Capitol Report 7/17/2026

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 offers stories on Missouri’s congressional delegation support of the nomination of Todd Blanche as Attorney General and support for new purple alerts for those with disabilities. There’s a look at a new state law impacting drunk drivers and a fun feature on a Missouri goldfish farm that sells around the world.

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

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New Missouri law requires drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a parent

By Leore Tai, Missouri News Network

In the spring of 2021, Cecilia Williams lost her son, daughter-in-law and grandson to a drunken driver.

Williams, who lives in Bonne Terre, is now raising the two orphaned grandchildren who survived, Bentley and Mason.

A year later, Melanie Wankum was hit head-on by a drunken driver, killing her instantly and injuring a passenger on their way back from a wedding.

In both tragedies, families of the victims became advocates on their behalf, championing tougher laws in Missouri against drunken driving.

Soon after the crash that killed her son and his family, Williams found herself in Jefferson City lobbying for a bill that would hold drunken drivers responsible for children left without a parent after an accident.

It would require convicted drunken drivers to pay child support to the surviving children until they are at least 18, or 21 if they are still in school.

Named after Williams’ grandsons, the legislation was introduced in 2021 and signed by the governor five years later on July 9. Tennessee was the first state and Missouri was the eighth to pass a version of “Bentley Law.”

The child-support provision was included this year in Missouri House Bill 1740, which also stiffened other drunken driving laws. The additional provisions have become known as “Melanie’s Law,” to recognize the woman killed in 2022 by a drunken driver in Jefferson City.

Melanie’s Law changed felony classifications for DWI cases that cause injury or death to require longer prison sentences. It also expanded the mandatory use of ignition interlock devices for those involved in alcohol-related incidents. Missouri is one of 35 states with similar laws.

“The pain a family feels when a loved one is killed by a drunk driver is one that never goes away,” said state Rep. Dave Griffith, who sponsored the legislation.

The bill went through a number of revisions before it was passed, Griffith said.

“At each one of those steps, I think we’re very thoughtful about how we can make the bill better and how it’s going to affect the families that suffer and deal with this,” Griffith said.

“Driving while intoxicated is a choice,” he said. “It’s my hope that when people know the ramifications of making those bad decisions they will think twice before getting behind the wheel.”

Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a national organization with offices in Missouri, has been consistently involved in pushing for enactment of the stricter legislation. Working closely with Cecilia Williams, the organization supported the Missouri bill until it passed.

“Cecilia has been dedicated to turning the tragic crash into a way to honor her loved ones, as well as raise awareness of the dangers of driving impaired,” said Tabitha Perkins, state executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

“For Missouri, we hope this bill will serve as a deterrent to individuals who drink and drive,” Perkins said. “Knowing that even after they are released from prison, they will still have a financial obligation to complete will make drivers think twice before they get behind the wheel of a deadly weapon in an impaired state.”

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Schmitt, Hawley back Blanche for Attorney General

By Kaleb Anderson, Missouri News Network

WASHINGTON — Missouri’s two U.S. senators voiced support Wednesday for Todd Blanche to become attorney general of the U.S. at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Blanche, whose nomination has been deeply controversial, was President Donald Trump’s personal criminal defense attorney in 2023, when the president faced a series of state and federal criminal charges. He was then nominated by Trump to be deputy attorney general in 2024.

After he fired Attorney General Pam Bondi in April, Trump named Blanche acting attorney general before nominating him for the job last month.

There has been bipartisan concern that Blanche’s ties to Trump represent a conflict of interest and that his decisions will be shaped by his close relationship to the president.

Supporters, including the two GOP members of the Missouri delegation who sit on the Judiciary Committee, dismissed those concerns during Wednesday’s hearing. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said he is not concerned about Blanche’s ability to do the job properly.

“He’s going to be the president’s attorney general, so I assume he’ll implement the president’s policies,” Hawley said. “So he’s not going to be neutral in that respect.”

