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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Missouri News Network coverage this week included coverage of final passage of legislation banning antisemitic and other hate language in schools, the Senate stripping provisions from a nuclear power bill that would have allowed utilities to charge ratepayers for plant construction in progress and a look at the history of state income tax in the USA.
If you have thoughts or questions, contact Fred Anklam at anklamf@missouri.edu.
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FRIDAY
House quickly ushers through a slew of bills
By Brandon Lorenz and Kennedy Voss, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House chamber was fast-paced on Thursday as members quickly cycled through bills, passing them to the Senate and one to the governor’s desk.
Bills dealing with topics from discriminatory speech to gun laws were limited to roughly 15 minutes each.
When the representatives reached that maximum amount of time, the “gentleman from Greene County,” House Majority Leader Rep. Alex Riley, R-Springfield, would call for the previous question.
Previous question calls for a vote that, if approved, ends discussion and forces an immediate vote on the bill on the floor. The bills considered Thursday all had gone through debate and amendments in a previous floor session.
House Bill 2061
This bill lays out a new set of rules that all K-12 public and charter schools, school districts and colleges must follow to prohibit antisemitic discrimination.
The bill states that these schools must follow the official definition of antisemitism as laid out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and put rules in place for the conduct of staff and students.
A similar bill sponsored by Rep. George Hruza, R-St. Louis, failed to gain Senate approval last year. It gained a lot of public support while also facing some public criticism. The Senate broadened the scope of the bill on Wednesday beyond antisemitism to include all forms of hate speech and discrimination, including race, religion, sex and disability.
“Once the House passes this bill and it is signed by the governor, Missouri will be the 39th state in the United States to provide enhanced protection of Jewish students and the Jewish ... community,” Hruza said.
The main opposition voiced to the bill claimed the protections could be used to silence pro-Palestinian voices.
The Senate also added that all schools will have leeway on how they impose and enforce these new set of rules.
“I think if we’re going to talk the talk, we’re going to need to walk the walk, and I have not seen the walk yet,” said Rep. Bridget Walsh More, D-St. Louis. ”We have ICE agents coming in and looking for minors without a warrant. We had a rise of hate crimes across the board, and I don’t see much being done other than some talking points.”
The bill goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe, who can sign it into law. If signed, the bill takes effect on Aug. 28.
Other bills received final House approval and go to the Senate for action.
House Bills 2387 & 2480
These combined bills, sponsored by Reps. Brad Banderman, R-St. Clair, and Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, bring the presidential primary back to Missouri. The presidential primary was repealed in 2022.
The bills would establish a statewide presidential primary on the first Tuesday in March of each presidential election year. The state will bear the cost of the primary, and the political parties are required to apportion their delegates according to the results of the primary, under the bill.
After adjournment, House democrats held a news conference where House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, spoke about Missourians’ wishes to reinstate the primary.
“Ever since we got rid of the presidential preference primary, both parties have come together and said, ‘no, we want this back,’” Aune said. “The parties had to run the primaries a few years ago, and it was kind of a disaster, I think, all across the board.”
“When you put that on a party and you move to a completely different style, voters were confused and frustrated, frankly,” she added.
House Bill 1730
This bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Costlow, R-Dardenne Prarie, would make it easier for a person in Missouri to buy or sell a firearm “suppressor” or silencer. Unlike most bills voted on Thursday, this bill saw debate of up to half an hour.
Currently, Missouri residents are able to buy a suppressor if they apply through the federal government. The waiting period often takes months due to licensing requirements and background checks.
Costlow’s bill has provisions that would allow suppressors made in Missouri to not be subject to federal laws or regulation, including registration. Suppressors manufactured and sold in the state would be clearly stamped with the words “Made in Missouri.”
Opponents of the bill, like Rep. Will Jobe, D-Independence, worried that this bill misleads Missourians. He said that as a criminal defense lawyer, he only saw these cases being charged on a federal level.
“The reality is that this is not being prosecuted on the state level,” Jobe said. “It’s federal law enforcement, and this bill is not going to change that.”
Some supporters stated that regulations affected law abiding citizens and would not lead to an increase of illegal activity.
“The actual number that are used for crime are very small. They’re difficult to get as it is,” said Rep. Jim Schulte, R-New Bloomfield. “Most of the guns used in these crimes are illegally obtained and not the result of legitimate people with legitimate purposes.”
House Bill 2292
This bill, sponsored by Rep. Holly Jones, R-Eureka, creates a link between those investigating domestic violence and animal abuse, as the two crimes can often happen simultaneously.
HB 2292 would create additional training for protective services for humans to be able to identify animal abuse. It would also train those who investigate animal abuse to be able to identify signs of domestic violence.
Many studies have shown a link between animal abuse and domestic violence, including a 1983 survey that found that 88% of U.S. homes that had experienced animal abuse had also experienced child abuse.
This bill would encompass more than just child abuse and would include training for identifying other types of domestic violence like spousal or elder abuse.
House Bill 2481
This bill tightens the reins on individuals trying to access food stamps and Medicaid. The bill would make proof of citizenship, or legal status, a requirement to receive these benefits.
Sponsored by Rep. Jamie Ray Gragg, R-Ozark, the bill states that only U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals and immigrants who meet federal requirements would be eligible to receive SNAP or Medicaid benefits.
It’s specified within the text that individuals must show proof of citizenship or legal immigration status to be able to collect those benefits.
For Medicaid, hospitals and clinics must send over the same information of citizenship status to the MOHealthNet Division to be eligible to receive assistance.
However, for SNAP benefits, if someone in an individual’s household is not eligible to receive these benefits, their income still counts when deciding the eligible individual’s benefits. Democrats say this could make it harder to receive benefits.
“It’s continually attacking the most disenfranchised people in the state,” said Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, “It’s a solution in search of a problem, which is par for the course in this chamber.”
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House bill would add Black literature courses in public high schools
By Sam Jackson, Missouri News Network
The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee on Wednesday heard a bill that would require a Black history and literature course in high schools.
Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, is the sponsor of House Bill 2965. Bosley told the committee that her bill aims to require Missouri students complete one unit of Black history and one unit of Black literature prior to high school graduation with course curriculum developed by the State Board of Education.
