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Winners and losers of Missouri’s 2024 legislative session
The final day of the 2024 legislative session lasted less than 10 minutes in the Missouri Senate. The lightning-quick adjournment was aimed at avoiding bitter flare ups that plagued the previous day, when a member of the Freedom Caucus tried to amend the Senate Journal to say a “stampeding herd of rhinoceroses” had rumbled through […]
Missouri initiative petition bill, a top GOP priority, dies on final day of session
The Missouri Senate put its dysfunction on display one last time Friday when it adjourned minutes after reconvening, effectively killing efforts to send voters a ballot measure changing the majority needed to pass constitutional amendments. The decision to quit almost eight hours before the constitutional deadline shows how little tolerance Republican leadership had for remaining […]
Missouri Senate bitterness halts action as lawmakers prepare for final day of chaotic session
The Missouri Senate did nothing but fight during two brief floor sessions Thursday, with Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin stepping in during each to cut off acrimonious exchanges, first with a recess and then with adjournment. As a result, the Senate considered no legislation on the penultimate day of this year’s session and seems unlikely to […]
50-hour filibuster forces more negotiations on GOP-backed initiative petition changes
A 50-hour Democratic filibuster forced the Senate’s divided GOP majority to finally yield Wednesday evening, stalling a vote on a bill seeking to make it more difficult to amend Missouri’s constitution. Democrats have blocked all action in the Senate since Monday afternoon, demanding that the legislation be stripped of “ballot candy” that would bar non-citizens […]
House sends bill to governor renewing taxes critical to funding Missouri Medicaid
A set of medical provider taxes that fund a large portion of Missouri’s Medicaid program won quick approval Wednesday in the House, two weeks after it took 41 hours for the bill to pass in the state Senate. The controversies that stalled the bill in the Senate received scant attention during Wednesday’s debate, except for […]
Democrats say final Missouri budget pads special interests with state cash
When the final budget votes were over Friday and the constitutional deadline was met, Missouri House Republicans crowed about holding the line on spending while Democrats accused the GOP of failing the state’s most vulnerable citizens. A budget process that had the least public input in years — with just a pro-forma public hearing in […]
Missouri Senate avoids impasse over budget to make constitutional deadline
With passage of a $51.7 billion budget Thursday, the Missouri Senate beat the constitutional deadline by 24 hours after a debate that left Republican leaders exhausted but satisfied. A 41-hour filibuster stalled all work last week – including planned budget debates on a committee-passed spending plan. To make the deadline, Senate Appropriations Chairman Lincoln Hough […]
Key lawmakers say Missouri budget talks close to completion as deadline approaches
The most difficult Missouri budget process in years entered the final 48 hours before the constitutional deadline for spending bills with no final agreement on how much the state should spend in the coming year. Missouri House Republicans, who hold an overwhelming majority in the lower chamber, caucused behind closed doors Wednesday afternoon for about […]
Missouri Senate stalls out quickly on return after 41-hour filibuster
It took about 10 minutes Monday for the Missouri Senate to devolve into chaos. Members came to the floor for the first time since they adjourned about 4 a.m. Thursday at the end of a 41-hour filibuster by members of the Missouri Freedom Caucus. As soon as the daily preliminaries of a prayer and other […]
Backers of a new Missouri casino near the Lake of the Ozarks submit signatures seeking ballot slot
A proposal to allow a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks on Sunday was the final initiative petition submitted for a possible slot on Missouri’s ballot later this year. The Osage River Gaming & Convention committee said in a news release that it turned in over 320,000 signatures in an effort to meet […]
Friday budget deadline tests Republican factional fractures in Missouri Senate
The end of a 41-hour filibuster early Thursday was a cease-fire in the Missouri Senate’s Republican civil war, not a peace settlement. But the only place it applies is in the chamber itself. Outside, on social media and conservative talk radio, the barrage continues. The Missouri Freedom Caucus surrendered the floor under threat of being […]
Petition drive succeeds in placing new party on Missouri’s November ballot
A new political party will appear on Missouri’s ballot this year, the brainchild of a candidate hoping to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley in November. Jared Young, an attorney and businessman from Webb City, last year announced he would run as an independent candidate in the Senate race. In April, he decided to instead […]