Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
Missouri News Network: Statehouse News for MPA Members
This report is written by Missouri School of Journalism students for publication by MPA member newspapers in print and online.
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It was a short week at the Capitol this week but Missouri News Network reporters focused on a rally by progressive groups, update on Senate Democrats filibustering out of frustration over changing floor procedures and several hearings on bills that almost passed last year.
If you have thoughts or questions, contact Fred Anklam at anklamf@missouri.edu.
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THURSDAY
House committee passes bill to eliminate vehicle safety inspections
By Sophia Gromowsky, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — A bill that would eliminate safety inspections for personal vehicles was passed by the House Government Efficiency Committee on Thursday.
The legislation combines seven bills proposed by various House members that sought to relax requirements on the types of vehicles that must be inspected. The new requirements would exempt all noncommercial vehicles, excluding rebuilt salvage vehicles.
Representatives sponsoring the bill and witnesses testifying in support said that eliminating safety inspections would save time for vehicle owners and allow technicians that perform inspections to be more profitable.
Rep. Mazzie Christensen, R-Bethany, the sponsor of one of the main bills combined into the new proposed legislation, said that rural districts have a shortage of mechanics licensed to perform inspections, forcing some constituents to drive up to an hour and a half to reach the closest inspector.
Rep. Jeff Farnan, R-Stanberry, another bill sponsor, said that across the four counties that he represents, there are only six licensed inspectors, making it difficult for vehicle owners to get appointments, creating a backlog.
“Sometimes the legislation that goes through here, for people who are out living their lives everyday, they don’t always see the direct connection,” Camellia Peterson, the legislative director for Americans for Prosperity-Missouri, said in her testimony in support of the bill. “This is something that affects them every day in their lives, costs them money and time.”
Sponsors also pointed to the losses suffered by automotive garages that perform inspections. In Missouri, the maximum fee that can be charged for a vehicle inspection is $12.
Rep. Dean Van Schoiack, R-Savannah, said these low fees make business owners unable to pay their mechanics and detract from time that could be spent doing more profitable work.
He referred to an email he had received from Lee Grant, a business owner who said that his garage had experienced a net labor loss of $193,000 from performing 1,091 inspections in 2025.
The primary concern raised by the bill’s opponents was that eliminating requirements for vehicle safety inspections would lead to higher rates of traffic accidents and fatalities.
“We’ve seen cars out there on the road that have bumpers falling off, they have cracked windshields, they might have a missing door,” said Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire. “Vehicle inspections are not only to keep that person that’s driving safe but to keep the entire public safe.”
Christensen said that vehicle technology has advanced and traffic fatalities have decreased significantly since the time when most of the laws requiring vehicle inspections were passed, making the laws redundant. Missouri’s first law requiring vehicle safety inspections was passed in 1967.
Currently, there are 14 states that do not require periodical safety inspections on personal vehicles.
Lt. Alex Vivas of the Missouri State Highway Patrol testified as an informational witness and pointed the committee towards a study posted on the Missouri State Highway Patrol website which shows that motor vehicle inspections reduce rates of fatality accidents.
The study, conducted independently by Carnegie Mellon University in 2022, found that states with vehicle safety inspection programs tend to have lower fatality rates than states without them and that inspection programs are effective at mitigating roadway fatalities.
There is no date set for when the bill will be presented on the House floor.
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WEDNESDAY
Missourians call for justice in Capitol rally
By Jackson Cooper, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Hundreds of Missourians rallied in support of progressive causes Wednesday afternoon in the Capitol rotunda, loudly insisting their voiices be heard as the legislature begins its annual session.
The rally’s focus was similarly broad, focusing on a litany of recent actions from Missouri Republicans that protesters said disrespected voters and disenfranchised vulnerable citizens.
Organizers joined forces across various political issues, combining to fight together rather than individually targeting single issues.
Amber Binge, an activist and community organizer from St. Louis, stressed the importance of presenting a united front due to the sheer scale of the legislature’s actions.
“No single organization can meet this demand,” Binge told the crowd. “No single issue can be isolated from the other. … These are not separate fights.”
Workers’ rights were a key component of the rally, with various speakers voicing their disappointment and anger that Republican lawmakers have counteracted progressive, voter-approved legislation.