“Too often Black history is treated as a brief unit, a sidebar or something only highlighted during a single month,” Bosley said. “But Black history is not separate from American history. It is American history. When students are not exposed to this history in a meaningful way, they are missing critical context about our laws, our institutions, and our shared experiences.”
Bosley said the state board of education would develop age appropriate course curriculum and standards, emphasizing that the focus of her bill is to prioritize preparation for scholars.
“Preparation for college, for careers and for civic life, preparation to think critically, to understand others and to engage thoughtfully in a diverse and evolving society — a real-rounded education is one that tells the full story,” Bosley said.
Rep. Martin Jacobs, D-Liberty, asked clarifying questions about the courses and whether it would expand to history and curriculums for Native and Latino Americans down the road.
“We should try one first,” Bosley said. “Let’s see what happens with African American history as we have a higher concentration of African Americans here and also from there, start bringing in other ethnic groups.”
Rep. Stephanie Boykin, D-Florissant, supported the bills push for Black history and literature, noting her own experiences as an African American student.
“I distinctly remember from my social studies book there were two paragraphs, two short paragraphs, dealing with Black history. One talked about slavery, and then a few chapters later, there was a mention of Martin Luther King,” Boykin said.
Bosley suggested books such as “The Color of Law,” “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and “The Mis-Education of the Negro.”
“We are not trying to inundate or indoctrinate scholars with something that they will go home with a guilt or shame with,” Bosley said. “This is trying to empower them and give them something powerful that they can go home with. And this is for all scholars.”
During the hearing no witnesses were present in opposition to the bill but some concerns were raised by representatives over potential difficulties for transfer students seeking to complete additional required credits.
Bosley said that she would be open to changing the bill to ensure easier graduation.
“The school district may elect to waive those requirements for those scholars that come in,” Bosley said.
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THURSDAY
Senate approves scaled-back framework to expand nuclear power
By Jackson Cooper, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Senate gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill laying the groundwork for nuclear power expansion, but not before placing more cost burden on utilities.
Senate Bill 838, sponsored by Sen. Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee’s Summit, provides the groundwork for the expansion of Missouri’s nuclear power infrastructure. It would change definitions in state statute that currently classify nuclear power as a nonrenewable energy source akin to fossil fuels, instead reclassifying it alongside renewables like wind and solar.
This alteration makes potential nuclear projects in the state eligible for support programs intended to incentivize renewable energy growth.
Missouri currently has one nuclear reactor — Ameren’s Callaway Energy Center, located south of Fulton — that produces 9.2 million megawatt hours of energy annually. That is enough to power 800,000 households, according to Ameren data.
Meanwhile, the state has increasingly become a net importer of electricity as older coal plants enter retirement. Missouri relied on other states for over 15% of its electricity needs last year, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
Gov. Mike Kehoe has identified nuclear as a key vessel for achieving Missouri’s energy independence.
No senators spoke against the underlying need for diversified energy production on the floor Wednesday, but the body differed in opinion on how to implement nuclear projects while minimizing price spikes for consumers.
The final version of the bill prohibits utilities from levying construction work in progress rates, or CWIP rates, for nuclear power plant construction. CWIP allows electric corporations to charge consumers in their base rates before the plant actually becomes operational in order to finance construction. In these cases, consumers foot the bill for interest and financing costs even if a project runs long or fails to reach completion.
The initial version of the bill would have permitted CWIP charges for nuclear projects. However, an amendment explicitly forbidding that practice was brought forth by Sen. Joe Nicola, R-Independence.
The body narrowly approved that amendment by a vote of 14-13, attaching it to the larger bill.
During the debate, Cierpiot opposed the amendment, calling it a “dealbreaker” and arguing that offloading upfront costs to utility providers disincentivizes them from investing in nuclear energy in Missouri.
On the other side, Nicola said he was simply prioritizing affordability for his constituents.
“I don’t agree with using my constituents, or ‘rate payers,’ as a bank,” Nicola said. “I think it’s a socialistic approach.”
Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, agreed, telling the Senate during debate that it is unfair to charge higher bills for a plant that is not yet producing electricity.
“It’s gonna trickle down to us sometime, but we should not have to pay for this upfront,” Moon said.
It should be the utilities, not the consumers, faced with paying for a plant during its construction, Moon argued.
CWIP charges have a complex history in Missouri that is directly tied to nuclear energy.
The practice was banned in Missouri in 1976, with nearly 2-to-1 support on a statewide ballot initiative. That followed the state’s approval of the first Callaway reactor the year prior, which was to be financed in part with CWIP charges.
However, a bill signed into law last spring — SB 4, also sponsored by Cierpiot — reestablished CWIP for new natural gas plants. It also reopened the door to CWIP on a case-by-case basis for construction of all other types of plants, subject to approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission.
Sen. Curtis Trent, R-Republic, spoke in favor of the bill and against Nicola’s amendment, suggesting that waiting to charge consumers for plants until after construction would result in higher bills due to interest accrued over time.
“Do you want to start making the interest payments immediately … as soon as you borrow the money?” Trent asked. “Or do you want to wait 18 months, 24 months, 36 months, however long it takes for the construction to get done?”
Trent noted that four reactors were initially planned for the Callaway project in the early 1970s, and that they were eventually scrapped in part because Ameren could no longer rely on CWIP to finance construction.
Voting on the amendment saw Democratic senators join with some of the body’s most conservative Republicans.
Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, is one of the 14 senators who voted to attach the amendment. She said in earlier debates that she was concerned with keeping electricity bills lower for her district.
“I want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to protect our constituents … from not having to pay more on something just because it happens to be nuclear,” she said.
Following its initial approval Wednesday, the bill must receive additional approval from a roll call vote in the Senate before it moves to the House.
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Senate passes bill banning antisemitism, other hate speech
By Hannah McDonough, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The Senate passed a bill Wednesday prohibiting antisemitism in schools after expanding the bill language to cover all hate speech.
Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, added an amendment that broadened the original scope of the bill. The amendment states, “the General Assembly finds that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to equal rights.”