Hawley said his primary concern is the role the Department of Justice may play in reversing Biden administration policy regarding mail-order abortion drugs. The Biden administration removed “President Trump’s safety restrictions on this chemical abortion drug,” Hawley said.

A state judge last month ruled a state law unconstitutional that had banned mail-order abortion drugs since 2018, citing the 2024 passage of Amendment 3 to the Missouri Constitution.

“So my state went to court to try to defend our state’s laws … now we have President Trump, but that means that now we have the state of Missouri, a Republican state, along with a number of other conservative Republican states, are in court against a Republican administration fighting over Joe Biden’s abortion policy,” Hawley said.

Asked by Hawley how he would resolve this issue, Blanche said he wouldn’t discuss litigation but said the FDA is going through a review process of the abortion drugs before the administration takes any action.

“We have to be able to say to a judge, probably in this district, that our change was not arbitrary and capricious. So (the DOJ) is trying to let FDA do their work so that we can continue to protect the lives of unborn children,” Blanche said.

Hawley also raised concerns about former Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith. News reports say Smith obtained text messages between the White House and 44 members of Congress as part of his probe of potential election interference.

When asked if the phone records he received for his subpoena of White House records included the content of the text messages, Smith testified under oath that they did not, during a closed-door congressional deposition in December 2025.

Hawley asked Blanche if he’s considered investigating Smith for perjury, to which Blanche replied yes.

“I think he absolutely should be investigated. I think he absolutely should be prosecuted, if at all possible. And based on his responses under oath, I think he should be,” Hawley said.

U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt also raised the prospect of prosecuting Smith.

“Jack Smith testified under oath he didn’t (read the text messages). He testified that they just had the phone logs. We know that’s not true now,” Schmitt said. “Jack Smith should be subject to prosecution for lying to Congress.”

Schmitt also lauded Blanche’s work during his first 100 days in office, and thanked him for his deployment of additional FBI agents in St. Louis and Kansas City.

“People feel safer,” Schmitt said. “It’s a great American turnaround as relates to crime. Those numbers hopefully will continue, and I look forward to working with you on those efforts as well.”

Other senators expressed their concerns with the potential confirmation, citing Blanche’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, which would have been used to pay out defendants who took part in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol and came from Trump’s settlement with the IRS.

Blanche said — as he has before after Republicans expressed concern — that the fund will not move forward.

“There’s no modification,” Blanche said. “It’s just — it never started. No money went from the Treasury to any other account. There’s no commissioners. It’s not moving forward.” He has declined to put in writing that the fund is dead, raising concerns among senators from both parties.

Some senators also expressed disappointment with the slow Justice Department response to a law requiring the release of the Epstein files and Blanche’s meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Epstein serving time for her crimes in federal prison.

Blanche acknowledged that “mistakes were made” by failing to redact certain victims’ names from the files, but would not commit to meeting with the victims personally.

“We remain available to meet with any victim or their representative at any time … if they’re represented by counsel, I’m not allowed to meet with them directly, as you know,” he said.

Following U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death over the weekend, there are 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee. Blanche needs the support of all Republicans for his nomination to be reported favorably to the full Senate.

Several Republican senators have withheld support pending the outcome of the hearings and personal meetings with Blanche.

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Impact of proposed income tax elimination debated

By Peter S. Pynadath, Missouri News Network

Voters will be asked on Aug. 4 if the legislature should be required to phase out individual income tax while removing limits in the Missouri Constitution on sales and other taxes on goods and services.

Revenue from individual income tax made up 63% of Missouri’s general revenue in fiscal year 2025. To make up for the loss in revenue, the legislature would have to find it elsewhere, most likely through a broader sales tax base.

But the amendment offered to voters does not define specific steps for meeting the revenue gap, thus generating speculative arguments over the impact if voters support the amendment.