LaTonya Sullivan, a certified nursing assistant from Kansas City who is a member of the Service Employees International Union, said the legislature’s repeal of paid sick leave last May puts her patients in danger.
“I work for a nursing home, so if I go in there sick, I risk getting the elderly sick,” Sullivan said. “It’s not fair to them that they don’t get cared for because I’m sick.”
Amy Minich, an organizer with the United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers, or UAW, stressed the interconnectedness of various social causes to the labor movement, since members of the workforce are impacted by all of them to various degrees.
“When politicians attack abortion care, that’s a labor issue,” Minich said. “When politicians freeze the minimum wage, that’s a labor issue.”
Speakers voiced plenty of other concerns, including dissatisfaction with the state’s response to the May 16 St. Louis tornado, worries that the legislature will restrict health care for LGBTQ+ Missourians and that midterm redistricting of congressional seats would dilute votes across the state.
The rally also expanded beyond Missouri, with attendees at times shifting focus to broader, national political trends. Homemade signs referenced the Epstein files, ICE raids and the Trump administration’s proposed takeover of Greenland, among others, all issues that have drawn the ire of the political left in recent months.
Regardless of the issues bringing them to the Capitol, protesters projected unity throughout the hour-long rally. Call-and-response chants echoed throughout the rotunda as attendees voiced their displeasure.
That spirit of togetherness was crucial for Bill Thompson, a volunteer with labor activism group Stand Up KC, who said that large-scale support is necessary to facilitate change.
“Previously, I’d go to my boss and say ‘Hey, I need a raise,’ and he’d laugh in my face,” Thompson said. “But if I see all my brothers and sisters with Stand Up KC behind me, standing with me in solidarity asking for that raise, it’s no longer an ask — it’s a demand.”
Attendees said they were hopeful that their display Wednesday would help facilitate bipartisan dialogue throughout the legislative session this spring. While Republicans hold a supermajority in both the House and Senate, protesters hoped that their presence would lead to negotiation and compromise.
“My thoughts are not exactly your thoughts,” Sullivan said. “Your thoughts are not my thoughts. But when we all sit down and talk about it, sometimes we come up with a resolution that works for everybody. So why can’t we have those talks?”
If still displeased with government actions after the session, rally participants said that they intend to make their voices heard at the ballot box in November. All U.S. and Missouri House seats are up this year, as well as half of the state Senate seats.
Richard Eiker, a volunteer with the Missouri Workers Center, was optimistic that events like Wednesday’s rally would spark high voter turnout in the upcoming general election.
“I’m hoping that all of this energy can continue forward for the rest of the year into the election, because that’s where our voices can make the biggest impact,” he said.
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Democrats filibuster to delay vote on gubernatorial appointments for second week
By Eric Hughes, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Senate Democrats filibustered Wednesday to stall a vote on gubernatorial appointments, continuing a tactic that they began last week.
The gubernatorial appointments were called to the floor by Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelby, before Sen. Doug Beck, D-Affton, began a filibuster that would last hours.
Missouri Senate Democrats also filibustered for over two hours last Thursday, before the Senate adjourned without a vote.
This tactic, designed to slow down legislation, comes after Missouri Senate Republicans shut down Democratic filibustering with the “previous question” motion four times in the past year. The rarely used motion allowed Senate Republicans to use their supermajority to pass measures on abortion and paid sick leave, while ending debate on the bills.
In September, Senate Republicans again used the motion to pass newly gerrymandered congressional maps and limits on voters’ ability to amend the state constitution.
Because Republicans hold a supermajority with 24 seats in the Senate, Democrats have limited options, besides filibustering, to block Republican-supported legislation. The Senate has until Feb. 6 to approve the appointments as required by a statutory deadline. It is unclear if Republicans would once again resort to using the previous question motion to push the appointees through, or if an alternative could be negotiated with Democrats.
During the filibuster, Beck called for the Senate to work collaboratively for better legislation.
“I know (compromise) is a dirty word sometimes for folks, but at the end of the day, you get a better piece of legislation that comes out of that,” he said.
Beck, who currently serves on the Committee on Gubernatorial Appointments, said he wants to bring back a thorough vetting process to the committee and the Senate as a whole.