The amendment cites the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as well as Article I, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution, as offering equal rights to everybody.
While the bill had unanimous support in the Senate, there were varying opinions about why the bill is necessary.
Sen. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, gave an impassioned speech regarding a Senate bill from 2017 that he said undermined the strength of the protections outlined under the Missouri Human Rights Act.
“There was language in law that covered everyone, and this legislature weakened it,” Webber said.
Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, shared those sentiments, adding that intimidation based on race or religion should not be acceptable in any cases. He used the example of Ritenour School District in St. Louis County, which has recently seen Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the area.
“If an atmosphere of fear and intimidation is unacceptable for one group of students, why is it acceptable for another?” Williams said.
However, Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, strongly disagreed with Webber. He said that antisemitism in the U.S. has nothing to do with previous legislation, but instead with the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the social response.
“I think most Americans had thought what we would see was a unifying coming together, you know, praying and unity supporting a community that had just been attacked,” Brattin said. “But that’s not what we saw. We saw rhetoric, we saw hate, we saw vitriol.”
House Bill 2061, initially introduced in the House by Rep. George Hruza, R-St. Louis, focused more specifically on antisemitism in light of the Oct. 7 attack.
The House version of the bill outlines how antisemitism in schools will be handled, and that it should be treated the same as discrimination based on race. The bill was also introduced last year but did not get passed.
Sen. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield, brought the bill to the Senate floor with some modifications. The Senate substitute for the bill allows each school to come up with policies regarding antisemitism that are best for each institution. It also reevaluates the definition of antisemitism mentioned in the House bill.
“I think it’s very important that Missouri schools be open to all individuals, and particular here because of the nature of the debate that’s going on in the country, the nature of global politics being what they are, this has become a very acute problem,” Trent said.
Additionally, Sen. Doug Beck, D-Affton, introduced an amendment to include charter schools in addition to public schools in the bill text. The amendment was adopted.
The revised bill will go back to the House for approval of the changes.
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How states came to depend on income tax
By Peter S. Pynadath, Missouri News Network
Removing individual income tax and replacing it with a broader sales tax base has been a top priority for the Republican Party this legislative session.
If this proposed tax reform is approved by Missouri voters, Missouri could join nine other states with no income tax, becoming the first since Alaska in 1980 to fully repeal its individual income tax.
Missouri is not alone: states such as Mississippi, Kentucky and Oklahoma are also attempting to eliminate personal income taxes.
The history of Missouri’s income tax structure, which generated 63% of the state’s estimated budget in 2025, follows an evolution of differing approaches to deriving revenue for state expenditures.
Early state tax efforts
According to the Hoover Institution, the concept of taxing income, or a structure with a similar effect, has been around since the colonial era. As the seeds were being planted for the tree that would later become America, the colonists needed a way to derive revenue to fund these developments. A rudimentary form of taxation was established, and throughout different eras of the nation’s history, it evolved into what it is today.
A faculty tax, which in some cases mirrored the modern income tax, and poll taxes became a model for the colonies’ tax systems.
Every man, 16 years and older, was required to pay an annual poll tax that was the same rate for all eligible taxpayers. The faculty tax was based on the assessed value of an individual’s lands, goods, stock and other assets, and it aimed to tax colonists’ capacity to generate income and how much they could produce.
At the turn of the 18th century, colonists, under British rule, took any chance they could to avoid paying taxes. Colonists tried to avoid taxes by hiding their real assets, undervaluing farmland or outright refusing to pay.
After the American Revolution and as the new nation emerged, states needed a way to fund their government outside of the federal government. In 1817, Pennsylvania levied a tax on bank dividends, which became a major source of revenue. This tax generated roughly $100,000 annually in the 1840s and over $200,000 in the 1850s.
In 1840, Pennsylvania imposed a 1% tax on salaries, as the state had accumulated a large amount of debt. This did not generate enough revenue, so in 1841 an additional law raised the rate to 2% with two key provisions. The first was a $200 exemption, and the second stipulated the state treasurer would withhold the tax from the salaries of state employees.
During the 1830s, to fuel westward expansion, states made large infrastructural improvements, including roads, canals, bridges and railroads.
To pay for these expenditures, states relied on a federal revenue-sharing system, where Congress distributed a portion of the federal revenue surplus to each state.
However, in 1836 the federal government did not have a revenue surplus, causing states to experiment with different ways to raise funds. The discussion was mostly centered around taxation.
According to the Accounting Historians Journal, throughout the 1840s, several southern states experimented with taxes related to income.
Many legislators from these southern states, who were mostly plantation owners, opposed a property tax, as they argued it would negatively impact farmers and landowners. Instead, their attention turned toward taxing a growing middle class made up of a variety of professions.
In 1843, Virginia levied three separate taxes that acted as the state’s first tax structure related to income. A 1% fee was placed on salaries over $400, a 1% tax on professional fees over $400 and a 2.5% tax on interest from securities valued over $100.
Only a few were subject to tax, as the law exempted ministers, laborers, craftsmen and merchants.
Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and others adopted a similar tax structure due to similar economic events.
In 1845, Florida levied a 0.2% tax on income on certain professions, then expanded it to all business incomes five years later. However, outrage among residents was so severe that Florida abolished this tax in 1855 and never implemented an income tax structure again.
Many of these states were not successful in collecting significant revenue. For example, Virginia scrapped together $16,000 from income tax in 1844. Furthermore, most of that sum was due to a broad tax on interest. According to the Journal, by 1858, income tax generated $104,000 of the state’s total revenue.
The Confederacy implemented a similar tax, so individuals in the South paid taxes at both levels. Following the war, the Journal noted several states began to abolish these tax structures, such as South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Alabama.
Modern state income tax
The first income tax structure at the state level, as it’s understood today, was adopted by Wisconsin in 1911.
This coincided with an era in U.S. fiscal history known as the Progressive Era from 1880 to 1920. Ajay Mehrotra, a law and history professor who researches U.S. tax and fiscal history, said a driving force behind this reform was issues with the state’s current tax structure, which heavily relied on its property tax.
“Wisconsin, which is kind of known as the cradle of progressivism, was doing things like unemployment insurance and other kinds of early welfare benefits,” Mehrotra said.
