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WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee quibbled Thursday over spending on crop insurance and ad-hoc disaster relief, previewing potential fights in the 2023 farm bill. Legislators of both parties emphasized their support at a Thursday hearing for better funding programs that protect underserved producers, and accounting for future natural disasters […]

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WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats on Thursday urged the GOP lawmakers running the new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government to work with them on genuine oversight investigations that weren’t political or focused on leveling grievances. Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said during the panel’s first hearing that the subcommittee “could conceivably […]

The post New U.S. House weaponization panel to probe FBI, IRS, ATF appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The state of our health care is improving, but as President Joe Biden might say, we need to “finish the job!” In his State of the Union speech, Biden recounted the significant list of America’s health care accomplishments under his administration. Here are some highlights: More Americans have health insurance than ever. A record-setting 16.3 […]

The post The state of our health care appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Three Missouri agencies are investigating a multidisciplinary care center in St. Louis catering to transgender children and adolescents after a former employee detailed her experience as a case manager. The whistleblower, Jamie Reed, provided a sworn affidavit about her time at the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital earlier this week to […]

The post Missouri agencies launch investigation into health center for transgender youth appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State employees are one step closer to receiving their biggest raise in years — perhaps ever — after the Missouri House gave first-round approval Thursday to a $627 million supplemental appropriations bill. The nearly unanimous vote, with only two Republicans voting against the bill, shows the plan for across-the-board 8.7% raises has broad support. The […]

The post Missouri state employee pay raise advances with vote on spending bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri lawmakers advanced a proposal Thursday that would give the governor the ability to strip the authority of any elected prosecutor to handle violent crime cases. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, would allow the governor to appoint a special prosecutor for five years if the number of homicide cases in any prosecuting […]

The post House passes bill to allow for state takeover of Missouri prosecutor offices appeared first on Missouri Independent.

It would be harder — and more expensive — for the public to get access to some taxpayer-funded government records under legislation debated Thursday by a Missouri Senate committee. The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Andrew Koenig of Manchester, would permit government agencies to withhold more information from the public by creating new exemptions to […]

The post Missouri lawmakers debate limiting access to some public government records appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A U.S. House panel renewed the decades-long fight Wednesday over how standing waters on farmland and other private property should be defined and regulated by federal authorities, with Republicans calling for a pause until the U.S. Supreme Court can provide more clarity. The definition of so-called Waters of the United States, or WOTUS — wetlands […]

The post Longtime tensions over federal wetlands rule return in U.S. House WOTUS hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

There were more than 1,500 disappointed people at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 29, not including visitors from Ohio. On the day the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals to earn their third trip to the Super Bowl in the past four years, 1,550 people tried and failed 4,571 times to place a bet on […]

The post Lawmakers renew push to legalize sports wagering in Missouri appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After days of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the Missouri Senate gave initial approval Wednesday to legislation that included a watered-down version of the GOP-backed ban on so-called “critical race theory.” But the changes weren’t enough to win over Democrats, who allege the bill still runs the risk of being a “tool to bludgeon public schools that are […]

The post Missouri Senate advances ‘Parents Bill of Rights’ with less focus on critical race theory appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Department of Revenue is investigating an income tax scheme the agency says tried to fool the state into issuing $118 million in tax refunds. The plot, first revealed publicly as a footnote in the  Feb. 7 daily revenue report, has been turned over to the department’s Criminal Tax Investigation Bureau, spokeswoman Anne Marie […]

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Missouri Employers Mutual, the state’s largest workers compensation insurer, is seeking to be removed from state control under legislation heard Wednesday in a Missouri House committee. Chief Executive Officer Jim Owen testified that policyholders of the Columbia-based company would see little difference under a revised organizational structure while the company would likely be able to […]

The post Missouri’s largest workers comp insurer seeks legislative approval to become private company appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — After two strong years of growth, U.S. farm income is forecast to drop substantially in 2023 as commodity prices fall and expenses rise, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service reported Tuesday. And with food prices projected to rise into 2023, the nation’s producers will not be reaping the financial benefits. The economic […]

The post USDA projects farm income will fall in 2023 after two robust years appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Neither Gov. Mike Parson nor legislators should get a proposed pay raise for state workers, the Missouri House Budget Committee decided Tuesday. Parson asked lawmakers to approve an 8.7% pay hike, the biggest in living memory, to stem the loss of state workers to the private sector. No state department is fully staffed and some […]

The post Governor, lawmakers removed from plan to hike pay for Missouri state workers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Republican state Sen. Mike Moon was adamant Tuesday that his bill  to prohibit teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity is not a “don’t say gay” bill.  But to Sen. Greg Razer, a Kansas City Democrat and the chamber’s only openly gay member, the label Moon chose for his bill didn’t matter. The […]

The post Missouri Senators debate bill barring discussion of sexual orientation, gender identity in school appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday night is expected in his State of the Union address to call on Congress to work with the administration to address in a bipartisan manner the fentanyl crisis, administration officials said on a call with reporters. Biden will call for expanded access to opioid-related addiction treatment and announce he will […]

The post Biden in State of the Union speech to call for bipartisan action on fentanyl crisis appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Some or all of the $859 million Gov. Mike Parson wants to spend on Interstate 70 improvements could become hostage to legislative pressure on the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to drop a lawsuit over how much it pays employees. Filed in late 2021, the litigation in Cole County seeks to clarify the constitutional provision […]

The post Lawsuit over MoDOT pay plan could put roadblock into Missouri governor’s plan for I-70 appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate approved a bill Monday that would allow state agencies to waive regulations they believe are hindering certain businesses. The bill, which has raised fears among environmental advocates that it could undermine health and safety regulations, now heads to the Missouri House, which is already working on its own version.  Missouri legislators have […]

The post Missouri Senate approves bill creating program to waive regulations for eligible startups appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As Americans continue to struggle with high credit card rates, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed a rule to help lessen some of their financial burden — in the form of lower late fees.  The new rule would limit late fees to $8. Currently credit card companies can charge as high as $41 — […]

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The Department of Mental Health canceled a $16 million project to renovate a building at Fulton State Hospital for use as a sex offender treatment center because there is no realistic expectation of finding staff to run it. Lawmakers appropriated the money last year from federal COVID-19 recovery funds. Department Director Valerie Huhn told legislative […]

The post Vacancies, turnover leave thousands of jobs unfilled in Missouri state government appeared first on Missouri Independent.