Capitol Report 5/1/2026

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 this week covered final passage of a new appeals process for MSHSAA athletes and a surprising defeat of a bill expanding parental rights in schools and medical settings. Our reporters also took an in-depth look at efforts to adjust property taxes.

If you have thoughts or questions, contact Fred Anklam at anklamf@missouri.edu.

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FRIDAY

Bill changing MSHSAA athletics appeals on its way to governor

By Brandon Lorenz, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — The House on Thursday passed and sent to the governor a bill that creates an oversight commission for appeals by high school athletes governed by the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

SB 863, sponsored by Sen. Jason Bean, R-Holcomb, would “establish the ‘Interscholastic Athletic Oversight Commission,’ a board of directors appointed by the governor to hear appeals of certain decisions made by statewide activities associations.”

“MSHSAA is pleased with the outcome of Senate Bill 863,” the organization said in a news release. “This bill is a workable solution and a far cry from the extremely damaging bill that sat on the Senate floor in February and March.”

As originally introduced, the bill would have allowed the board to have broader oversight of the association, including appeals for all eligibility, all contests and contest producers or any rule changes.

The final version only addresses decisions to be made on appeals of athletic related decisions within football, baseball and other sports. When signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe, the governmental body will have the final say on all athletic rulings.

“The voices of our member schools, coaches and directors associations, education partners, and many other Missourians were clearly heard, and that collective input helped shape a more favorable result,” MSHSAA said in its statement.

The board will be made up of five members, all appointed by the governor, with advice and consent of the Senate.

The bill got initial hearings in the Senate in February and was passed April 13. While in the House, bills need a “handler,” a representative that will help guide the bill through the House. Rep. Bennie Cook, R-Houston, was tasked with that responsibility for this bill.

“I hope this achieves where parents and students have another board, and that’s what it’s going to be. Another board where they can appeal their issues to, if they feel that they’ve been wronged by the MSHSAA board,” Cook said. “This is another option for them, that won’t cost them an arm or a leg. Right now, the other option is the court system.”

A similar bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Mark Meirath, R-Excelsior Springs, and was tied into this bill string in March. Meirath’s bill would have created a “transfer board” that would have three members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, three members appointed by the president pro tem of the Senate and one member appointed by the governor.

“If (parents or athletes) are going to appeal, then they’re going to have to go all the way through what’s currently on the MSHSAA bylaws,” Meirath said. “Then it comes, if they choose, to the oversight committee. It has nothing to do with the organization within MSHSAA. It has everything to do with making sure there’s true oversight.”

Some confusion brewed on the House floor as Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, and Cook discussed the bill. In one part of the final version of the bill, there is a line that does not include the word “athletics.”

“When I read (this part) I do not see it specifically aimed at athletics,” Steinhoff said, “so it could apply to Scholarbowl, it could apply to the music side of MSHSAA, it could apply to all of the things MSHSAA does.”

“I get the feeling that was not the intent of the bill because the name of the commission is ‘the athletics commission,’ so I’m wondering if we are intentionally allowing appeals to all the other parts of MSHSAA?” Steinhoff asked.

Cook did not directly answer the question, responding that the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was going to be involved in the future of this bill and some of the decision making.

Once signed by Kehoe, this law will go into effect Aug. 28.

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Senators debate artificial intelligence regulation bill

By Emily Skidmore, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — Concerns were heard on the Senate floor Thursday as legislators attempted to add amendments to a bill regulating artificial intelligence.

Senate Bill 1012, introduced by Sen. Joe Nicola, R-Grain Valley, includes several provisions regulating AI use in elections and healthcare.

The bill also establishes the “AI Non-Sentience and Responsibility Act,” which declares that AI systems are not considered a person and that all harm caused by AI is the responsibility of the owner or user of that system.

For elections, the bill would require any political advertisements or communication campaigns that use AI to have a disclaimer on that media. Any media that does not have a disclaimer will be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

The bill additionally includes provisions for mental health and interactions between users of AI and AI companion chatbots, which provide human-like responses to user input. The provisions include requirements for AI chatbots to provide users with hotlines and resources useful to their mental health, such as the suicidal prevention hotline.

These resources would be required in responses when users express suicidal ideation or other mental health concerns in prompts to the AI.

The act will also require operators of companion chatbots to make annual reports to the Missouri Department of Mental Health regarding crisis interactions and instances of suicidal ideation by users.

Missouri does not currently have extensive state laws that regulate AI.

Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby, introduced and had adopted an amendment to the bill that removed a section about criminal offenses for posting an AI-produced image because malicious intent as a cause for the crime was not specified in the section.

Additionally, Sen. Jamie Burger, R-Benton, introduced and adopted an amendment that seeks to prohibit AI systems from being categorized as he or she.

This amendment came after Burger expressed reservations about the timing of the bill.

“I just don’t know that this is the time,” Burger said.

AI regulation has been a priority for legislators this session as many have worked to put restrictions on AI and the production of deepfakes. Deepfakes are AI-generated media that create realistic audio, video or images to make people appear to say or do things they never did.

