JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have approved new legal protections against coronavirus lawsuits as one of the final actions of their 2021 session. The bill passed Friday would shield hospitals, manufacturers and other businesses from lawsuits over alleged wrongdoing during the pandemic. The bill now goes to Gov. Mike Parson, who made it
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have passed legislation taking aim at the defund-the-police movement. A bill given final approval Friday would allow people to sue local governments that cut police budgets by more than 12% compared to other departments over a five-year period. The bill also includes other protections for police, including a
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri senators have passed a bill to block local police from enforcing federal gun laws. The Republican-led state Senate on Thursday voted 22-10 in favor of the bill. The GOP-led House now faces a Friday deadline to pass the legislation. The measure would penalize local police agencies if their officers
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have passed legislation that would impose greater oversight of unlicensed boarding schools and residential care facilities for children. The vote Monday by the House sends the bill to Gov. Mike Parson. The legislation comes after allegations of long-running abuse at some facilities. In March, Attorney General Eric Schmitt
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have passed legislation that could keep the names of state lottery winners secret. State House members Jay Mosely said Thursday that the intent of his bill is to keep winners from being harassed or threatened. The bill, which won final approval Wednesday, would make it a misdemeanor crime
Continue Reading Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday that Missouri will not expand Medicaid coverage to an estimated 275,000 low-income residents who were set to become eligible for the program July 1. Missouri voters in August approved a state constitutional amendment to expand the program, but Parson said the legislature did not fund the expansion, make it unconstitutional.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers are advancing bills that would require out-of-state online stores to collect sales taxes. The GOP-led House and Senate both passed slightly different versions of the proposal Wednesday. Both measures include income tax cuts to offset the expected increase in revenue. Missouri is the only state that hasn’t approved
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The bill now heads to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk.
Continue Reading JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Senate has voted to limit when police can use chokeholds. The bill’s 31-2 bipartisan passage Wednesday in the GOP-led Senate represents a rare step by state lawmakers to take action in response to police violence. Little has been done by Missouri’s Republican Legislature since a white Ferguson police
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has passed a pared-down school voucher bill after a similar measure went to the governor last week. The GOP-led House on Tuesday voted 79-72 in favor of adding the pruned proposal to another bill. Both measures would create a tax credit program to pay for kids to
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri is closer than ever to joining every other state in having a statewide prescription drug database to flag possible opioid misuse. The House on Tuesday voted 91-64 to send Gov. Mike Parson legislation that would create such a program. Parson has said he supports prescription monitoring programs. The proposal
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has passed a bill to legalize needle-exchange programs. The House voted 101-55 for the bill Monday. Needle-exchange programs allow drug users to trade used hypodermic needles for clean ones. The aim is to stop people from reusing dirty needles or sharing needles with others, which can spread
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Last week the Missouri House approved a proposal to designate Jan. 12 as Rush Limbaugh Day.
Continue Reading State Rep. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, took to the House floor Thursday to praise Rush Limbaugh as the chamber voted on creating a day in his honor.
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has voted in favor of creating “Rush Limbaugh Day.” The GOP-led House on Thursday tacked the provision on another bill, which then passed the chamber. Several Missouri state lawmakers have proposed honoring the late Limbaugh every Jan. 12, his birthday. The Cape Girardeau native gained national fame
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have approved a tax credit program to pay for kids to go to private schools. The Republican-led Senate voted 20-13 Thursday to send the bill to Gov. Mike Parson. Under the program, private donors would give money to nonprofits that in turn would dole out scholarships. Donors would get
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to a bill that would make the Missouri National Guard its own department within state government. The bill passed Wednesday by the House now goes to Gov. Mike Parson. It previously passed the Senate. The National Guard currently is part of the state Department
Continue Reading JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have passed a bill to limit public access to a number of government records. The Republican-led House on Wednesday voted 154-1 to send the bill to Gov. Mike Parson. The measure would allow government agencies to close public access to mailing lists with people’s addresses and phone numbers.
Continue Reading The Republican-led House voted 98-50 to pass the bill.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has voted in favor of barring state and local officials from putting any restrictions on businesses, churches or other non-public entities during public health emergencies, except in certain circumstances. The Republican-led House voted 117-23 to send the bill to the Senate ahead of a May 14 deadline to
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