More states are loosening vaccine mandates, scaling back vaccine promotion efforts and taking other steps likely to lower vaccination rates — even as a major measles outbreak spreads in Texas. Meanwhile, public health experts worry that the confirmation of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human […]
German chemical giant Bayer is improperly using a court order to hide details of a “propaganda” campaign targeting Missouri lawmakers and potential jurors, an emergency motion to lift the confidentiality cloak claims. In a case pending in Cole County Circuit Court, attorney Matt Clement is arguing that 46 “public relations” documents designated as confidential by […]
Only in Missouri do state politicians think they are better suited to run city police departments than local elected leaders. There is zero evidence to support that premise. Yet the Missouri House just voted to place the St. Louis Police Department back under state control, even though a hefty 64% of voters liberated it from […]
The Missouri Supreme Court on Friday suspended an associate circuit judge for a year without pay for leaving numerous cases unresolved for years, leaving families in limbo on divorces, child support and custody and, in one case, potentially pushing a home into foreclosure. The court imposed the suspension on Associate Circuit Judge Joe Don McGaugh […]
The immigrant detainee, a client of Rekha Sharma-Crawford, would have to be moved. Chase County Detention Center was full. Located in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, it’s the largest detainee holding center in the region contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Sharma-Crawford, a longtime immigration attorney, saw something more foreboding when she heard the […]
A Republican lawmaker is holding up confirmation of Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s pick to lead the social services department until she gets answers from the agency about chronic problems that have plagued the foster care system for years and what she says has been the agency’s failure to implement laws designed to help. State Sen. […]
I’ve written twice about the dangerous misunderstanding that you can’t get a divorce in Missouri while pregnant. Though I’ve yelled about the fact that Missouri’s law is not unique and there is no current law barring a judge from granting a dissolution during pregnancy, I’m in favor of the legislature making that more explicit in […]
Two of Missouri’s nine Planned Parenthood clinics are poised to start performing regularly-scheduled surgical abortions next week, though clinic leadership says access to medication abortions is in the hands of the state. The first elective abortion in Missouri since the procedure was banned in 2022 was performed earlier this month in a Kansas City Planned […]
The first spending bill of the year — almost $2 billion to fund state agencies through June 30 — was approved Thursday by the Missouri House Budget Committee. The supplemental appropriation bill includes money to make sure public schools receive their full allocation under the foundation formula, $103 million for federally financed summer food programs […]
Legislation that would remove the expiration date on a pair of laws affecting transgender minors passed the Missouri Senate Thursday after a fight by Senate Democrats. It now heads to the Missouri House for consideration. The bill in question, which contained a litany of provisions removing sunset dates for various programs, would make permanent a […]
A little-known quirk of Missouri’s sales tax law means that retailers charge a higher rate for a hot dog purchased off a roller than for a cold sandwich. Both are meant for immediate consumption. But the cold sandwich can be purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, better known as food stamps, while the hot […]
People with disabilities are worried about the fate of federal protections as a lawsuit involving 17 attorneys general — including Missouri’s Andrew Bailey — takes aim at a 50-year-old disability-rights law. The lawsuit, which was filed in September, targets additions to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act added under the Biden administration. Disability-rights groups began […]
While Missouri House Republicans have rallied behind a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban abortion but allow some exceptions for survivors of rape and incest, a similar proposal in the Senate received push-back Wednesday from a Republican lawmaker and anti-abortion activists. The Senate Families, Seniors and Health Committee on Wednesday heard testimony on a proposed […]
The secretary whose employment at the Missouri state public defender’s office nearly derailed the agency’s entire budget has been terminated, clearing away legislative opposition during a committee hearing on Wednesday.
How much it will cost to regulate intoxicating hemp products on sale in bars and liquor stores across the state has become a key flashpoint of the debate in the Missouri legislature. Year after year, hemp business owners and distributors have asked the state to impose age restrictions and testing requirements for intoxicating hemp products […]
Lt. Gov. David Wasinger ran as a “conservative outsider” aiming to shake things up in the capital city. In his first few weeks on the job, Wasinger has worked at developing friends and supporters in the Senate while setting public safety and government efficiency as his top priorities. In the 2024 primary, Wasinger beat two […]
A direct-mail campaign targeting opponents of a bill intended to shelter Bayer from lawsuits alleging its herbicide Roundup causes cancer appears to be backfiring. Nine state senators targeted by flyers sent to their constituents held a news conference Tuesday to denounce the effort and say their opposition is growing stronger because of the attacks. “What […]
A bill to create three new child care tax credits received initial approval by the Missouri House on Tuesday. A similar measure received bipartisan support last year but fell victim to Republican infighting in the Senate. The measure would help employers foot the bill for their employees’ child care costs and encourage existing providers to […]
Proposed cuts to Medicaid being considered by the Republican-controlled Congress could create a massive budget shortfall in Missouri, the director of the state Medicaid program told lawmakers on Tuesday.
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