Back in February, senators showed bipartisan support for AI regulation bills at a news conference where Nicola talked about this bill.

“AI can be a very powerful tool, and the Missouri family should not be the guinea pigs while bad actors are exploiting new technology to harm real people,” Nicola said during the February news conference.

President Donald Trump has put forth an executive order that established a national policy framework to reduce “onerous and excessive laws” coming from the state level and to prioritize safety and security with AI.

Nicola said he worked closely with the White House in creating the bill.

The bill is available to be voted on next week in the Senate.

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Annual Capitol anti-abortion march draws large crowd

By KJ Drazen and Emerson Smith, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — A sea of people dressed in red flooded the south lawn of the Missouri Capitol early Thursday morning in support of the Midwest March for Life.

Beginning in 2010 and hosted by the St. Andrew Pro-Life Committee, this annual rally brings Missourians who are against abortion together. The march commemorates the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion for the nation back in 1973.

The Midwest March for Life is an annual event, but many in the crowd were there to voice support for the upcoming Amendment 3 ballot initiative. That is the legislation endorsed by Republican legislators last spring that would effectively ban abortion in Missouri, a reversal of the protections that voters approved in 2024.

This year’s march had a full schedule starting at 8 a.m. with a prayer walk, then moved into an opening ceremony before ending with a rally featuring speeches and testimonials.

“My desire really is just to speak to those that first have had abortions maybe in the past, that there’s healing, that there’s hope and to create an awareness of educating those that need to know the harm of abortion,” said Linda Freire, who spoke at the march.

Freire works for Sidewalk Advocates for Life, a nonprofit, anti-abortion organization that helps give resources and support to women outside of abortion clinics.

Other speakers at the rally included religious leaders, health care professionals and anti-abortion group representatives. Republican state representatives and senators also joined the crowd throughout the morning.

Kate Sickles, an anti-abortion advocate at the rally, shared why voting yes on Amendment 3 is so important to her and her peers.

“It gives the parents back their rights to be able to say what their children do,” Sickles said. “We also lost 50 health and safety standards for women and children with the passage of this. This will reinstate those 50 laws.”

Another group of advocates in attendance were the Women in White, women dressed in white clothing from head to toe. They represent the 67 women who were injured or lost their lives due to an abortion operation at a Planned Parenthood in St. Louis. The white clothing represents each white sheet that was used to cover the women as they were being transported into the ambulance.

Alliance for Life, a statewide coalition of pregnancy health organizations like adoption agencies, maternity homes and pregnancy help centers, had a booth at the rally. Members of the organization spoke passionately against abortion.

“Every baby matters. Every life matters. And God created each one of them, fearfully and wonderfully made,” said Christy Richardson, an anti-abortion advocate who works with Alliance for Life.

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House strikes down parental rights bill

By Kennedy Voss and Anika Austvold, Missouri News Network 

JEFFERSON CITY — In a surprising vote, the Missouri House of Representatives struck down a bill Thursday that would have expanded the rights of parents in their child’s school or doctor’s office.

The bill faced robust debate Tuesday, which ended with the House signaling its approval with a vocal vote. However, the bill was unable to cross the threshold of votes needed Thursday for it to be passed along to the Missouri Senate.

The bill received a vote of 70-60, which falls short of the 82 votes needed to provide a constitutional majority.

House Bill 2426, sponsored by Rep. Ben Keathley, R-Chesterfield, was meant to give parents more control over decisions affecting their children’s health and education.

“We all know and agree that parents are the initial and ultimate people responsible for the upbringing and raising of their children,” Keathley said.

In the classroom, it would have allowed parents to approve reading materials or topics discussed. The language cited moral reasons and also had provisions about excusing their child from school for religious purposes.

For schools, it would have required more oversight by making a database that parents would have been allowed access to for tracking what the district spends its money on.

Opponents argued the added requirements could place additional burdens on school systems.

“Our schools know how to navigate the balance of the parents’ rights and the protection of children, as do our health care providers,” said Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, who spoke against the bill. “This bill will add challenges to the work they are doing.”

The bill also would have required schools to let parents know if they suspected their child was being abused. Opponents raised concerns during debate Tuesday, warning that if a parent were the abuser, the requirement could put an abused child in further danger.

“This is not about the power of families,” Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs, D-St. Louis, said in opposition to the legislation. “It’s about fortifying a dangerous ideology that prioritizes absolute parental control over a child’s right to safety.”

Though the lack of support was surprising, the bill would have faced many hurdles to final passage.

If the vote had gone in Keathley’s favor, it would have needed to move quickly through the Senate as the legislative session ends in two weeks.

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Senate committee passes SPEAKS Act

By Kate Leverenz, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — House Bill 2682, also known as the SPEAKS Act, passed out of the Senate Education Committee on Thursday.

The SPEAKS Act, sponsored by Rep. Darin Chappell, R-Rogersville, would add political and ideological expression to the current religious expression protections for public school students.

The bill prohibits discrimination against student clubs on the basis of religious, political or ideological viewpoints. It also allows individuals to sue schools in federal court if provisions of the act are violated.