If voters approve ending the state income tax, experts such as Sarah Narkiewicz said this will cause Missouri to have a regressive tax structure. Narkiewicz is the director of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic and teaches state and local taxation at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.

“The people I represent are struggling on a daily basis just to pay their bills; they’re living on the paycheck-to-paycheck system,” Narkiewicz said. “So if suddenly they were faced with a much higher sales tax, I think that would be a big burden on them.”

A tax structure where low-income taxpayers are taxed at higher rates than top-earning taxpayers is known as a regressive tax structure, according to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

State Rep. Bishop Davidson, R-Republic, who sponsored the resolution for the proposed amendment during this year’s legislative session, agrees with these definitions of the terms but argues that it leaves out important context.

“The bigger question is how we can create an economic environment that promotes economic growth for everyone, but most importantly, those who exist at the bottom of the economic spectrum,” Davidson said.

“This is a tax reform package that puts Missouri on a path of growth,” Davidson said. “When we say Missouri, the people I’m thinking of the most are those who exist and live right now on the lower end of our economic spectrum.”

Data from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center shows a strong correlation between states that do not have a state income tax and how regressive their tax structure is because of a heavy reliance on sales tax.

Narkiewicz said Missouri currently has a progressive tax structure, which she describes as a system based on an individual’s ability to pay based on their income.

“On the other hand, when you look at sales taxes, low- and middle-income people still have to consume,” Narkiewicz said. “There are certain things all of us need to buy, and if we have a much higher sales tax, that’s going to take a much bigger percentage of their income than the current income tax will.”

Narkiewicz said she believes that if this constitutional amendment is approved by voters, it will cause Missouri’s tax structure to become regressive and provide tax cuts for the wealthy.

“You are taking the burden off of the wealthier taxpayers and placing it on the lower-income taxpayers, and it’s unfair; they can’t really shoulder more,” Narkiewicz said.

Davidson said he’s keeping lower-income individuals in mind and argues the state will benefit from the growth he believes the elimination of income tax could create.

Narkiewicz noted that the measure would expand the legislature’s ability to tax transactions not currently taxed and would make most services eligible for taxation.

“When the sales tax was passed around the time of the Great Depression, the economy was not service-based,” Narkiewicz said. “The legislation leaves a lot in the hands of the state legislature; the Hancock Amendment is essentially overridden for five years and they can kind of do whatever they want.”

The Hancock Amendment places restrictions on how much the Missouri General Assembly can tax Missourians by mandating that the ratio between total state revenue and Missourians’ personal income be the same as the ratio calculated in base years.

Davidson noted this amendment does not mandate that the state make any changes to a sales tax. However, the Missouri Constitution requires that the state budget be balanced, so any loss in income tax revenue must be made up elsewhere.

Davidson said he believes the proposed amendment is the start of a conversation, one that could include sales taxes in the future.

“If this amendment passes, it doesn’t change the sales tax whatsoever in one singular way,” Davidson said. “I think there could be a sales tax and I’m hopeful that there is a conversation around broad tax reform, but this doesn’t mandate that, it only allows that.”

Davidson said there are four levers to this statutory conversation that are all interconnected: the timeline for removing income tax, the base of the tax, the rate and the revenue.

“If you pull one lever, it affects the other three,” Davidson said. “So you tell me what two are most important, I’ll tell you what the other two have to be because they’re all interrelated.”

With the loss in revenue from individual income tax, experts such as Narkiewicz are concerned that the state could find difficulty generating revenue. However, Davidson said he believes, based on the legislature’s prior experience with tax reductions, that this will not be an issue.

“We’ve eliminated income taxes on social security, we’ve eliminated capital gains taxes, and through all that, our revenues have never taken a hit,” Davidson said.

“If you pass this constitutional amendment, you mandate to the legislature that when excess revenues come into the state, instead of the state spending it on more things that the state wants to spend it on, that money has to go back to the people in the form of an income tax reduction,” he said.

