More than 100 new Missouri laws took effect Sunday, ranging from tougher ethics policies for lawmakers to a requirement that public schools give students time each day to say the Pledge of Allegiance. House Speaker Todd Richardson made tightening the ...
Read More »Missouri tobacco tax hike proposal survives court challenge
A Missouri proposal to raise cigarette taxes to benefit early childhood programs can stay on the Nov. 8 ballot, a judge ruled Tuesday. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem dismissed efforts to remove the measure. His ruling, which opponents vowed ...
Read More »Missouri clergy guilty of trespassing in Capitol protest
Twenty-two Missouri clergy members could face up to six months behind bars after being convicted Wednesday on trespassing charges and acquitted of other counts in connection with a peaceful 2014 protest over Medicaid expansion at the state Capitol. Jurors found ...
Read More »Koster says he backs limits on campaign donations
Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster on Tuesday said he’s backing a proposal to re-impose campaign contribution limits in the state. Koster announced his support for a ballot initiative to limit donations to $2,600 for candidates and ...
Read More »Campaign donation limits, tobacco taxes on Missouri ballot
Missouri voters will be able to weigh in on proposed cigarette tax hikes and campaign contribution limits during the November election, Secretary of State Jason Kander announced Tuesday. Kander’s office determined those measures and another to prohibit sales taxes on ...
Read More »Missouri governor defends record on public defender budget
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday defended his budget record for the state’s public defender system after the office’s director appointed him to a case in protest of recent funding restrictions. Missouri State Public Defender Director Michael Barrett in a ...
Read More »Brunner trying to be 1st businessman governor in 80 years
It’s been 80 years since Missouri has been led by a businessman governor, and Republican John Brunner wants to change that. In a competitive four-way GOP primary race in which the gubernatorial hopefuls share similar stances on gun rights and ...
Read More »Missouri Democratic candidate for governor raises $3.4M
New campaign finance reports show Missouri Democratic candidate for governor Attorney General Chris Koster raked in more than $3.4 million in cash in the last several months, bringing his war chest up to more than $10 million. That’s more than ...
Read More »Missouri GOP candidates for governor talk police, Ferguson
Missouri’s Republican candidates for governor outlined policies they said would improve police-community relations during a debate Wednesday that largely focused on racial tensions in the state shaken by the 2014 fatal police shooting of black 18-year-old Michael Brown. All four ...
Read More »Missouri GOP candidates for governor debate police policy
Several Republican candidates for Missouri governor said during a Wednesday debate they are open to independent reviews of officer-involved shootings, a topic that is again in the national spotlight after the fatal shooting of a man by a Louisiana police ...
Read More »Gov. Nixon allows expanded options for beer drinkers
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday signed legislation expanding where beer growlers can be sold while vetoing other proposed changes to state alcohol laws, including a measure to allow alcohol sales on smaller boats and one permitting people attending events ...
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