Similar legislation was passed last year with Senate Bill 160, also known as the Missouri CROWN Act. This bill, sponsored by Sen. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair, prohibits public institutions from taking adverse action against a belief-based student association or applicant.

HB 2682 extends these provisions to all public schools in Missouri, with added provisions permitting lawsuits to be filed for violations under this act.

Chappell offered testimony at the hearing, where he said this bill allows individual students to make clubs without interference and that school board policies cannot compel groups to accept individuals with differing views.

“It just simply recognizes that the First Amendment does indeed apply to school children,” Chappell said. “They do not lose their capacity simply because they cross the schoolhouse threshold.”

Testimony opposing this bill was offered by Otto Fajen, director of legislative policy for the Missouri National Education Association, who said his concerns stem from provisions about lawsuits that were not included in SB 160.

“It raises questions about whether this state procedural mandate might make it harder for schools when they’re having their policies to balance student expression, and the need to maintain a safe and workable environment for learning,” Fajen said.

Witness testimonies from January in the House General Laws Committee shared similar concerns, with some saying this legislation could increase hate and discrimination in schools.

“A club could ban LGBTQIA+ members or promote racist ideologies, and the school’s hands would be tied,” witness Michael Dreyer said. “This sanctions bullying and exclusion with legal protection, forcing targeted students into hostile environments.”

The bill was passed with a vote of 5-0 in the committee and will return to the Senate for final action.

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Bill would shift boarding costs to officers in wrongful animal seizures

By Ryan Brandt, Missouri News Network 

JEFFERSON CITY — House Bill 2436 aims to change how Missouri defines, prosecutes and handles cases of animal neglect and conduct.

The bill amends and replaces five existing sections of Missouri law governing offenses involving animals. It also introduces an entirely new offense and removes an outdated statute.

This piece of legislation, discussed Thursday by the Senate Agriculture Committee, creates a new crime for knowingly filing a false animal abuse report with the intent to harass or financially harm an animal’s owner.

The bill would expand animal neglect liability to include failure to provide adequate control and abandonment. Penalties would escalate up to a class D felony if neglect causes a person’s death. A starvation clause alongside torture and mutilation was added as conditions that lead to a class E felony.

“If an owner is found not to have been abusing or neglecting animals, they get their animals back with no charges," said bill sponsor, Rep. Dean Van Schoiack, R-Savannah. "The charges are to be paid by the confiscating authority. If no charges of animal abuse or neglect are filed, they get their animal back, and the charges are dropped.”

Sen. Jamie Burger R-Benton, posed a question to Schoiack, “If animals are confiscated or picked up and there’s no abuse, who pays for the boarding fees and all that?” 

“Currently, the animal owner does," replied Schoiack. "Now, under my bill, they would not have to pay for that; the confiscating officer would.” 

The bill aims to overhaul the impoundment process by restricting warrant authority to law enforcement and criminalizing illegal euthanasia or sterilization of impounded animals.

This legislation would establish an exception for law enforcement dogs that bite or injure in the line of duty.

Bob Baker testified in opposition of the bill for the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation.

“This bill does the exact opposite of what the supporters intend to do. They said this is to protect innocent animal owners, and the problem is they don’t understand the current law,” Baker said.

“When I hear testimony that innocent animal owners must pay for the cost of their care and don’t get their animals back, that is blatantly false under the current law," he said.

"Under the current law, the disposition of the process is a civic trial, which must be held within 30 days. Most of them are done within 20 days,” Baker said. 

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THURSDAY

Property taxes could face major changes in final weeks of session

By Emma Farrel and Nolan Haberstroh, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — Leadership in the Missouri General Assembly made property tax reform a top priority this year, with over a hundred bills filed by members in both chambers.

With two weeks left in the session, time is running out to place a reform bill on the governor’s desk, but legislators continue to advocate for change.

After years of rising home values across the state, property taxes have continued to grow higher.

Among the many bills introduced this session is House Bill 2780, sponsored by Rep. Tim Taylor, R-Bunceton, and carried in the Senate by Sen. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair. After struggling to gain traction on its own, nearly all of the bill’s provisions were carried over to the broader Senate Bill 1066, sponsored by Sen. Ben Brown, R-Washington. SB 1066 passed the House on April 23.

Taylor and the House Special Committee on Property Tax Reform, which he chairs, spent last summer holding six hearings across the state to gather concerns from residents and officials about the current property tax system.

The proposed legislation introduced this year could result in a major shift in the state’s current approach to property taxes. However, the legislation also raises concerns regarding funding for public entities such as school districts, EMS and fire districts.

Where property tax stands

Missouri’s current property tax system is known to be complex and notoriously hard to reform.

“Our property tax system is complicated; it’s complicated in such a way that if we don’t enact reform in a wise way, we are going to create unintended consequences,” Hudson said.

Hudson compared the current system to a “giant game of Jenga,” warning that changes made without careful consideration could lead to the destabilization of the entire system.

Property taxes in Missouri are largely controlled at the local level. Counties assess property values, and local tax jurisdictions set the tax rates. Those taxes fund essential services, including public schools and emergency services.