“It’s important that we take all of these appointments seriously,” Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City, added. “Our constitutional duty here in the Missouri Senate is advise and consent, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re taking our job seriously and I certainly hope our colleagues will do the same.”
The filibuster continued as Beck called on Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, citing him as “probably the most knowledgeable elected person in this Capitol when it comes to appropriations and the budget.”
Hough was previously removed from his post as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in September 2025 after he voted against Republican redistricting and initiative petition changes during the special session in the same month.
“I voted against those previous question motions in the last special session because ... we didn’t talk about it at all,” Hough said. “I think when you come out and you don’t even introduce the bill, you just cut off debate before it starts, I think we’ve devolved into something that I’m not proud of.”
“If we don’t serve a role to even bring something up and have a conversation, what are we doing here?” he added.
The filibuster began at 1 p.m. and continued into the evening until the Senate adjourned for the day.
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Access to affordable prescriptions at the heart of debate over pharmacy bill
By Laine Cibulskis, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Patients would have more flexibility when it comes to pharmacy care under two bills debated by legislators Wednesday.
The proposed legislation covers a range of proposals to regulate pharmacy benefit managers, the companies that manage prescription drug benefits for insurers and large employers.
The main focus of the hearing was access to care, which critics said is limited by the benefit manager system.
Independent pharmacists from across the state also testified that the benefit managers prioritize pharmacies affiliated with their own companies.
Amy Mitchell, a pharmacy owner from Cuba, said during the hearing that she could no longer treat a 79-year-old patient prescribed over a dozen medications because the patient’s pharmacy benefit manager forced the patient to use their own mail order pharmacy. After the first delayed arrival, the patient was hospitalized.
“It happened a second time. After that second time, he was in the hospital, he was put into nursing care. Then he later passed. That was my father, and it was very heart-wrenching for me,” Mitchell said in support of Senate Bill 984, sponsored by Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby.
Other independent pharmacists emphasized their presence in areas where health care can be more difficult to access, as well as the community element to their businesses.
“We know our patients and we take care of them. That sounds good, doesn’t it? Sounds like a place where you’d want your parents, children to get their medication, probably where you’d like to get yours too. But many Missourians don’t get that choice,” said Laura Kingsley, pharmacist and partner at Kilgores Medical Pharmacy. Kingsley spoke in support of SB 968, Sen. Travis Fitzwater’s, R-Holts Summit, proposal to address the issue.
Opposition came from representatives of organizations including a union, Missouri’s chamber of commerce, and coalitions for both pharmacy benefit managers and insurance companies.
Mark Dalton of the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council said the union’s pharmacy benefit manger-affiliated plan allows them to choose what’s best for their members and demand transparency themselves. “ ... That’s what we’re asking for. It’s just to be able to set up our plan that works best for our members, just the way other witnesses (at the hearing) set up their plan that’s best for their own employees,” Dalton said.
Phil Christofanelli represents over 20 pharmacy benefit managers and said during the hearing that Fitzwater’s proposal, which would let patients choose any medication provider, could be more expensive.
Transparency was one theme brought up by both sides, but for different reasons. One witness testified that large pharmacy benefit managers keep a sizable amount of the revenue generated by prescriptions.
“Study after study shows that, and we would like the transparent data to also back that up,” Abe Funk, owner of John’s Pharmacy, said.
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Senate hears three bills aiming to increase penalties for sexual offenses
Emerson Smith, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Three bills about sexual offenses were heard Wednesday, one of which would make grooming and “sextortion” chargeable offenses.
The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence also heard testimony on two other bills related to sexual offenses.
Senate Bill 893, sponsored by Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby, focuses on creating new sexual offense charges for “sextortion” and grooming.
Sophie’s Law is the name for the provision that would allow law enforcement to charge adult individuals with the offense of grooming if they engage in conduct, including at least one overtly sexual act towards a minor. The provision is named for Sophie Royer, who was groomed by an older man and whose sister spoke in favor of the bill on Wednesday.
The Evan’s Voice Act, another provision of the bill, would create harsher punishments for the nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images. The bill is named for Evan Boettler, who died by suicide after being coerced into sending personal, sexually explicit photos to someone who threatened to send them to people he knew if he did not pay blackmail money.
