Legislation

Kansas City’s bus service is slow and rapidly declining. Advocates want the region to step up its funding. But in the meantime, more routes may get cut, and Kansas City could miss out on major economic growth. What will it take to fix the bus system? Also, Missouri content creators breathed a sigh of relief when President Donald Trump paused the federal ban on TikTok, but people who make their livelihoods off the video sharing app aren’t sure its future is secure.

Kansas City-area legislators will have some big leadership roles when Missouri General Assembly convenes this week. So does that mean city leaders will finally realize their hopes of reducing gun violence or regaining local control of the city’s police department? (Probably not.)

The extension of the 2018 Farm Bill expired in September. Pressure is mounting for Congress to pass new legislation, as tough weather and low crop prices challenge farm budgets.

Tax relief for Kansans will be in short order during Tuesday's special legislative session. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and top Republican lawmakers reached an agreement late last week, opening the door to iron out an incentive package to draw the Kansas City Chiefs or Royals to the Sunflower State.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act has expired, but Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and other Congress members are still fighting to expand it. Plus: Precision agriculture is supposed to help growers be more efficient with what and how they farm, but it's still years away from fulfilling its promise.

Hypoxia is the medical term for when there is insufficient oxygen in the body. Kansas hasn't executed someone since 1965, and Attorney General Kris Kobach is pushing to legalize the method first used in Alabama this January. Critics call it cruel and akin to suffocation.

In Missouri, a child must be born before a divorce can be finalized, and advocates fear this can keep people in domestic violence situations from being able to leave their abusers. Representative Ashley Aune of Kansas City introduced a bill earlier this February that would undo the statute.

Twenty years ago, Bowling Green Rep. Chad Perkins thought the death penalty was a good idea. Now, he's the sponsor of a bill seeking to end the practice in Missouri, which was just one of five states to carry out executions last year.

When the 2024 Kansas Legislative session returns to Topeka next month, they are expected to once again debate cannabis. Republican Senate President Ty Masterson says he's against full legalization — even though a large majority of Kansans say they want it.

This week, Jackson County assessment director Gail McCann Beatty fielded questions from the legislature about this year’s problematic property assessments, which saw the value of properties increase by an average of 30%.

Republican state Sen. Holly Thompson of Scott City sponsored legislation to decriminalize the harm reduction tool. She hopes this will help lower opioid overdoses.

Las conversaciones sobre un posible vertedero en el sur de Kansas City están haciendo que la ciudad reevalúe sus necesidades en cuanto a la basura. Aunque en los próximos años la ciudad no corre el riesgo de quedarse sin espacio, los expertos dicen que no es demasiado temprano para empezar a explorar opciones.