Narkiewicz said it’s hard to imagine Missouri making up the loss in revenue from income tax in a sales tax structure. She suggested that those who would see a tax decrease would still see a decline in government-provided services.

“If the state doesn’t have the money, the services are cut,” Narkiewicz said. “While someone may individually come out economically ahead if they are high income, they’re ultimately living in a state where services are greatly diminished if the revenue doesn’t come through.”

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Missouri legislators lead charge to enhance missing persons alert systems

By Kennedy Voss, Missouri News Network

WASHINGTON — In missing persons cases, every second is important. As the minutes and hours tick by, they could be the difference between life and death.

For people with intellectual disabilities, these seconds are even more precious.

U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo. and U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., have filed a bill in the House of Representatives to improve federal systems to aid with the location of missing persons with intellectual disabilities. Their bill mirrors a bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., in the Senate.

According to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, nearly 28,000 people with physical or intellectual disabilities were reported missing last year. However, current missing persons protocols do not account for the increased needs that searches for people with intellectual disabilities require.

“People with Alzheimer’s or dementia or developmental disabilities need even more immediate attention to their cases when they go missing,” Alford said.

“Every minute matters when it comes to missing persons, and our laws need to reflect that,” he added.

For Schmitt, the bill takes a more personal note, as his son, Stephen, is autistic and nonverbal. He has often cited his son as the reason he got into politics.

“As the father of a child living with disabilities, this issue is deeply personal to me,” Schmitt said in a statement. “I am proud to sponsor this legislation to protect individuals with disabilities and reunite families.”

The bill, known as “Enhanced Alerts for Missing Loved Ones with Disabilities Act of 2026,” amends an existing system, which allows the U.S. Attorney General to provide grants to law enforcement to assist in locating missing adults. The addition would expand the definition of “healthcare needs” to include intellectual disabilities such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

It also amends the PROTECT Act to direct states to provide specialized training in the case of intellectual disabilities. Individual training and protocols would be up to states’ discretion.

“We don’t want to override state systems,” Alford said. “This will give them the resources, the training, the availability and the money they need to make sure this happens.”

Before going through Appropriations Committee hearings, it is unclear how much the bill would cost.

The Congressmen said they were inspired by legislation that came out of the Missouri legislature. House Bill 1840, sponsored by state Rep. Sherri Gallick, R-Belton, is also known as “RJ’s law” and establishes a “Purple Alert” system in the state that is specific for missing persons with intellectual disabilities.

Gov. Mike Kehoe signed the bill into law Monday. Missouri is now the seventh state in the nation to enact such legislation, joining Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, Maryland, West Virginia and Connecticut.

The federal legislation still has a long way to go. Introduced in June, it must undergo committee scrutiny and revisions before it can be considered by the House and Senate.

Alford, however, said he has faith the bill will gain traction on both sides of the aisle. He anticipates minimal opposition, and thinks the measure could pass the House on a voice vote.

“I think this is one of those (bills) that the vast majority, whether Republican or Democrat, are going to realize that this is something we need on a nationwide basis,” Alford said.

The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee but has not yet been placed on the committee’s schedule. Due to the August recess, it will not go before the committee until the fall.

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Report says all pregnancy-related deaths in Missouri tied to mental health were preventable

By Najifa Farhat, Missouri News Network

All pregnancy-related death in Missouri linked to mental health conditions, including substance use disorders, could have been prevented, according to a new five-year report from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

The legislature-mandated report reviewed pregnancy-related deaths between 2019 and 2023. During that period, 340 Missouri women died while pregnant or within one year after the end of a pregnancy — an average of 68 deaths each year.

The state’s Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Board determined that 79% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable. The board, which reviews each maternal death to determine whether it was related to pregnancy and identify contributing factors, found cardiovascular disease and mental health conditions were the leading underlying causes of pregnancy-related deaths, followed by infections.