“(The bill) represents a critical step forward in modernizing Missouri’s laws to better combat sexual offenses and protect our most vulnerable citizens, especially children,” Carter said.
The bill received an overwhelming amount of public support during the hearing, including numerous testimonies from victims, law enforcement, prosecutors and Rapha International, a nonprofit fighting child trafficking and sexual abuse.
“We see the aftereffects sexual abuse has on children and their entire families when grooming alone is what has happened, it is damaging enough,” said Angie Brower, survivor care director and clinical supervisor for Rapha International.
Other bills that the committee heard related to restrictions for high-risk sex offenders and sex offender registry laws.
SB 969 focuses on making changes to Missouri’s Public Safety Law, specifically keeping high-risk sex offenders away from schools and school events regardless of parental status.
The bill would prevent tier three sex offenders from entering school grounds, even if their child is enrolled at the school. It also expands court protections for minor violent crime victims by allowing them to attend court virtually.
“We’re providing another avenue for victims to be in front of the court, to hopefully provide justice to the folks that have victimized them,” said Sen. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, who is the bill’s sponsor.
SB 982, sponsored by Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, would make changes to the duration offenders would be required to register as sex offenders. The bill would require anyone who has committed a tier one, two or three sexual offence since 1979 to register as a sex offender, and provides a modified system for offenders to be removed from the registry.
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House committee hears bills related to gender-affirming care
By Faith Jacoby, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The House Committee on Emerging Issues is considering bills that would eliminate sunset provisions on restrictions on prescribing sex change hormones and participation in sporting events in other than an individual’s birth gender.
The provisions would disappear on Aug. 28, 2027, under a compromise reached between Democrats and Republicans when the laws were passed in 2023. The bills seek to extend the prohibitions forever.
The committee held a hearing Tuesday on four house bills, sponsored by Reps. Melissa Schmidt, R-Wright, Hardy Billington, R-Butler, Jamie Gragg, R-Christian, and Brian Seitz, R-Taney, would repeal the expiration clause so that the prohibition of health care providers prescribing cross-sex hormones or puberty blocking drugs to individuals under 18, will remain in effect.
The committee heard testimonies from those in support and against the sunset provisions, sparking heated debate throughout the hearing.
Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs, D-St. Louis City, spoke out against the bills and the use of religious language and beliefs as justification in favor of them.
“What if I don’t want your prayers?” Fuchs said. “I want my rights.”
“We’re not all Christians in this state,” Fuchs said. ‘We’re not all trying to uphold deeply held religious beliefs, we’re trying to live and experience life and have our rights.”
The House bills, 2033, 1608, 1672 and 1854, also specify that prescriptions given prior to Aug. 28, 2023, will no longer be considered valid.
Three house bills, sponsored by Reps. Seitz, Billington and Bennie Cook, R-Phelps, would repeal the sunset provisions on laws requiring students to compete in athletics competitions designated for the student’s biological sex, as indicated on the student’s official birth certificate.
“It’s a matter of fairness to me,” Seitz said. “And I want the young ladies to be able to compete on a level playing field.”
The House bills, 1663, 1607 and 1973, make the exception that female students may participate in athletics competitions designated for male students if no corresponding competition for female students is offered.
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Angel investments pitched to Senate committee
By Anika Austvold, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a proposal to spur investment in Missouri companies.
The bill, called the Angel Investor Incentive Act, is sponsored by Sen. Kurtis Gregory, R-Marshall. It would allow an investor to claim a tax credit worth 40% of their investment in a qualified business, or 50% if the business is located in a rural county.
Gregory said that his bill, SB 1004, aims to incentivize investors to devote resources to what are seen as high risk but high growth companies.
With several border states, such as Illinois, Kansas and Tennessee, already establishing angel investment credits to successfully spur early investment, many startup companies are leaving Missouri. However, within the past five years, startups have been responsible for 80% of the job growth within Missouri, Gregory said.
Ben Johnson of NEXT Missouri, a coalition of Missouri-based entrepreneurs, testified in support of the bill.
“If we want to drive growth in Missouri, this credit is a tool to keep capital here and lock in the long-term growth of the economy in the state by leveraging the innovation skills of Missourians,” Johnson said.