Mehrotra said Wisconsin’s property tax structure was supposed to tax intangible property as well, but this was difficult to administer and enforce.
In states with a similar structure, such as Ohio, taxpayers’ furniture and belongings were subject to tax and assessed each year. However, Mehrotra said there were obvious lapses. For example, according to the property tax rolls, nobody in Ohio owned a watch at that time.
“So on the one hand, people were not reporting, but on the other hand, the state government didn’t have the capacity to actually assess and collect the tax,” Mehrotra said.
According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state’s new income tax structure was able to generate revenue from intangibles such as stocks, bonds and salaries, which were not taxed previously.
Wisconsin’s original tax had 13 rates ranging from 1% to 6%. The top rate was applied to income over $12,000 at the time, and did not change until 1932, when all rates over 1.5% were increased.
According to the Tax Foundation, Massachusetts became the first state to have a flat income tax rate, which went into effect in 1917.
According to the Journal of Political Economy, Oklahoma’s first income tax structure in 1915 taxed the net income of residents and nonresidents.
In 1912, Mississippi was one of the first states in the South to adopt this modern form of income tax. At the time, much of the state’s revenue came from property taxes, which placed a large burden on small landowners and farmers.
The Nonpartisan League in North Dakota made a similar argument, and the party dominated by farmers and property owners was able to implement a similar income tax in 1919. States such as Massachusetts, Virginia and New York implemented a modern income tax structure between 1912 and 1919.
Missouri adopted a flat rate of 0.5% on taxable income, known as the “original law,” in 1917. The state also created the State Tax Commission, which was made up of three officers, one being the state budget officer. The group was tasked with creating the Missouri state budget.
“Wisconsin was a leader in many ways during the Progressive Era,” Mehrotra said. “It really was a pioneer, not just in tax policy but also in social spending as well; it’s not surprising that other states look to Wisconsin.”
Mehrotra said Wisconsin was successful with its new income tax structure in large part because it established the needed administrative capacity to ensure the taxes are properly assessed and collected. Organizations outside of the state government, such as a bank, were required to report when people had certain kinds of income, such as interest.
“Third-party reporting is a really crucial aspect to an effectively administered income tax to this day,” Mehrotra said. “There’s a reason why 98% of W-2 wage income is accurately collected.”
According to the Cato Institute, the Great Depression caused tax revolts throughout the 1930s, as many could not pay property taxes.
For cities with a population over 50,000, the rate of property tax delinquency rose from 10% in 1930 to 26% three years later. In cities like Chicago, about half of all homeowners refused to pay their property taxes by 1932.
In response, between 1930 and 1939, 17 states adopted an income tax at the state level to address issues the Great Depression brought.
In 1949, a decade before it became a state, Alaska had its own territory income tax. For residents and nonresidents alike, a 10% tax on an individual’s federal income tax liability was implemented. Between 1949 and 1961, this rate rose to 16% as Alaska became a state in 1959.
However, in 1980, the state’s personal income tax was repealed because of an oil boom that produces much of the state’s revenue to this day.
According to the Cato Institute, from 1960 to 1975, state and local spending rose, and states needed more revenue to fund these expenditures.
Throughout the late 1960s, Midwest states, a few on the coast and Nebraska adopted a state-level income tax. After Ohio and Pennsylvania joined their neighbors in 1971, a majority of states at this point had a state-level income tax and relied on it heavily for revenue.
Efforts to eliminate state income tax
In 2016, at the very end of the year’s legislative session, Tennessee lawmakers enacted a six-year plan to eliminate a tax on interest and dividend income. The Hall Tax, implemented in 1929, was a 6% tax on Tennesseans’ interest and dividend income from bonds or stocks. This tax was fully repealed in 2021.
In 2022, Kentucky began its path towards eliminating individual income tax. House Bill 8 aimed to gradually phase out Kentucky’s individual income tax. Reductions to the tax rate can happen once the state meets certain savings and revenue goals. Effective this year, Kentucky’s individual income tax rate was reduced from 4% to 3.5%, and the state hopes to fully eliminate the tax by 2032, granted the reduction triggers are met.
Mehrotra said that the story of state income tax is one of equity. A majority of states with no income tax have a general or select sales tax of some kind.
“A sales tax is regressive; it hits the poor more than the rich, so moving from an income tax to a sales tax is a move towards regressivity,” Mehrotra said.
“One of the things that progressives in Wisconsin wanted to do was address growing inequality, and having an income tax was one way to do that,” Mehrota said.
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House pushes public safety bill with 14 amendments
By Nolan Haberstroh and Margaret Stewart, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House of Representatives approved 14 out of 29 proposed amendments on a public safety bill Wednesday.
House Bills 3068 and 3049, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Myers, R-Warrenton, began as a pair of identical bills creating tighter regulations on the sex offender registry.
The bill started to change when Myers proposed an amendment changing the bill's title from encompassing the sex offender registry to public safety at large. This amendment opened the floodgates for further amendments, such as those that would have previously been unrelated to the bill.
Following this change in name, the combined bill was soon inundated with a slew of more than a dozen amendments, rapidly broadening its scope.
Roughly half of the 29 proposed amendments were passed without much debate.
The proposed amendments increased penalties for domestic violence, gift card fraud, drug trafficking, sexual harassment and misuse of artificial intelligence.
Mason's Law
One amendment that held the focus of the chamber was “Mason’s Law," which would allow people who struggle with communication due to intellectual disability to register with law enforcement.
The certificate would mark license plates and drivers as communication-impaired through police and highway patrol systems.
Rep. Chris Brown, R-Kansas City, who proposed the amendment, related the story of Mason, a man he knew with autism who, in the past, had trouble with law enforcement due to a miscommunication during a traffic stop.
Police officers typically run plates through their database when conducting traffic stops prior to approaching the car. The registration outlined in this amendment would allow an officer to see if an individual may struggle with communication, so law enforcement can respond responsibly.
“At the very least, that officer is gonna understand they may have someone here that is not gonna react in a way that most people react,” Brown said. “Just some level of awareness, a little bit of a heads-up in potentially dealing with that driver.”