The system is regulated in part by the Hancock Amendment, a 1980 constitutional provision designed to limit how quickly taxes can rise.

“The Hancock Amendment states that if the assessed valuation of a jurisdiction goes up five percent or CPI (consumer price index), whichever is less, that they are to roll back their levies,” Boone County Assessor Kenny Mohr said. “Because reassessment is not supposed to be a windfall, it’s supposed to be revenue neutral.”

The consumer price index represents the average change in price for basic goods over time and is a common measure for inflation. Should the valuation increase in an area at a higher rate than CPI, then the Hancock Amendment requires rollbacks, ideally preventing tax increases from outpacing inflation.

However, the implementation of the Hancock Amendment to property taxes has faced ongoing challenges in practice. The amount that property tax assessments increase varies within the different property classifications, such as residential, commercial and agricultural. But rollback calculations are based on the total change in assessment within a taxing district, which legislators have argued leads to lower rollback rates in categories with larger increases in assessment, frequently residential.

According to the Missouri State Tax Commission, in 2014, Missouri’s total assessed property value was $97 billion, and in 2024, the number reached $152 billion, a 56% increase over ten years. From 2014 to 2024, in incorporated areas of Boone County alone, assessed residential property value increased 52%, while commercial value grew 26% and agricultural value fell 6%. Under current law, for purposes of determining rollbacks, these values would be averaged, and each of these categories of property would receive the same rollback, despite vast differences in growth.

‘Siloing’ and other solutions

As frustration over rising property taxes grows, lawmakers have proposed legislation to reshape the system and attempt to ensure fairer property tax rates.

One leading idea to help alleviate concerns over increases in assessments is often referred to as “siloing.” These siloing provisions have been amended into and introduced in a handful of bills, including HB 2780 and SB 1066. These siloing provisions would make it so rollbacks are determined individually for each property tax category, not based on the total change in assessment within a district.

Taylor spent ample time in committee arguing and laying the groundwork for this legislation.

“Ultimately, what this silo effect does is instead of having one tax levy for all the subclasses, it creates a tax levy for each subclass,” Mohr said. “Each one of those levies, each one of those subclasses is gonna be held up by the Hancock Amendment, just as the total aggregate is.”

In practice, legislators hope that this will help individuals pay property taxes on their homes, as home prices and assessments on home values have increased in recent years. Mohr noted in recent years that property tax increases have been nearly equal to assessment increases, which Mohr said is less than ideal.

“It would be more of a chance that that levy would be rolled back,” Mohr said. “And then (homeowners) might see an increase of you know, 10% in the valuation of their home, but their taxes might only go up two or three percent.”

Another provision of Taylor’s bill, also included in SB 1066, seeks to ensure that spikes in assessments to commercial property are accurately determined. The bill requires that if a commercial or other non-agricultural property’s assessment increases by more than 15% in one assessment, a physical inspection of the property must be conducted. Currently, physical inspections during 15% increases are only required for a residential property.

“So, an assessor can sit in their office and raise the assessed value of a commercial property an unlimited amount,” Taylor said. “And this bill says ‘No, if you’re gonna do it 15% or greater, they too have to come and do a physical inspection of your facility.’”

Other ideas

Many property tax bills put forward this year relate to transparency in election language when property tax ballot measures are put before voters. These policies would attempt to prevent misleading strategies from being used in the advertising and naming of property tax changes.

Subdivisions and election authorities would be unable to claim a proposed tax measure would have “no increase” in taxes in advertising.

Additionally, tax measures would be required to be named numerically and alphabetically on the ballot. This would prevent inaccurate nicknames from being attached to unrelated tax measures.

Moving property tax issues to the November elections and tweaks to the current senior property tax credit have been floated.

Also, on the table in some bills is the possibility to lower the minimum operational levy for schools to receive state education funding from the current $2.75 per $100 of assessed value.

Requiring assessors to use only the “cost approach” when assessing property has also been proposed, which effectively assesses property based on the cost to build the current property today. Proponents claim that of the three methods available to assessors, the cost approach best estimates real value. Opponents, meanwhile, argue that this approach would not take into account the interiors of homes and properties within the cost to build.

“Our patient is the taxpayers and the property tax system, and it’s bleeding out,” Taylor said. “We need to stop the bleeding so we can sit here, stabilize it, look at it and fix those nuances as they come forward.”

Hudson said he sees this push for property tax reform being driven largely by the people.

“The general consensus throughout my district, and beyond, I would say, is that the people want property tax reform,” Hudson said.

Despite a push for reform from constituents, Hudson said what the legislation looks like and what will pass are still up for debate.

“We’ve only scratched the surface with these few things,” Taylor said. “By far, though, if we can get this siloing done in the proper way, there will be great benefits to taxpayers and it will stop the bleeding.”

Local budget concerns

While lawmakers and homeowners emphasize the need to make property taxes more fair, changes proposed in the legislature have raised concerns among public entities that rely on revenue from their taxing district.

Hudson acknowledged the challenge of trying to balance these competing priorities.

“We’ve got a needle to thread,” he said. “You’ve got school districts and other political subdivisions that use property taxes to balance their budget, and you’ve also got constituents that have to pay property taxes and are trying to balance their budget.”