Jared Hankinson, the vice president of public affairs for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, also testified in favor of the bill. He said that funding innovation not only aids Missouri, but can also leave lasting effects on the country.
According to a summary of the bill, no individual can get more than $75,000 in credits for contributions made to a single business. There is a $300,000 limit on credits that can be claimed by any investor overall.
If passed by lawmakers, the Angel Investment Program would run until 2033, unless reauthorized by the General Assembly. The Missouri Technology Corporation, which is part of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, would administer the program, which is limited to $6 million in tax credits for the first two years.
This act is identical to that of HB 235, which was approved by a House committee last year.
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Farm Bureau, landowners raise concerns over proposed mid-Missouri powerline
By Jana Rose Schleis, Missouri News Network
Ameren Missouri wants to construct a nearly 30-mile transmission line through Callaway and Montgomery counties, prompting concerns from the Missouri Farm Bureau and some landowners.
In order to build the new line, the electric utility needs to expand its footprint by acquiring land from 94 property owners along the route. The company is going through the process of earning approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates corporate utilities.
Late last month, the Missouri Farm Bureau became party to Ameren’s case before state utility regulators to build the powerline that would eventually connect to the much-challenged multi-state Grain Belt Express.
If approved, the nearly 30-mile mid-Missouri line adjacent to Interstate 70 would meet up with another proposed powerline called the “Tiger Connector” and then so on to the Grain Belt Express, a high-voltage transmission line intended to carry energy from Kansas, through Missouri and Illinois, to Indiana. But Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins said he thinks Ameren’s plan is premature.
“It’s only needed if there is a Tiger Connector line in place, and at this point there isn’t a Tiger Connector, and there can’t be a Tiger Connector until there’s a main line for the Grain Belt Express,” Hawkins said. “So it seems like the cart is before the horse.”
The Grain Belt Express has been touted as the “biggest transmission line in U.S. history” and is expected to add 5 gigawatts of energy to the system — the equivalent of four nuclear power plants — according to Invenergy, the company behind the project.
Largely due to concerns of landowner property rights, Missouri Farm Bureau officials have consistently spoken out against the Grain Belt Express.
“We continue to oppose an out of state company coming into Missouri, being granted the use of eminent domain to acquire private property and profit on the backs of our landowners for decades to come,” Hawkins said. “We believe that’s wrong.”
Hawkins said by participating in the case, his organization will push for transparency on the proposed powerlines and the larger transmission project it would feed.
“Ameren Missouri has a long history of constructively engaging with stakeholders when building energy projects in our state,” Ameren project manager Sam Gardner said in a statement to KBIA. “We are required by federal regulation to develop this grid infrastructure that will support new, third-party energy sources.”
Gardner has previously said Invenergy is “paying for the vast majority of this upgrade.” In testimony submitted to the Missouri Public Service Commission, Gardner highlighted benefits the new line could bring to local energy users.
“The Project will increase transmission capacity that ensures energy reliability and resiliency for Ameren Missouri customers by providing flexibility to re-route power during outages while crews safely make repairs,” Gardner said. “The additional transmission capacity will also support economic development opportunities to Ameren Missouri customers.”
Living among the lines
When attorney Brent Haden talks to urban or suburban residents about concerns over transmission lines in rural communities, he stresses that they’re unique.
“These are not standard model, residential style electrical lines that run power to your house that are in every neighborhood,” Haden said. “These are these massive overhead lines that you probably have only seen, if you’re a suburban or urban resident, when you come out (to) the country.”
Haden, a Missouri Farm Bureau member, said high-voltage transmission lines can be a “massive inconvenience” for landowners. He’s litigated a number of eminent domain cases between rural landowners and power companies. Ameren’s proposed mid-Missouri transmission project hits close to home for him, literally.
“This has obviously become a lot more personal because it’s going to cross my property, and so I’m now living through what lots of people I’ve worked with and helped over the years have also gone through,” he said.
Haden manages a herd of cattle and horses on his land in Callaway County. An Ameren transmission line currently runs through the property and the utility plans to build a new 30-mile powerline parallel to the existing infrastructure.
Ameren will need a 150-foot wide swath of land under and alongside the proposed powerline to maintain and access the infrastructure. Haden said this would be in addition to the 150-foot easement the utility already owns for an existing transmission line on his property.