The amendment intends to reduce mental distress for individuals who struggle with communication during traffic stops. After five years, registration will expire and can be renewed with physician approval.
Rep. Bridget Walsh Moore, D-St. Louis, agreed with the amendment but had concerns over its lack of outlined training for officers in dealing with these types of situations.
She told the story of a woman she knew with bipolar disorder who volunteered to help train officers in dealing with mental health crises at a St. Louis County police department.
“When she would try to explain what it would feel like to be in a mental health crisis, she was met with laughing and jeers,” Moore said.
Rep. Brown reiterated the intent of the amendment.
“What we’re intending to do is to make sure that officer is aware before they approach that vehicle,” Brown said.
The amendment passed, while the bill itself was shelved for legislative review after nearly an hour of proposed amendments.
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Resolution would add work requirements for Medicaid
By Abigail Didonna, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — A resolution was heard Wednesday that would implement work requirements for Medicaid access, putting the Missouri Constitution in line with provisions of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
House Joint Resolution 154, sponsored by Rep. Darin Chappell, R-Rogersville, would amend the Missouri Constitution to align with the federal government’s work requirements for access to Medicaid.
On Jan. 1, 2027, the federal government will require 80 hours of work a month to be eligible for Medicaid, as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or House Resolution 1, which passed July 2025.
“This would simply make the changes that are going to go into effect regardless, into effect permanently,” Chappell said to the Senate Families, Seniors and Health Committee.
The resolution would be placed on the November 2026 general election ballot.
Chappell’s resolution prevents the Missouri Department of Social Services from utilizing optional exemptions, such as exemptions for short-term hardships during hospitalizations, natural disasters and other emergencies.
The resolution would allow the department to use an exemption only if a general statute law is passed that specifically authorizes it.
The potential removal of optional exemptions was the main topic of concern during Wednesday’s committee hearing.
Emily Kalmer, a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, worries that this resolution will tie the Department of Social Services’ hands.
“Our point is that this is taking away some of the options that the federal government specifically provides for, and we need all options on the table at this point,” Kalmer said.
Kalmer also said the federal government will not provide implementation guidance for the work requirements until June, and has concerns with setting the resolution on the ballot before the state fully knows the federal requirements.
“My concern is putting something before the voters that would lock it into the Missouri Constitution right now when we don’t know yet what is coming down, and what the department may need the options to do,” Kalmer said.
Another topic of concern at the meeting was the protections regarding caregivers of vulnerable adults.
In HR 1, there is an automatic exemption of the work requirement for caregivers of adults with disabilities. However, caregivers of vulnerable adults are not automatically exempt and would require an exemption not included in Chappell’s HJR 154.
Vulnerable adults are a broader category for people who don’t meet the federal definition of disabled, but are still unable to care for or protect themselves.
Jay Hardenbrook, director of advocacy at AARP Missouri, said this is his largest concern with the piece of legislation.
“Our main concern is that caregivers of vulnerable adults are exempt from work requirements,” Hardenbrook said. “One thing that we know for sure is that if this resolution passes with the current language, they would not be exempt.”
When asked by Committee Chair Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby, Chappell said he would be willing to adjust the resolution to include protections for caregivers of vulnerable people.
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Missouri House passes bill clarifying telehealth rules for certain providers
By Avery Copeland, Missouri News Network
House Bill 2794 passed through the Missouri House in March, and clarifies that telehealth providers who received their licenses in Missouri via the state reciprocity law are allowed to provide their services.
The state reciprocity law applies to providers who first received their licenses elsewhere and then got a Missouri license. It simplifies the process of transferring credentials so providers do not have to fully start over the licensing process.
“Missouri already enjoys robust licensure reciprocity laws, which are designed to help recruit and retain medical professionals in our state,” said Jacob Scott, director of legislative affairs at the Missouri State Medical Association, an organization that was present at a hearing in support of the bill.
“This bill simply clarifies that this reciprocity extends to the use of telehealth, when it is applicable to their lawful scope of practice in Missouri,” Scott added. “This will presumably help with creating more telehealth access for Missouri patients.”
Scott said the bill is important because Missouri has a shortage of physicians.
Although the bill doesn’t necessarily solve the issue, Scott said allowing for more telehealth use is still beneficial in supporting and caring for patients.
Missouri mental health provider Burrell Behavioral Health, which merged with Centerstone in November, was one of the organizations that was present at a hearing in support of the bill.
In 2025, people came to Burrell Behavioral Health from more than 50 counties other than Boone County to access care at the behavioral health crisis center in Columbia, said Rance Burger, director of media and public relations for Burrell.
“The majority of the psychiatry services that we provide to rural areas has been through telehealth,” said Mat Gass, market CEO of Centerstone. “Generally speaking, the psychiatrists that work for us tend to live in more populated areas like Columbia, St. Louis, Springfield and Kansas City, and then they’re serving our rural clinics through those telehealth services.”
Gass said telehealth has been part of the system of care in the mental health setting in Missouri for almost 20 years.
Telehealth visits are offered in a variety of ways, Gass said. At Centerstone, patients can sign on from their home, or if they do not have internet access, they can come in-person to a clinic and do a virtual visit in a private room.
“That’s why we felt like it was important to support that bill, because we see it as a way to knock down a barrier to care access for people in rural Missouri,” Burger said.
The bill has now been passed by the Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee and will return to the Senate for final approval.
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House bill would allow 7,000 practitioners to approve disabled placards
By Erin Hynes, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — A House bill allowing 7,000 occupational therapists to approve disabled placards and license plates had a Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee hearing on Wednesday.
After the House unanimously passed House Bill 1827 on March 11, the bill has started making its way through the Senate.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Terri Violet, R-St. Peters, doubles the longevity of a disabled placard. It increases the time limit from four to eight years before one needs to be renewed.
The bill would also add occupational therapists to the list of qualified health care professionals who can sign off on one’s need for a disabled placard or license plate.
During the hearing, Sen. Barbara Washington, D-Kansas City, thanked the sponsor for bringing this forward, sharing how this would help her family member who uses a disabled placard.