Sarah Ehrhard Reid, chief of the Office on Women’s Health at the Health Department and the report’s lead author, said many people mistakenly believe maternal deaths occur primarily during labor. Instead, the review found most pregnancy-related deaths occurred during the postpartum period.

“That’s really important because it highlights the importance of getting postpartum care and following up with a primary care provider after your first six-week appointment because that ongoing support can be life changing,” Ehrhard Reid said.

State health officials said the findings are largely unchanged from the previous report, suggesting Missouri has not seen significant increases in maternal mortality but still has substantial room for improvement.

“To be clear, we want things to get better,” Ehrhard Reid said. “But it’s encouraging that they’re not getting worse than what they were before.”

The report also found significant geographic and racial disparities.

Missouri’s northeast region recorded the state’s highest pregnancy-related mortality rate at 42.8 deaths per 100,000 live births. The southeast region had the lowest rate at 25.2 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Black women were 2.5 times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes, a disparity that has remained largely unchanged from previous state reports. Nationally, Black women are more than three times as likely as white women to die from pregnancy-related causes, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report also found pregnancy-related mortality among Medicaid enrollees was nearly three times higher than among women with private insurance.

Ehrhard Reid said insurance status often reflects broader barriers to care rather than being the direct cause of poorer outcomes.

“When we see that disparity, for us, it’s often pointing to that underlying cause that they have less access,” she said. “When we look at those contributing factors, we see access to care, transportation and other social drivers of health like food, housing and clothing being a big part of what can lead to their ultimate demise.”

When you don’t have those things, it’s hard to keep an infection clean if you don’t have running water.”

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One of the world's biggest suppliers of goldfish has been in Missouri for 100 years

By Emily Early, Missouri News Network

When Ozark Fisheries was founded in 1926, most of Route 66 was still a dirt road.

That didn’t stop Charles Furrow and Frederick Lawrence Bailliere from starting what would become one of the world’s largest suppliers of goldfish and koi.

This year, the fourth-generation, family-owned business earned state status as a century farm, which means it has been operating continuously in Missouri for 100 years.

Today, the fish farm in Stoutland ships goldfish and koi to buyers across North America.

Nearly 200 million fish are hatched every year in both Stoutland and a second farm the company acquired in Indiana during the early 1970s. The farms manage a string of at least 300 ponds, with each one covering about an acre.

Ozark Fisheries sells five types of goldfish and two types of koi, as well as byproducts or “pond scavengers” it recovers, including crayfish, snails and tadpoles. A separate Black Angus cattle operation founded in the 1950s called Circle F has allowed the company to expand into beef sales.

Making waves

Margaret Cleveland, Bailliere’s great-granddaughter and the senior vice president of Ozark Fisheries, grew up working on the fish farm with her family.

“Most people don’t know where goldfish come from,” Cleveland said, “and a lot of the goldfish throughout the U.S. are produced in the Midwest.”

Most of the fish are sold to pet stores, water garden suppliers and plant nurseries. Smaller fish are often used as feeder fish, and some are sent to research labs and science kit companies.

“Fish go to lots of fun different locations, but most notable are the fish sold to celebrities, fish that have gone into space and even to the presidential Camp David residence,” Cleveland said.

In her role at Ozark Fisheries, Cleveland manages the farm in Missouri, often juggling a number of tasks.

She keeps the website updated, and she likes to post news about the fish on the farm’s social media sites. Her favorite job is working directly with the fish and choosing the most suitable ones to fill customer orders. That’s what she did growing up.

“(Ozark Fisheries has) kept our family closer because it provides a location for everyone to come and hang out,” she said. “It’s family-owned, so the whole family has a piece of it.”

A century of fish

The company casts a wide net for those it considers family. Among its 30 employees are a father-son duo, a mother-daughter duo and a father-daughter duo. Sales Manager Becca Witt’s father, Roy Mitschele, previously managed the cattle operation.

“What an accomplishment, right?” Witt said. “To be a family farm and survive fluctuations in the economy, to survive family dynamics and to come out on top and celebrate not just 100 years in business but a century farm.”