However, for emergency services, the stakes are immediate.

Larry Jennings, president of the Fire Fighter Association of Missouri, said departments across the state depend heavily on property tax revenue.

“For many of those agencies like fire and ambulance districts, the majority, if not 100% of their money, comes from those personal and real property taxes,” Jennings said.

Andrew West, assistant chief of Rock Township Ambulance District in Jefferson County, said the main concern is losing funding with no way to replace it.

Jefferson County is one of 22 Missouri counties that voted on Senate Bill 3 in April, passing a 0% property tax cap bill with an overwhelming majority.

Senate Bill 3, from the 2025 session, sought to place caps on property tax increases and was voted on by 97 of the 114 Missouri counties. Many counties with urban centers opted out of the vote, including Boone County.

West said rising costs have already made long-term planning more difficult, especially for equipment and vehicles.

“An ambulance that we’re buying now costs about $330,000, where six years ago the same exact model was about $200,000,” West said. “Now they take two to three years to get, so we’re constantly having to think two to three years ahead, and cutting property taxes just takes away part of our stream of revenue to pay for that equipment. So, it makes it really hard to plan for the future.”

Without a clear solution in place, Jennings said, revenue solutions to potential reductions in property tax revenue have not “been totally, clearly laid out.”

West said these changes could make emergency services like ambulance rides and EMS care more expensive for citizens.

“Right now, our average reimbursement (from property taxes) for a call is about $400. Well, it costs us $754 to run a call,” West said. “We’re going to have to pass on those increases to our patients, and then patients are going to be worried about calling 911 because they don’t have the extra funding to pay for those bills or those copays, even if they do have insurance.”

Concerns have also been raised about the potential effect of a lack of funding on emergency service response time.

“You start messing with some of these small districts, fire districts and ambulance districts and things like that, your response times might go from 15, 20 minutes up to 45 to an hour,” Mohr said. “So I mean, it can be problematic.”

One solution emergency service representatives have floated would raise sales tax in local districts to offset the costs.

Jennings noted that these alternative funding solutions may not work for many rural counties in the state, as they have smaller tax bases due to lower populations.

While his own district in Jefferson County has some funding protection due to existing sales tax, West said many other districts are far more vulnerable to these changes. He said that departments surrounding his area have already begun running models indicating they will need to shut down in the next five to 10 years.

As lawmakers continue to debate the details, questions remain about how changes to the property tax system could ripple through local communities.

Jennings said that without a clearly defined replacement plan, the consequences could be significant.

“I think without a doubt … there is a strong likelihood that many of those services are going to be affected,” he said.

Schools and libraries also receive a large portion of their funding from property taxes and could face similar concerns. Any reduction in local revenue could force difficult decisions about staffing, programming and resources.

With SB 1066 and many other bills moving in the Senate, statewide property tax reform is likely, but apprehension about unintended consequences remains.

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Senate committee hears bill limiting AI-generated content

By Anika Austvold, Missouri News Network 

JEFFERSON CITY — The Senate Committee on General Laws heard legislation Wednesday that would regulate artificial intelligence–generated material, particularly sexual content and mental health services.

House Bill 2035, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Farnan, R-Stanberry, would prohibit the use of AI to create sexually explicit content using another person’s likeness without consent. This would also expand state law to include AI-generated depictions in child pornography statutes.

The bill restricts artificial intelligence systems from presenting themselves as licensed mental health professionals or providing diagnoses in ways that mislead consumers.

Supporters of the bill said it addresses growing concerns about the misuse of AI technology and the need to protect vulnerable individuals. Arnie Dienoff told lawmakers that safeguards are necessary to ensure individuals in crisis receive tangible help from qualified professionals.

“We need to make sure when people are having a health crisis or a mental health breakdown, that they’re actually talking to a mental health professional,” Dienoff said.

The bill also received support from mental health advocates who said the provisions are intended to protect users rather than regulate AI technology itself.

Jessica Petrie Thelemaque of the National Association of Social Workers said the measure would help prevent artificial intelligence systems from falsely presenting themselves as licensed mental health care providers.

“This isn’t trying to regulate the operations of AI models but is trying to get at how they advertise and represent themselves to consumers,” Thelemaque said.

Religious organizations also supported the bill’s provisions expanding child pornography laws to include artificially generated material. Curtis Wichmer of the Missouri Catholic Conference said limiting the production of AI-generated explicit material involving minors is necessary to protect children from exploitation.

Under the legislation, violations would be considered unlawful practices under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. The act is the state’s consumer protection law that prohibits deceptive or misleading business practices.

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Bathroom separation bill draws criticism in Senate hearing

By Sawyer Bess, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — A House bill requiring gendered bathroom use faced heavy opposition in a Senate hearing Wednesday.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Becky Laubinger, R-Park Hills, said she wants “covered institutions” to provide restrooms, changing rooms or sleeping quarters restricted to males or females only. The bill passed the House of Representatives on a 101-48 vote on April 20.

Covered institutions include public schools, public colleges and universities, public buildings, correctional centers and juvenile detention centers.