“It would help her if, one, it were expanded ... and two, if her occupational therapist could do that ... instead of her always having to try and get into her primary, which can take a really, really long time,” Washington said.
After hearing the need for occupational therapists to sign off on these placards, Violet brought forth this bill.
Violet noted that many people overlook the need for these placards.
“Until we have to go through it ourselves, we don’t realize how necessary these both are,” Violet said.
Adding occupational therapists would allow approximately 7,000 more health care professionals to assist in acquiring disabled license plates and placards in Missouri.
Violet said in the committee hearing that these two changes would create a smoother process and remove barriers for patients with mobility impairments.
President of the Missouri Occupational Therapist Association Jacque Sample testified to the committee that occupational therapists already have the skills and training needed to sign off on license plates and placards.
Many Missouri residents who qualify for disabled license plates or placards already see an occupational therapist, and Sample said this change would save them time and money by avoiding another doctor’s appointment.
“We can sign a piece of paper versus sending them back to their primary and then they can get their accessible space,” Sample said in an interview with the Missourian.
Access to disabled license plates and placards makes the community more accessible to Missourians who otherwise may not feel as comfortable going to the store alone, attending sporting events or taking their family out.
“That’s a huge piece of this too, that independent community mobility, safety and making sure people get what they need when they need it,” Sample said.
Missouri residents can apply for two types of disabled placards — permanent and temporary. Those who fit into one of these three categories defined by the Missouri Department of Revenue are eligible for a temporary or permanent placard.
To receive a disabled placard or license plate, one must have a physician’s statement for a disabled person’s placard, known as form 1776, completed by a licensed physician, chiropractor, podiatrist, physician’s assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, physical therapist or optometrist.
Adding occupational therapists to that list allows more Missouri residents to get the help they need to continue going out into the community, Sample said.
“People are afraid to ask because they never feel like they fit into that category, and that’s where we can come in and say, yeah, you do,” Sample said.
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Bill fostering fatherhood gets Senate hearing
By Xavier Asher, Missouri News Network
A bill seeking to create a fund that will provide resources for Missouri fathers who want to be more involved in their children's lives was heard by the Senate Committee for Families, Seniors and Health on Wednesday.
Rep. Jamie Ray Gragg, R-Ozark, who sponsored House Bill 1948, said it's needed because of the "fatherless epidemic" that the state currently faces.
He said that more than 70% of Missouri high school dropouts, incarcerated juveniles, teenage pregnancies, runaway children, children with behavior disorders and adolescent substance abusers grew up without a father in their household.
To help communities combat these issues, Gragg proposes that a fund, the Missouri Fathership Project, be created within the Department of Social Services. Initially, it wouldn't use state appropriated funds, but would be funded by grants and donations.
"Any way that anybody wants to place any appropriations or money in there is fine," Gragg said. "Any (money) that can be put in there down the road can be applied for."
Any approved community organizations would use funds from the project to hire, train and facilitate fathership engagement professionals, who are similar to caseworkers. Approved organizations would include family-focused community agencies, faith-based agencies, family advocacy programs and nonprofit organizations.
"They work with fathers who desire to be engaged with their children, but who have roadblocks or stops that keep them from being engaged," Gragg said.
The professionals can help fathers navigate issues with the court system, find employment and repair relationships with the mother of their children, he said.
Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby, who chairs the committee, said she appreciated the legislation.
"It's more needed now than ever," Carter said. "I think it's something culturally in society that we need to make sure we're strengthening."
Committee members agree that there is a widespread issue with fatherlessness but said they weren't sure that state money should be involved.
"By no means do I think the government has any right whatsoever in telling fathers how to father, mothers how to mother and children how to be children" Gragg said. "But I believe we have the ability to make way for our community organizations to be able to do so."
Mark Ludwig, from St. Louis, testified in favor for different reasons.
"Nowadays, in every TV show, the father is the bafoon," Ludwig said. "We have a society that has pushed fathers out, now we need to pull fathers back in."
He said Missouri has multiple government programs for single mothers, but not a single one for fathers. Ludwig said he is currently working with the White House and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to create a national commission for fathers, men and boys.
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Senator filibusters against solar framework bill
By Faith Jacoby, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, filibustered during much of Tuesday's Senate floor session in defense of property rights and keeping the government from regulating property owners' land.
After nearly two hours of debate, SB 879 was put aside to be considered at a later date, as requested by the bill's sponsor, Sen. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit.
Among other things, the solar regulatory framework bill would require permits for the construction of solar farms, introduce taxation of solar energy projects and provide provisions regarding the construction of solar farms regulated by both the Public Service Commission and the Department of Natural Resources.
"As long as you're going to treat some property owners differently, I'm gonna have a problem with this," Hough said.
Hough challenged government involvement in property rights as he held the floor as a property owner and emphasized his issue with the bill seeking to put restrictions on how he is able to use his own land.
"Do you think that (land owners) would want us, as the government, directing more so than we already do what they can and can't do on the land that they, at least in their own perception, own?" Hough said.
During his filibuster, Hough highlighted his experiences as both a cattle farmer and landowner, as well as his time as a volunteer for the Greene County and Missouri Cattlemen's Association. He also mentioned that he currently serves on the Greene County Farm Bureau Board of Directors.
As is common when senators hold the floor in opposition to the bill, Hough's comments ranged from his favorite tractor model to how he bought an old Senate chamber chair for a former senator, among other things.
Fitzwater has filed the bill every year since he was elected to the Senate in 2022.
"My office has worked incredibly hard," Fitzwater said. "My chief of staff, Alyssa, has spent hours upon hours, and the last four years, really trying to figure out how we go forward in a way that protects property rights but also ensures that there's a regulatory framework for solar power and for these large, industrial solar farms in the state."
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WEDNESDAY
House advances bill increasing verification for immigrants on SNAP, Medicaid
By Sophia Gromowsky, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — A bill seeking to eliminate fraud within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, and prohibit the use of benefits to purchase certain types of junk food, was given initial approval by the House on Tuesday.
House Bill 2481 would align Missouri law with new federal legislation requiring increased verification for immigrants who lack certain documentation from receiving SNAP and Medicaid benefits.
