Missouri Policy Pulse

GOP internal rift emerges as ousted Senate Appropriations chair Lincoln Hough slams Kehoe's plan for shortchanging schools, disability cuts, and...

State push gains traction: Republican bill for constitutional amendment clears committee hearings in both chambers, potentially making Missouri the...

Emerging crypto policy in Missouri: House Commerce Commission hears HB 2080 to create a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Fund for buying, trading bitcoin,...

Republican reps in Jefferson City advocate two bills to promote data center growth in Missouri, but insist costs must not pass to consumers and residents come first before state benefits. No hearings scheduled yet.

Legislative Bill Progress

• 🔥 Agriculture Education Expansion: The Missouri House gave initial approval to House Bill 2097 and House Bill 1905 to...

• Demand Overload: Families using subsidies rose 19% since January, exceeding legislative funding for 27,000+ children.
• Policy Shift: New waitlist...

Bipartisan bills HB 2097 (Rep. Martin, R-Columbia) and HB 1905 (Rep. Plank, D-Columbia) gain initial approval to shift ag pilot to statewide option...

Northwest Missouri State University raised student wages to $15/hour to comply with state regulations, but it's causing disruptions.

• Departments...

Patriotic High: Felt deep pride in America seeing U.S. hockey gold medalists spark 'USA' chants, honoring cops, soldiers, and parents.

• Speech...

A grandmother's promise after losing her son, daughter-in-law, and infant grandson to a drunk driver in 2021 fuels the fight for Bentley's Law.

• Law...

Thousands rallied at the capitol to reject Gov. Kehoe's $80M disability service cuts, part of $600M+ reductions for a >$2B shortfall.

• Personal...

Missouri Senate, one of only two chambers nationwide without video streams, weighs Sen. Moon's rule change for live feeds like the House's decade-old...

Election season launches with rapid developments:

• Day 1 (Tuesday): Hundreds filed for Congress and General Assembly, opening the window despite...

Key transparency breaches alleged in the Amazon project:

• Improper meeting notices for 14 sessions posted only on Facebook and a clipboard, not a...

• SB 1065 by Sen. Ben Brown (R-Washington) proposes updates to utility relocation regulations.
• Heavy opposition from reps of 17 cities and 3...

Urban education asset shift: St. Louis Public Schools sold Cleveland High (Dutchtown, $300k) and Marshall Elementary (Ville, $200k) to St. Louis...

Leadership transition at Northwest Missouri State: Rose Marie Ward started as provost on Feb. 16, bringing small-town roots from Univ. of...

• Major win for Mizzou: Wenjun Ma secures $1.9M USDA grant over three years to develop vaccine against highly pathogenic bird flu (HPAI H5N1).
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Opinion slams HB 1876 and HB 2115 for mandating cursive proficiency by 5th grade:

• Rare real-world need: Author, 21, never used it beyond evolved...

Statewide offices dip into AI cautiously:

• AG and auditor exploring AI uses since late last summer.
• Told News Tribune they're testing usefulness in operations.
• Workflow fit still unclear, signaling prudent navigation of emerging tech.