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WASHINGTON — Federal government funding runs out in just a week, Congress hasn’t cleared a short-term measure to avoid a shutdown, despite broad bipartisan support — and the latest holdup is over claims the Biden administration wants to pay for crack pipes as part of  “safe smoking” kits. The stopgap spending bill passed the U.S. […]

The post Short-term federal spending patch held up by Tennessee senator over crack pipe controversy appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A handful of Republican lawmakers lashed out at the state’s medical marijuana industry Thursday, lobbing accusations of corruption into a Missouri House debate over whether to make it harder to amend the state’s Constitution.  On a mostly party-line 98-53 vote, the Missouri House signed off on legislation Thursday that would require a two-thirds vote of […]

The post Criticism of Missouri medical marijuana system seeps into initiative petition debate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

I recently watched hundreds of videos from the Jan. 6 insurrection. Many of the stark moments from the attack on the U.S. Capitol are well-known — the battle at the west terrace tunnel, the shooting of rioter Ashli Babbitt, the desecration of the Senate chamber. But nothing provides the kind of granular and exhaustive understanding of that day like […]

The post What I learned from watching more than 500 Jan. 6 videos | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

State lawmakers have no authority over how the Missouri Department of Transportation spends the state road fund, as long as it is within constitutional limits, an attorney told Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker during a Thursday hearing. Because the Missouri Constitution says the road fund “stands appropriated without legislative action” at the “sole discretion” […]

The post MoDOT seeks ruling to free state road fund from lawmakers’ control appeared first on Missouri Independent.

As a young girl, state Rep. Raychel Proudie remembers when the beads in her hair would clap together as she walked. Her teachers would call it a “distraction” — the same way they did when her hair was “too high.” “You would come home and tell your mom, or she would get a note about […]

The post Missouri bill to prevent hair discrimination advances on eve of Black History Month appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Clean energy tax credits President Joe Biden proposed in his massive domestic spending and climate measure last year would help electric utilities build resilience and transmission lines, utility CEOs told Biden at a White House event Wednesday. But the $1.9 trillion budget measure, which Biden and allies call Build Back Better, is in limbo because […]

The post Electricity CEOs tout Biden clean energy tax credits, despite stalled plan appeared first on Missouri Independent.

After the conservative caucus once again hijacked proceedings in the Missouri Senate Wednesday afternoon over the state’s redistricting plan, a bipartisan group of women senators denounced what they called the “purely political” way the debate has played out so far. Sen. Elaine Gannon, R-De Soto, took to the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon and declared it […]

The post As Missouri redistricting filibuster resumes, women senators decry ‘self serving’ debate appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri House approved a $4.6 billion supplemental spending bill Wednesday that would give all state workers a pay raise.  But lawmakers refused to go along with Gov. Mike Parson’s plan for a $15 an hour base wage for all state employees, instead offering that salary only to select workers.  The bill would also provide […]

The post Missouri House refuses to accept Gov. Parson plan for $15 base pay for state jobs appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Maria Kendall took a break from her job as a cafe manager in 2020 when she decided to do some house hunting on the real estate website Zillow. She looked for a new home in Marshalltown, a city of about 28,000 in Iowa between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. It’s where she lived for more […]

The post This family lost ownership of their house without knowing. Here’s the law that allowed it appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Hours before the Southern Poverty Law Center held a virtual panel Tuesday about recent bomb threats made to dozens of historically Black colleges, yet another bomb threat was reported — this one to Spelman College in Georgia. “This was a racist attack that aims to not only disrupt the start of Black History […]

The post HBCU leaders decry waves of bomb threats as federal investigators probe origin appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Ballot drop boxes are so secure they’ve survived getting hit by an SUV and rolled by a school bus — yet much of the battle over voting rights has centered on the big metal boxes. In the November 2020 general election, nearly 40 states had ballot drop boxes available and more voters used drop boxes than in any […]

The post States target ballot drop boxes in fight over voting rights appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A roughly 31-hour filibuster in the Missouri Senate paused early Wednesday morning, when the chamber adjourned without taking action on the state’s new congressional map.  Just after 12:20 a.m., Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, motioned for senators to adjourn until noon Wednesday, when the redistricting debate is expected to resume.  Before the Senate are […]

The post Missouri’s redrawn congressional map remains in limbo after 31-hour Senate filibuster appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In a case that grew out of a law making it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after eight weeks, the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday said those seeking to force a referendum on new laws can begin collecting signatures as soon as the bill is passed. The ruling threw out statutes […]

The post Missouri Supreme Court tosses laws that blocked 2019 abortion bill referendum appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that a lower court was justified in ordering the state health department to disclose medical marijuana application info that it had argued was confidential. The Department of Health and Senior Services refused to provide applications of businesses who were awarded licenses to grow and sell […]

The post Missouri Supreme Court: Medical marijuana application info must be disclosed in appeals appeared first on Missouri Independent.

While the Missouri Senate is locked in a filibuster over how to draw the state’s congressional districts, the body charged with remaking the map for the chamber’s 34 members is ready to work.  The six judges chosen for the Judicial Redistricting Commission have set a Feb. 17 hearing in Jefferson City for the public to […]

The post Judicial commission begins work on Missouri Senate redistricting appeared first on Missouri Independent.

This story was first published by Kaiser Health News.  Republican Missouri state Sen. Mike Moon believes that COVID-19 vaccinations, especially among children, should cease until the long-term effects are known. He points to the research of sources of COVID misinformation like America’s Frontline Doctors and Dr. Robert Malone, a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast. He […]

The post Legislature’s rejection of Missouri governor’s health director shows extent of national rift appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The Missouri Senate voted down a proposed Congressional map that would have carved up a safe Democratic seat in Kansas City to add another in Republicans’ favor, but the redistricting debate stretched into Tuesday morning as the Senate remained deadlocked. After hours of internal caucus discussion that stretched late into the afternoon, the Senate gaveled […]

The post Filibuster continues after Missouri Senate rejects ‘7-1’ redistricting plan appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the American Rescue Plan 10 months ago, creating the most significant infusion of funds for students and local schools in our nation’s history. Nevertheless, the Missouri legislature has yet to move the $1.9 billion to our students who need help overcoming the learning impacts of COVID-19. If lawmakers fail […]

The post Missouri lawmakers need to take swift action on federal education funds | Opinion appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Hundreds of custodians, clerks and cooks working for state agencies would not get the raises Missouri Gov. Mike Parson promised in December under a spending bill approved Monday by the House Budget Committee. On a party line vote, with Republicans supporting the bill and Democrats opposed, the committee approved a spending bill that sets a […]

The post House committee scales back governor’s pay raise plan for Missouri state workers appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A lawyer representing St. Louis told the Missouri Supreme Court on Monday that a state law that forbids the enforcement of federal gun regulations was unconstitutional and an “unintelligible statute” that has confused law enforcement. Robert Dierker, deputy St. Louis city counselor, took issue before the state’s highest court with the Second Amendment Preservation Act, also called SAPA. […]

The post Cities ask Missouri Supreme Court to strike down law targeting federal gun regulations appeared first on Missouri Independent.