helps Lore Wilkinson walk and talk despite a rare muscle disease cost her so little for more than a decade that she didn’t even use her insurance to pay for it. But now, her Medicare insurance is shelling out about $40,000 for a one-month supply of the drug, and she fears […]

The post A bitter battle over the ‘orphan drug’ program leaves patients’ pocketbooks at risk appeared first on Missouri Independent.

I was talking to a cannabis business owner I’ve known for a while and respect. The man, who is white, told me he refused to use the term “marijuana” because it’s racist.  It was one of my first conversations on the cannabis beat, which I’ve been on for a month now. And my mind was […]

The post Why some people believe ‘marijuana’ is a racist word, and why it doesn’t offend me appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case from New Jersey commercial fishermen next term that could significantly constrain federal agencies’ rulemaking, the court said Monday. The order announcing the court would hear the case, an appeal from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals initially brought by New Jersey fishing operations that objected to paying for federal […]

The post U.S. Supreme Court to hear N.J. fishing case that could limit federal agency powers appeared first on Missouri Independent.