Immigrants who are not lawful permanent residents are already excluded from SNAP and Medicaid eligibility, both under Missouri and federal law. Some immigrants who fall under qualified status, including lawful permanent residents, are eligible. However, the bill’s provisions would implement a more stringent process for verifying lawful status, including the use of federal databases to confirm documentation status. The bill would also require additional documentation to prove proper status and benefit eligibility.
Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, questioned whether the issue of fraud was costly enough to outweigh the price tag for implementing more extensive verification methods, estimated to take between $141,750 and $1,676,679 from general revenue in fiscal year 2027, according to the bill’s fiscal note.
Bill sponsor Rep. Jamie Gragg, R-Ozark, was unable to provide an amount of funds that benefit programs lose to fraud from ineligible immigrants.
Under the bill, state agencies would also be able to require program enrollees reverify their immigration status after program enrollment when agencies receive information about a change in immigration status or during regular financial eligibility redetermination.
Additionally, the bill reiterates changes to SNAP-eligible foods made by an executive order from Gov. Mike Kehoe in September 2025 and the MO SNAP Food Restriction Waiver approved by the United States Department of Agriculture in December.
The new changes prevent certain categories of junk foods from being purchased using SNAP benefits, including candy and soft drinks.
Opponents of the bill argued about the unfairness of placing restrictions on what SNAP beneficiaries should or should not be allowed to purchase and eat.
“My concern is that we’re kind of being big brother,” Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia, said. “Who are we to sit here and judge people? I find it a little degrading.”
Gragg emphasized the need to return SNAP to its original purpose as a supplementary assistance program, not as the entire food budget for an individual or family.
He said the bill’s intention is not to police people’s diets and require them to consume only healthy foods, but to provide families a budget that can be used to purchase foods with higher nutritional value.
“Take the supplement and use this to buy the nutritional portion of your food budget,” Gragg said. “And then, what you have from your budget, buy all the candy and soda pop you want. But the stuff that we’re giving you as a help, use that to buy the nutritional portion.”
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Governor signs crime and divorce bills
By KJ Drazen, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Kehoe signed bills Tuesday that could put more youth into the adult criminal system and enhance efforts to fight sex offenses involving minors.
Another bill he signed grants pregnant Missourians the right to divorce.
Senate Bill 888, sponsored by Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, makes changes to the criminal and juvenile justice system to increase some categories of felonies.
The new law means officers are required to take fingerprints of individuals, starting at 18 years of age or younger, when arrested for certain felony offenses. Those fingerprints will then be shared with central reporting authorities.
There will also be an increase in sentence time that inmates must serve before being eligible for parole. This will be based on the class of felony committed.
“Missouri must address the revolving door for repeat violent offenders — and that includes juveniles,” Kehoe said in a news release.
The Missouri Legislative Black Caucus criticized the bill in its own news release, expressing concern that the bill will deepen existing racial issues within the Missouri criminal justice system and the likelihood that there could be children as young as 14 being tried as an adult.
“We all want safer communities, but real safety comes from smart policy not simply tougher penalties,” said Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis.
House Bill 2273, sponsored by Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, creates additional offenses that would require a person to register as a sex offender. It also increases the sentencing time if an offense is committed against minors while broadening the definitions of activity that can be prosecuted for those crimes.
Rep. Jeff Myers, R-Warrenton, spoke on how this bill “sat home” with him. He stated that prior to holding his position in the House, he had a career in law enforcement for 28 years and this topic was something that he was trained on.
“It was something that I wanted to make sure that we could put something in statute, to put tools in the hands of our folks in law enforcement, our social workers, and those others out there that come in contact with these victims on a regular basis,” Myers said.
“To be able to put something in their hands so we can start turning the tide, to make sure that Missouri is not at the top of that list anymore of states in our nation for trafficking,” he said
House Bill 1908, sponsored by Rep. Cecelie Williams, R-Dittmer, would prohibit courts from considering one’s pregnancy status when filing for divorce or legal separation. A similar bill was heard last year but died in the Senate.
During the ceremony, with her family in attendance, Williams spoke about her story and the reason this bill means so much to her. This legislation has been something Williams has been passionate about for a long time.
“Being able to remove the barrier that allows pregnant women to get divorced in the state of Missouri is something that I have had experience with for 20 years. I always stated that the day this law goes into effect, or we have made a change would be my personal independence day,” Williams said.
Kehoe gave his signature, noting the bill says “that Missouri is not that place, that we can have a safe (place) for women and folks who come out of rough situations.”
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House passes bill to expand nuclear power plant construction
By Kate Leverenz, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The House passed the Missouri Nuclear Clean Power Act on Tuesday, which allows electrical corporations to charge customers for construction on nuclear plants in base rates as the plants are being built.
House Bills 2122 and 1626, sponsored by Rep. John Black, R-Marshfield, aim to facilitate funding for new nuclear facilities in Missouri.
Construction work in progress, or CWIP, refers to the value of construction projects that are underway but not completed, something that this bill would allow electric corporations to implement during the construction of nuclear plants.
Under this legislation, the Public Service Commission will determine the amount by which CWIP requests could increase utility rates.
“If you want carbon-free, reliable, baseload power for the state of Missouri, if you want those power plants built in the state of Missouri, for Missouri jobs ... vote yes to this bill,” Black said during the final reading of the bill.
The bill applies specifically to the construction of clean baseload generating plants with a capacity of 600 megawatts or less.
Democrats met this bill with opposition, with some acknowledging the dangers of nuclear waste and the increasing cost of utilities under this legislation.
“Aside from talking about the dangers of radioactive waste and the fact that we have no place to go with it ... this ultimately is a con game,” Rep. Doug Clemens, D-St. Ann, said. “What this bill does is shifts the expense and the risk from the company to grandma, who’s on a fixed income trying to pay her electric bill.”
Clemens has been working for the past 38 years to remove nuclear waste disposed of near St. Louis waterways following the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. St. Louis still feels the impact of this radioactive waste, and Clemens has worked with environmental groups in the area to help combat the issue.
Rep. Del Taylor, D-St. Louis, added that there are many unknowns related to this legislation.
