Governor of Missouri Archives

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Will Missouri’s gas tax increase be worth it?

July 14, 2021 1:34 AM ABC 17 News Team

Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday held ceremonial signings across the state of a law that will increase Missouri’s gas tax by 12.5 cents over five years.

Parson signs gas tax increase meant to boost transportation funding

July 13, 2021 3:27 PM Chanel Porter

The bill will provide about $500 million more each year to the Missouri Department of Transportation for roads and bridges by increasing the gas tax by 2.5 cents every year for a five-year period.

Missouri governor vetoes public records bill

July 9, 2021 3:49 PM Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has vetoed a bill that would have limited public access to certain government records. Parson vetoed the bill Friday. The measure would have allowed Missouri government agencies to close off public access to people’s addresses and phone numbers provided for mailing lists. More broadly, the bill

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Should vaccination teams go door to door in coronavirus hot spots?

July 9, 2021 2:08 AM ABC 17 News Team

President Joe Biden this week announced plans to send volunteer teams door to door in some areas to get more Americans vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Details released on CDC surge teams already deployed to Missouri

July 8, 2021 5:44 AM Molly Stawinoga

Federal surge teams are in Missouri to help with the rising cases, low vaccination rates, and the spread of the Delta variant.

Missouri Gov. Parson signs bill for to-go cocktails

July 7, 2021 8:08 PM Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri restaurants will be able to sell to-go cocktails permanently under a new law. Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday signed the legislation into law. Missouri had eased restrictions on to-go mixed drinks during the coronavirus pandemic as a way to help struggling restaurants maintain business. The new law makes

Gov. Parson signs COVID-19 liability bill

July 7, 2021 11:23 AM Josie Anglin

Gov. Mike Parson will ceremoniously sign Senate Bill 51 at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the State Capitol.

Missouri seeks damage assessments across 17 counties in preparation for federal disaster declaration request

July 6, 2021 7:24 PM Karl Wehmhoener

JEFFERSON CITY, MO. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Parson announced that Missouri has requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to participate in joint Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) in 17 counties in response to severe storms and flooding. Teams will survey the damage that began on June 19 with severe weather and continued through July 1 in

Missourians to rally Thursday, when voter-approved Medicaid expansion was supposed to take effect

July 1, 2021 5:58 AM Zola Crowder

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) On Thursday, the day Medicaid expansion would have taken effect, Missourians plan to rally outside the Governors Mansion at 11 a.m. Missourians in support of expansion plan to share their personal health care stories during the rally. Missouri Jobs with Justice has set up a hotline where Missourians can express their

Parson signs bill requiring online sales tax collection

June 30, 2021 3:06 PM Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gov. Mike Parson has signed a bill to require online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by Missouri residents. Parson signed the bill Wednesday. Missouri is the last state with a sales tax to approve such a requirement. Buyers are still required to pay sales taxes. But many

Mo. Supreme Court sides against state in open records case

June 29, 2021 6:10 PM Karl Wehmhoener

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Public governmental bodies in Missouri cannot charge fees for the time attorneys spend redacting documents prior to their release to the public, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the court ruling noted that the Missouri Sunshine Law allows officials to charge requestors for “research”

New Missouri law makes it a crime to reveal lottery winners

June 29, 2021 3:27 PM Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has signed legislation that could keep the identity of lottery winners secret. The bill signed Tuesday makes it a misdemeanor crime for Missouri Lottery officials or contractors to release the name, address or any identifying information about anyone who wins the lottery, unless the winner asks

Governor presents emergency loan to Fulton for utility spike during February cold snap

June 29, 2021 5:38 AM Zola Crowder

Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday presented a Municipal Utility Emergency Loan Program check to the City of Fulton for energy spike costs incurred during a February cold snap.

Cole County judge sides with state in Medicaid lawsuit

June 23, 2021 2:36 PM Matthew Sanders

The state of Missouri was right not to expand Medicaid eligibility despite a voter-approved constitutional amendment that would open up the program to more people.

Special session set to get underway at noon; Planned Parenthood counters lawmaker claims

June 23, 2021 6:24 AM Zola Crowder

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A special session starts at noon Wednesday with the goal of extending the Federal Reimbursement Allowance, a tax that helps fund Medicaid. Gov. Mike Parson announced the special session Tuesday after setting a noon deadline to reach a deal on extension of the tax that could be passed during a special

Governor calls special session over Medicaid tax to start Wednesday

June 22, 2021 12:13 PM Matthew Sanders

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson will waste no time getting lawmakers into a special session to extend a tax on medical providers that helps fund Medicaid.

Parson says funding restrictions will be necessary if Medicaid tax isn’t reauthorized

June 21, 2021 4:05 PM ABC 17 News Team

Parson’s office said in an advisory sent Monday that the event will focus on the federal reimbursement allowance that helps fund Medicaid.

Parson says new law limiting health order power was ‘consequence’ of coronavirus pandemic overreach

June 15, 2021 4:11 AM Ben Fein

Gov. Mike Parson said a new law limiting local health authorities’ powers to enact orders is needed after some overstepped their bounds during the coronavirus pandemic.

Missouri to end all federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits Saturday

June 11, 2021 4:16 AM Meghan Drakas

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Starting tomorrow, the state is set to end all federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits. Missouri is among the first states to end pandemic-related programs for people who are out of work. At least 24 states led by Republican governors have decided to end pandemic-related unemployment benefits early for residents. The federal program, which

Missouri Department of Natural Resources director dies

June 9, 2021 5:17 PM Karl Wehmhoener

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Carol S. Comer has died. According to the Associated Press, officials did not release a cause of death but Comer announced in July 2019 that she was undergoing chemotherapy to fight cancer. Comer was named director in Jan. 2017 by former Gov. Greitens. The Department