“Most of the easement area will only have overhanging wires, and farmers can continue to use the land under the transmission lines,” Jennifer Spurlock, a real estate agent for Ameren, said in testimony submitted to the Missouri Public Service Commission.
“It is quite common for grazing and other livestock activities to co-exist around transmission line structures,” she said.
The proposal for the new powerline is under review by the Missouri Public Service Commission. Ameren expects state utility regulators to weigh in on the project by mid-May. If approved, the powerline could be in service by 2030.
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Senate hears updates on FY 2026 supplemental funding following budget director apology
By Alex Gribb, Columbia Missourian
State Budget Director Dan Haug apologized for a mistake in the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget ahead of a hearing Wednesday on this year’s $3.3 billion supplemental budget.
Haug announced Tuesday in the House that he had accidentally undercounted the expected general revenue surplus by $261 million. He apologized again today to the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
When Gov. Mike Kehoe’s budget was announced earlier this month, projections indicated that the state would only have $4.7 million in general revenue surplus at the end of the coming fiscal year.
Haug’s mistake has been corrected, updating the supplemental fund to $265.7 million. Haug said this correction shouldn’t be interpreted as an increase in revenue. Rather, the reserve is already allocated to other funds.
“We still have the same issues that this budget is taking the first step to address, but there will be additional steps needed to address that in the (fiscal year) 2028 and probably the (fiscal year) 29 budget,” Haug said.
During the hearing on the supplemental budget, Haug noted some of the higher-cost items. The supplemental budget provides mid-year funding for the current fiscal year’s budget, in this case fiscal year 2026, to cover the costs of unforeseen expenses.
The proposed supplemental budget includes an additional $86 million for disaster relief in St. Louis and a total of $37 million in funding for special education students’ transportation and education costs for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Special Education.
Another of the proposals would provide $118 million in funding to Medicaid Home and Community Based Services. Department of Health and Senior Services Director Sarah Wilson said this funding would help an increasing number of seniors who may require at-home care. Missouri’s elderly population is going to outnumber its younger population by 2034, Wilson said.
“We do anticipate needing to provide these services on a larger scale,” Wilson said. “It is more cost-effective to try to keep people in their homes with the supports and services needed versus long-term care facilities.”
The supplemental budget also includes $132 million in federal and state funding as part of the Rural Health Transformation program, which gives grants to qualifying rural health care providers with the intent to stabilize health care in rural areas.
Haug recommended that lawmakers approve these funds by March 15, which would allow for a more immediate dispersal of funds for World Cup proceedings in Kansas City and federal disaster funds for St. Louis following a tornado in May 2025.
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TUESDAY
House seeks to certify its security guards as peace officers
By Emily Skidmore, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — A bill that would allow security guards in each chamber of the Missouri General Assembly to have the full power of law enforcement as peace officers was heard on Tuesday.
House Bill 1997, sponsored by Rep. Bill Irwin, R-Lee’s Summit, outlines the potential creation of a security team for each chamber, granting current and future security guards the full powers of law enforcement, including the authority to make arrests. It would also allow the security guard to carry firearms when necessary.
The Missouri Capitol currently has a police force through the Missouri Capitol Police, who are responsible for securing the grounds as well as numerous state-owned buildings in Jefferson City. As outlined in the Missouri Constitution, Capitol Police are already authorized to make arrests.
Irwin’s bill would extend the powers of law enforcement to the security guards, who are currently responsible for monitoring doors into each chamber. The bill would also require them to complete the Peace Officer Standards and Training program to be hired. The program is responsible for licensing peace officers and ensuring continued law enforcement education.
According to Irwin’s testimony during the committee hearing, the bill would also grant these security guards qualified immunity for certain actions during high-threat situations when officers need to physically remove someone from the House gallery.
Irwin noted to the House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee that qualified immunity is necessary for the House security team to do their job properly and “not fear for their future” if possible charges for their actions arise.
Irwin cited an incident last year when a security officer was charged by a protester after the protester was physically removed from the gallery.
“This bill mitigates risk, ensuring all who work or visit the Capitol are safe in this environment,” Irwin said.
Because the bill would put these requirements into state law, Irwin said it would also enable information sharing between state and federal law enforcement agencies and the security guards.