“The legal cause of action is against the entities that create spaces that force males and females to share these vulnerable spaces,” Laubinger said. “This legislation prohibits government entities from creating predator-friendly environments.”

Laubinger cited an incident in March where more than 60 women were unknowingly filmed in an all-gender restroom at Kansas City International Airport. She said the all-gender policy is perpetrator-friendly.

On top of requiring gender-exclusive spaces, the bill requires that people must use whichever space corresponds to their biological sex.

Many transgender Missourians testified against House Bill 2536, and said it would make them use a bathroom that they are uncomfortable in and would be very difficult to enforce.

“How are we checking? And why are we reducing people down to their sex organs?” West Plains resident Stevie Miller said. “Presentation is not always gender and neither of those are sex. To claim you can know someone’s sex by looking at their face is overconfident at best.”

Others say the bill follows larger trends of focusing on transgender people instead of targeting sexual assault.

“The reason this agenda works is because women are so afraid of men, and this is easier for you to do than actually fix the problem of men’s violence against women,” Jen Harper said.

The bill also adds definitions for female and male based on the functions of their reproductive organs. Keith Rose, with The Center for Growing Justice, said that this definition change applies to more than just bathroom and private spaces.

“What we’re looking at is a grand change of Missouri statute, and it’s being hidden under this bathroom panic that we’re seeing spread across the country,” Rose said.

After passing similar legislation, Rose said that Kansas departments had to implement the policy without notice, and various lawsuits were brought against the state.

Some exceptions are included in the bill, including custodians, maintenance workers and licensed inspectors. It also accounts for aid during an emergency, or for medical, public safety and law enforcement assistance.

If no other spaces are available during an athletic event a team may use opposite private spaces for coaching or athletic training purposes.

Laubinger also said that a parent may bring their child of an opposite sex into restrooms.

Biology-based separation of boys and girls’ sports is current Missouri law that is set to expire in August 2027. HB 2536 would eliminate that expiration.

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Bill on 'masked intimidation' passes in Senate committee

By Abigail Didonna, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — A bill that would establish masked intimidation as a crime was passed by the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Wednesday morning.

House Bill 2848, sponsored by Rep. David Dolan, R-Sikeston, would establish the new misdemeanor and outline its punishments.

Masked intimation occurs when a person intentionally harasses, intimidates or threatens any other person while concealing their face with a mask, hood or any other article for the purpose of hiding their identity with the intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their physical safety, according to the bill.

The new crime would generally be classified as a class C misdemeanor, with repeat offenses elevated to a class B misdemeanor.

If the act is proven to be motivated by the victim’s race, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or disability, then the crime can be charged as a class E felony.

As an example of masked intimidation, a representative from the Anti-Defamation League mentioned last year’s march by the Patriot Front, a white supremacist group, that featured masked members in Kansas City.

The bill creates exemptions for masks used for holidays, theatrical productions, occupational safety, protection from the weather, public health and religion.

The legislation includes specific provisions stating that the bill shall not be used to infringe upon First Amendment protections.

“The reality of this mask legislation prevents and responds to crime and harassment,” Dolan said. “It does not stop law-abiding citizens from masking for genuine reasons of health, religious observance or revelry.”

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WEDNESDAY

New data shows a decline in phone usage while driving

By Noah Symes, Missouri News NetworkTop of Form

JEFFERSON CITY — State agencies and AAA announced a decline in mobile phone use while driving following the full enforcement of the “hands-free law” on Tuesday.

Analysis from Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a company that helps track vehicles and driver behavior, shows a 16% reduction in time spent on phones while driving after the hands-free law took effect in July of 2023.

The Siddens Bening Hands Free Law prohibits most mobile phone and similar electronics usage while driving.

In the months leading up to the law’s passage, analysis showed that mobile phone usage consumed 0.97% of driving time. After the passage, through December 2025, analysis showed a drop to 0.81% .

Angela Nelson, director of the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, spoke about Missouri residents’ acclimation to the new law.

“The decrease in handheld phone use that we now see through the end of December 2025 appears durable and consistent,” Nelson said. “We have not seen a drop, a return to those low levels before the law went into effect.”

Nelson said the reduction in distracted driving means a more stable insurance market for Missouri residents.

“Fewer distracted driving crashes means fewer injuries, fewer insurance claims,” Nelson said. “It means more affordable auto insurance premiums.”

Scott White, a captain in the Missouri State Highway Patrol, spoke about his experience seeing the aftermath of distracted driving crashes and urged residents to put their phones down.

“We all feel the pull of a notification, the urge to respond, the belief that it can’t wait,” White said. “The truth is, and we’ve seen it, that the road and highways simply do not give those second chances.”

White recounted his response to a distracted driving accident that took the lives of a mother and her four children.

“I could not help but think, just how a simple decision, where people thought that this was harmless or ‘it’s not gonna happen to me, it’s not gonna happen (to a) family,’ how it costs them everything,” White said.

More information from the Missouri Department of Transportation and the State Highway Patrol about the hands-free law can be viewed at the Save MO Lives website.