“How much is it going to cost?” Taylor said. “What is the technology? What is the timeline? These are some fundamental things that we’d like to know if we’re going to allow a construction work in progress.”
Rep. David Casteel, R-High Ridge, encouraged legislators to look toward the future and said the current demand for power is insatiable.
“The least we can do is have one foot in the future as we prepare to potentially accept small modular reactors, which would be cheaper to build and smaller than what we’re working with currently,” he said.
During the reading, Black said the fiscal note on this bill is zero, meaning the bill will not require changes to the current budget or any government funds.
The legislation passed with a vote of 95-53, with 7 Republicans voting against it alongside Democrats.
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Senate advances MSHSAA oversight commission bill
By Jackson Cooper, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Senate gave initial approval Tuesday to a bill establishing an oversight commission for appeals in high school athletics.
Senate Bill 863 is sponsored by Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb, and would establish the Interscholastic Athletic Oversight Commission beginning in the 2027-28 academic year. Under the proposal, the governor is responsible for appointing the five-member commission, subject to Senate confirmation.
The commission will be responsible for issuing decisions in appellate cases concerning student transfer eligibility and game disputes.
The current legislation is significantly watered down from what was initially proposed when it was heard by the Senate's Education Committee earlier this session.
When the bill was heard in January, adoption of the bill would have seen the commission supervise the Missouri State High School Activities Association as a whole. MSHSAA is the organization responsible for governing interscholastic athletics and activities in Missouri high schools.
A month after Bean's bill was put forward, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a federal lawsuit against MSHSAA, alleging that its process for selecting board members was discriminatory. That litigation is ongoing, and has now expanded to include the federal Department of Justice.
Now, the bill would only give the new commission a say in appeals of MSHSAA decisions.
Bean said the new substitute version came after discussions with MSHSAA.
"This bill makes the process more transparent," Bean said. "Let's focus on the kids."
MSHSAA's existing appeals processes will remain in place, though the oversight commission will now serve as the final say in appeals.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would also have oversight of the commission. This was a sticking point for Sen. Joe Nicola, R-Grain Valley, who said he opposed saddling the department with additional work.
Nicola also said he was confused about what issue the bill was tackling, given its hefty revisions from the original text.
"After looking at (the) original bill and looking at this, I'm not even sure if I understand the purpose of this whole thing to begin with," he said. "And then creating a whole 'nother board, and you're going to put it under DESE, I'm just not a fan."
The bill still requires a final passage in the Senate before it can move to the House.
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Missouri House discusses more funding for HBCUs
By Kaleb Anderson, Missouri News Network
A bill that would provide more funding for Missouri’s historically Black colleges and universities was discussed in the Missouri House Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee on Tuesday.
House Bill 3416 would create the “Strengthening HBCUs Fund,” which will take 1%, or approximately $3.3 million, from the state’s excursion gambling proceeds and another 1% from the Classroom Trust Fund, another $3.3 million, in addition to gifts and donations, and split the funds between Lincoln University and Harris-Stowe State University.
The bill’s sponsor, LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, said the bill will allow the schools to focus on funding infrastructure.
“This is a fair, straightforward and necessary piece of legislation that seeks to correct long-standing inequities while investing in the future of higher education in Missouri,” Bosley said.
The bill was proposed in response to nationwide underfunding of HBCUs. According to a 2023 release from the U.S. Department of Education and Agriculture, 16 of the country’s 19 HBCUs have been underfunded by a combined $13 billion from 1987 to 2020. One of those schools is Lincoln University, which has only received one land grant match from the state since a federal mandate allowed states to do so in 2000. The decision is one that Bosley considers “morally incorrect.”
“It shows the disinvestment and what we consider to be important institutions of higher education in the state and those scholars that they serve,” Bosley said.
Lincoln University’s President John Moseley, who testified during the House hearing, acknowledged how crucial that land grant match was to the growth of the school. The school has become the fastest-growing university in the state over the last two years, with a 12.1% increase in student population over the last five years. With the school’s continued growth, Moseley said funding is crucial.
“There’s a great likelihood that we will max out our on-campus housing capacity in the fall of ’26,” Moseley said. “And so being able to identify where you can potentially pull funds over the next few years to pay for a project that would allow you to provide educational opportunities to a greater number of students would be very important.”
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WEEKEND
Alpha-gal tracking bill advances to Missouri Senate
By Rebecca Smith, Missouri News Network
A bill, HB 1855, that would require the state to track cases of alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to mammalian products, passed the Missouri House on Thursday by a vote of 125-25.
Alpha-gal is an allergy to red meat and other mammalian products, such as dairy and gelatin, that people can contract from the bite of a lone star tick. Bill sponsor, Rep. Matthew Overcast, R-Ava, said the bill would give the state a better, more accurate and science-based view of the condition’s impact on Missourians.
If passed, labs would be required to report positive alpha-gal blood tests to the Department of Health and Senior Services within seven days.
The department would then be responsible for doing randomized follow-ups with patients, and preparing an annual report for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A fiscal note on the bill from the department estimates the costs of running the program at approximately $500,000 per year. This would include four new full-time staff members and new equipment.
Overcast said he thinks this is an “overestimation” of how much the tracking would cost, but he acknowledged that more staff is needed to run the program efficiently.
Regardless, Overcast added that he believes the benefits of understanding alpha-gal’s full impact on the state and it’s residents will outweigh any potential costs — the condition is impacting everyone from children to farmers across the state.
At this time, there is no budget allotted to the bill if passed, but Overcast said he’s optimistic it would get a budget appropriation next session.
As there are only six weeks left in the legislative session, Overcast said he is working to give the proposed legislation as many chances of passing as possible. The bill text was also included in an omnibus health bill, HB 2372, which also passed the House today.
“I don't care that it gets done with my name on it,” Overcast said. “It just needs to get done. So, however we need to get that done … we're gonna do it.”
Overcast encouraged those impacted by alpha-gal syndrome to continue reaching out to their legislators to let them know how the condition is impacting their day-to-day lives.
Both bills now head to the Senate.
If adopted, Missouri would join the dozen other states who have mandatory reporting of alpha-gal syndrome.