While the 100th anniversary was officially marked in April, Cleveland is planning a celebration at the end of July for customers and family, including her 94-year-old grandmother.

William Tyler, co-owner of Malawi Aquatics in Florissant, said he’s going to the party. Tyler has been a customer for over 15 years and drives to the farm every other Friday to pick up his orders.

“Any time you can be around that long, you have to be doing something right,” he said.

Traditionally, the farm operated on a wholesale model. When Margaret Cleveland joined the business full time in 2018, her brother, Joseph, decided to try e-commerce as a sales outlet. Online orders now cover about 50% of the company’s total sales on Amazon and eBay.

Hooked on growth

Both goldfish and koi are types of carp. Goldfish typically remain small, 6 to 8 inches or so, and live up to 10 years. Koi can grow as long as 2 to 3 feet and live 30 years or more.

Goldfish tend to come in solid colors, while koi have variegated patterns. Koi also have whiskers called barbels, while goldfish do not.

They spawn in late spring during a six- to eight-week period when the company will typically hatch a year’s worth of fish all at once. Summer is the busiest season, based on the increase in feeder fish sales and customers restocking their ponds.

During the colder months, preparation for the next hatching season begins, and sometimes, Ozark Fisheries employees will cut ice and drain the ponds to collect fish for winter orders.

“We’re basically planting our new crop and harvesting at the same time,” Margaret Cleveland said.

The business guarantees that products will arrive alive, but shipping live fish takes extra precautions. Ozark Fisheries uses Styrofoam, ice and pure oxygen to ensure the fish survive the shipping process. The losses during transit average about 3%, Cleveland said.

She hopes to continue expanding the farm, possibly into a fifth generation of the family.

“We hope that Ozark Fisheries exists for future generations and 100 more years of selling fish,” she said.

“It’s really special to be able to continue that legacy.”

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State of Missouri appeals abortion case to Missouri Supreme Court

By Max Quinn and Emilia Hansen, Missouri News Network

Multiple state officials and entities filed an appeal Friday with the Missouri Supreme Court to challenge a Jackson County judge's decision that struck down many abortion restrictions. 

Judge Jerri Zhang ruled in June that several state laws regarding abortion restrictions violated Amendment 3, or the "Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative," which Missouri voters passed in November 2024. 

The ruling cleared the way for Planned Parenthood locations in Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia to provide medication abortions.

Several petitioners signed on to the appeal, including Gov. Mike Kehoe, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, the Department of Health and Senior Services, the Missouri Division of Professional Registration for the Healing Arts and the Missouri Division of Professional Registration Board of Nursing.

The appeal challenges the validity of a part of the Missouri Constitution, which means it must be heard by the Missouri Supreme Court. 

"The court’s order offers minimal-to-no explanation regarding why these statutes and regulations 'conflict' with [provisions in the Missouri Constitution]," a court document reads.

According to court documents, the Jackson County Circuit Court found that many of Missouri's abortion laws violate the Missouri Constitution and cannot be enforced.

Defendants include Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers. 

Zhang's ruling in June said state laws about abortion restrictions, licensing requirements for abortion facilities, requirements for complications plans for medication abortions and criminal penalties for abortion providers were unconstitutional.

Kehoe agreed with Hanaway's appeal to the decision, and said that the ruling was "disappointing, dangerous, and puts the safety of Missouri women in jeopardy," according to previous KOMU 8 coverage. 

He also voiced support for an anti-abortion measure, also titled Amendment 3, that will be on the ballot in November. 

"Missourians do not support this irresponsible reversal of patient safety standards," Kehoe said in June. "Now more than ever, it’s critical for Missourians to vote YES on Amendment 3 in November and make it abundantly clear that our state stands for life and the protection of mothers."

The ballot measure asks Missourians to amend the state constitution to ban most abortions, allowing exceptions in cases of rape and incest in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.