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Back to basics: Legislators want to trim school screen time

By Hailey Sanford, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri legislators are pushing for a 45-minute limit on educational screen time for K-5 students.

The Senate Education Committee passed House Bill 2230, sponsored by Rep. Tricia Byrnes, R-Wentzville, on Tuesday morning. The bill aims to decrease screen time for students in kindergarten through fifth grade by encouraging the use of paper and pencil in instruction.

Byrnes said that children are cognitively less capable now than in the past. She told the committee it is connected to technology usage.

The bill would require school districts to put limits on screen time for schoolwork in and out of school, student access to internet instructional technology and digital platforms. Schools would need a written plan of use of traditional materials, like textbooks and workbooks, and would have to give guardians access to their child’s screen time.

The bill would also reinstate the use of cursive writing in public schools. When the Common Core educational standards were accepted in 2010, cursive writing was largely phased out. The International Dyslexia Association says that writing in cursive can aid students in learning correct spelling.

Committee Chair Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, spoke in favor of the bill.

“We’re seeing terrible results due to the fact that we allow technology to literally take over education,” Brattin said. “We have kids that are graduating not even knowing how to spell, they can’t write, they can’t do anything because they’re so dependent on devices.”

Maryam Mohammadkhani serves on the Springfield School Board and has studied the impact screen time has on children for the past 10 years.

“This is not about rejecting technology. It is a question of aligning educational tools of how humans biologically lean and how cognition develops,” Mohammadkhani said. “There is a desperate need for policies that restore balance by demanding evidence, protecting children’s developmental needs and ensuring that innovation indeed serves learning.”

Twyla Evans, executive director of Secondary Education for the Neosho School District, testified as a private citizen. She said it costs $490,000 to $1.25 million to provide a 2,000-student school district with technology for a year.

It would cost $320,000 to $620,000 to provide a same-sized school district with a sufficient number of textbooks, workbooks and printed papers, she said.

Alabama and Utah have passed legislation to decrease screen time for elementary-aged children this year, and 12 other states, including Missouri, have pending legislation.

In January, the U.S. Senate considered banning technology in the classroom altogether. A lot of the funding for technology comes from the federal government.

The bill was passed out of committee in a 4-1 vote.

“I think we got to get back to basics, get back to how we’ve learned for years,” Brattin said.

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House hears tax credit bill for STEAM schools programs

By Sam Jackson, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — A bill that would create a tax credit program for donations to STEAM programs was heard on Tuesday by the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee.

Rep. Louis Riggs, R-Hannibal, is the sponsor of House Bill 3359. This bill creates the “STEAM and Robotics Workforce Development and Innovation Act.”

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Programs in schools that work with hands-on building, coding and designing skills, like robotics teams, will now be allowed to register with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The bill creates a tax credit capped at $10 million for donations to qualifying programs.

Riggs was unable to attend the hearing Tuesday, but Rep. Travis Wilson, R-St. Charles, presented the bill to the committee in his place.

“The bill creates a tax credit for the program beginning the 2027 tax year for an amount not to exceed $10 million,” Wilson said.

Eligible donations include software, hardware, tools, supplies, materials or employee volunteer hours at all schools for STEAM or robotics programs.

Wilson added that this bill has a six-year sunset provision. The tax is intended for individuals who volunteer time to teach STEAM programs and for businesses who chose to donate eligible software or tools.

“Let’s say they (a company) were donating the laptops to be used in the process. And that would be something that a company could utilize that tax credit for,” Wilson said.

Rep. Pattie Mansur, D-Kansas City, challenged the idea of providing tax credits for volunteer hours.

“I frankly don’t feel comfortable with that piece at all. I think it discourages enterprise from investing in young people in the way they should, and that there are community incentives to recognize companies for doing so,” Mansur said. “In terms of tax credits for equipment, materials and things that are costly and difficult for a lot of schools to obtain. I’m very interested and supportive of that mechanism.”

Sarah Waldron, a senior at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis County and CEO of the school’s robotics team, helped write the bill last year at the age of 17. Waldron was in attendance Tuesday to show her support for the bill and to clarify to lawmakers why she proposed it.

“I think it’s very important that these volunteer hours are protected for employees of businesses,” Waldron said. “It’s very important that we have guardrails so people don’t abuse this tax credit because it’s really important that we protect the students in this situation. This tax credit is capped at $10 million per year. It is simple. It is targeted, and it was built around a model that actually works.”

Waldron says she is fortunate her school has resources and dedicated mentors, but this bill is meant for other schools in rural and urban areas that do not have access to those same opportunities.

“It’s really important to fix this. Many schools have no STEAM or robotics programs at all, not because students lack talent, but because the funding simply is just not there,” Waldron said.

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Transgender activists speak out against sports ban

Hailey Sanford, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — The Senate Education Committee heard a House Bill on Tuesday that would prevent further review of transgender athletes participating in high school and collegiate sports.

House Bill 1663, sponsored by Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, aims to remove the current end date of a 2023 state law, Senate Bill 39.