The bill is similar to HB 2107, sponsored by Rep. Richard West, R-Wentzville, which would also allow the security guards in each chamber to carry firearms when needed and require security guards to be certified as peace officers. West’s bill was passed last week in the House Corrections and Public Institutions Committee.
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House Committee hears bills on pregnancy, abortion
By Kennedy Voss, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The House Committee on Children and Families held hearings Tuesday on several bills that failed to pass last year, including one allowing pregnant women to file for divorce.
House bills 1908 and 2337 would allow a pregnant woman to file for divorce, and were sponsored respectively by Reps. Cecelie Williams, R-Dittmerm, and Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson.
“One of the most important things is that with the Equal Rights Act, Missouri never ratified, so it’s not in our constitution that women have the same rights as men in Missouri,” Williams said. “That means that we have to change statutes like this one at a time.”
The bills received wide public support, with testimonies from associations of social workers, lawyers, Planned Parenthood and a battered women’s shelter.
“Pregnancy can be an especially risky time for a woman experiencing domestic violence, as many women report that the abuse started or intensified when they became pregnant,” said Jessica Hill, chief public affairs officer for the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.
“This bill will provide judges the option to finalize divorce and help prevent abusive partners from controlling access to safety and care for both moms and babies,” Hill added. “Thank you for your consideration of this important legislation.”
Similar legislation passed the House last year but stalled in the Senate.
Other bills that the committee heard relate to standards of care for abortion providers when an abortion is performed but the baby survives.
The bills, 1667 and 2294, known as the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” would make it illegal for a provider to harm a baby that was born after a failed abortion, whether through negligence or malice. The bill seeks to set such acts as a first-degree murder.
Infanticide is currently illegal under Missouri and federal law.
“Federal law states that all infants who are born alive following an abortion are full persons under the law,” said Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, who is the sponsor of HB 1667. “However, the federal law does not ensure that these infants are given proper medical care, showing the need for this legislation in Missouri.”
A similar bill passed the House and a Senate committee last year but failed to gain final passage.
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Bill that would prevent state enforcement of federal gun laws heard in Senate — again
By Kaleb Anderson, Missouri News Network
Senate members met once again to discuss a bill that would prevent state and local police from enforcing federal firearm laws. Members of the Senate Transportation Committee met Tuesday afternoon to hear the bill, which was originally presented to the legislature in 2021 and has failed to be implemented in the state multiple times since then.
The committee room was filled with law enforcement members as well as victims of gun violence, who voiced their concerns over the ‘Second Amendment Preservation Act 2.0’ brought this year by Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville.
The bill was initially passed in 2021, but was struck down in 2024 by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court said that the 2021 law was unconstitutional because it violated the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which says federal laws take precedence over state laws.
Last year, the bill was reintroduced by Rep. Hardwick, R-Dixon. That bill passed out of the House but failed to be passed out of the Senate before the legislature ended its 2025 session.
Under the provisions of the bill, any state or local law enforcement agency found enforcing federal gun policies would be subject to a $50,000 penalty per employee.
Police officers from around the state have previously criticized the bill because state police often work with federal law enforcement on criminal cases, especially narcotics cases, that also often involve gun-related charges. Missouri police officers worry that the bill would open them up to time-consuming lawsuits if they chose to collaborate with federal law enforcement.
Brattin said during the hearing that the bill is now revised to ensure it does not impede investigations into crimes involving firearms.
Still, the bill has its adversaries. Ron Calzone of Missouri First was one of the original architects of the Second Amendment Conservation Act that was initially passed in 2021.
Now, Calzone testified against the bill for the second year in a row. Calzone argues that the language of the current bill would limit police from enforcing any federal gun law, while his initial bill in 2021 would have only stopped police from enforcing specific federal laws believed to be “infringements.”
Robert Shockey, a retired police chief and executive director of the Missouri Police Chiefs Association, said the bill is a liability for the police departments.
“When this bill initially passed, almost all police departments pulled back from the federal task force, because their cops can be liable if they confiscate arms,” he said.
Last year, a representative from the Columbia Police Department also showed opposition to the bill’s passage during a hearing in the House.
Brattin said the issue is not with the law but rather the insurance companies for “misinterpreting” the legislation.
