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Missouri lawmakers must adjourn for the year at 6 p.m. on Friday, leaving just five days to complete work on some of the highest-profile — and controversial — items on the GOP supermajority’s agenda.  And while the last two legislative sessions were defined in their final week by the simmering tension between Republicans in the […]

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Retired Missouri employee Rick Dahl draws over $467,000 a year from his state government pension. How did he end up drawing such a generous guaranteed lifetime benefit? Dahl served as the chief investment officer of the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System, also known as MOSERS, from 1995 until 2016. MOSERS retirees receive pensions based on […]

The post Former MOSERS employee draws nearly $500K a year from state pension appeared first on Missouri Independent.

With just about an hour to spare before the constitutional deadline, Missouri lawmakers on Friday approved a record state budget of almost $51 billion that increases pay for highway patrol troopers and direct care workers and one of the biggest boosts in years for higher education. The $50.7 billion spending plan headed to Gov. Mike […]

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Hippos Cannabis has a 40,000-square-foot production facility in Vienna, Mo., a town of 600 people that’s just 30 minutes north of Rolla. Since Missouri’s recreational marijuana sales began in February, they’ve added 25 workers, bringing the total employees to 70 — who come from Vienna or the surrounding communities. “A lot of the employees were […]

The post Missouri marijuana sales top $350 million during first three months of legalization appeared first on Missouri Independent.

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.