The law requires transgender students to participate in sports under their biological sex. It has an end date of August 2027, and this bill would remove that provision. This bill passed the House in a 98-37 vote, directly along party lines.

Seitz told the committee that his bill would “protect girls and women from a possible unfair advantage in women’s sports. When scientific, biological differences between the sexes are ignored or not taken into consideration, women and girls suffer, becoming less than rather than equal.”

The NCAA prohibits biological males from competing in female sports. Biological males can practice on the women’s team, and any student athlete can participate and compete on the men’s team.

Seitz claimed that transgender women participating in women’s sports have won nearly 900 medals. This refers to a report by an independent human rights expert. The medals are listed on a website that claims transgender women do not belong in cisgender sports.

The website says the number of medals, records, scholarships or other opportunities that transgender women have won over cisgender women at 4,799. At the high school level, there were just two instances where a transgender woman placed higher than all other competitors. The website is self-reported.

Jamie Sgarro, an attorney for the Missouri ACLU and a transgender man, told the committee that this is a non-issue that Missourians are not worried about.

“This legislation is not really about sports. It is about erasing and excluding trans people from participation in all aspects of public life,” Sgarro said.

Stevie Miller, a non-binary transgender man, stepped up in front of the committee members clad in a jacket with “Be not afraid” painted on the back in the colors of the transgender flag.

“This is state-sanctioned bullying, allowing the exclusion of some children. You wouldn’t dare exclude a disabled child from participation,” he said. “How is an androgynous child any different?”

Miller, one of the founders of West Plains Pride, said that transgender and cisgender women perform at about the same level.

Following Miller’s testimony, Education Committee Chair Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, questioned having transgender people in the locker room with cisgender people.

“So you think it’s OK for 13-year-old girls to be subjected to a boy with a penis in the shower at a locker room at school,” Brattin asked.

Miller retorted that there is no evidence of that being a requirement in Missouri.

“If you release that information to me, absolutely I’ll believe you, and I’ll change my mind,” Miller said.

Cammie Storm, a transgender woman from West Plains, said legislators should not make the law permanent.

“I have lived in environments where people believe they have the right to control who I was, where identity was something to be corrected,” Storm said. “When the state passes laws like this, it sends a message that those systems were right, and that has consequences.”

Katy Erker-Lynch, executive director of PROMO, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said that out of the 510,000 athletes in the NCAA, fewer than 10 are transgender.

“This is not what Missourians want. This is not what our state needs,” Erker-Lynch said, “and to be honest, it is deeply misogynistic and sexist to believe that any man could beat any woman.”

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TUESDAY

Senate bill would allow for self-exclusion from firearm purchases

By Margaret Stewart, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — Senate legislation designed to protect individuals experiencing mental health issues would create a voluntary self-exclusion list from the purchase of firearms. “Donna’s Law” would be on a temporary basis.

The law is designed to function as a form of suicide prevention, and could also extend to cases of extreme violence against others, said bill sponsor Sen. Patty Lewis, D-Kansas City.

Donna’s Law would provide protection for individuals with a history of substance use issues, severe mental illness and a history of prior violence from acquiring firearms.

Lewis, who introduced Senate Bill 1018, attempted to pass the legislation in 2024 and 2025. None of the bills, including this year’s bill, have had a hearing.

Identical legislation has also been introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives, House Bill 1205.

Lewis’s bill differs from what are known as “red flag laws,” in which citizens may be flagged if they are deemed as a potential danger to themselves or others. The flagged citizens are temporarily prohibited from purchasing firearms for up to one year depending on the state.

Lewis said it’s “really important to understand that Donna’s Law is not a red flag law. It’s not taking anyone’s guns away.”

There are five states — Washington, Utah, Virginia, Delaware and Colorado — with self-exclusion protocols.

A person filing the waiver may designate a contact person in case of an attempt to purchase a firearm during the 30-day period when the waiver is active and once it’s revoked.

If someone “want(ed) to start hunting again and want to get firearms they can,” Lewis said.

She said suicide by firearm is most common in certain careers such as farmers, veterans and first responders, as well as LGBTQ+ communities.

A 2025 study found that 60% of suicides in Missouri are caused by a firearm. The bill would protect rural communities, which have higher suicide rates than urban communities, according to the study.

“Missouri constantly experiences a suicide rate higher than the national average,” Lewis said.

The bill would also prohibit others from selling, transferring or gifting firearms to individuals on the list.

Waivers would be submitted to the Missouri Department of Public Safety and could be revoked at any time, according to the bill’s provisions.

Court records of the waiver will be destroyed after 30 days of it being revoked.

On average, there are 747 people in Missouri who die from firearm-related suicides. The state is ranked 11th for highest gun suicide rates, and has the eighth highest rate of gun violence in the U.S.

Lewis also said certain professions experience higher rates of suicide, such as veterans, health care providers and first responders.

Donna’s Law is unlikely to pass this year, “given the state of Missouri and the supermajority’s unwillingness to address gun violence,” Lewis said.

Help is available for those experiencing difficulty. If someone is experiencing a mental health, suicide or substance use crisis, or any other emotional distress, that individual is encouraged to call or text 988 or chat online here.