Missouri constitution

A new Missouri law gives a state board control over the St. Louis Police Department, instead of the mayor, similar to the system in Kansas City. The lawsuit calls it an unfunded mandate because it requires the city to spend a certain percentage of its budget on police.

The Missouri House is expected to pass a state budget bill that falls short of fully funding public schools. A committee is also slated to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that overturns parts of Amendment 3, the voter-passed measure that enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution.

The Republican-led legislature is considering changing or repealing some voter-approved measures, including abortion legalization and the minimum wage hike. Lawmakers also need to pass a budget, which may look much smaller than previous years.

Missouri voters approved Proposition A by a martin of 15% and more than 445,000 votes. But business groups argue that the ballot measure violates state law.

Republican state Rep. Peggy McGaugh wants to allow someone to serve up to 16 years in either the House or the Senate. Currently, most legislators can serve up to eight years in the House and eight in the Senate.

Temporary orders have allowed abortion care to resume in Missouri for the first time in years. But a trial will need to take place to overturn the state's ban permanently.

The resolution, if passed by voters, would remove the provisions that were in Amendment 3 and instead allow abortion only in cases of rape, incest, medical emergencies or fetal anomalies. It would also restrict transgender youth from accessing appropriate health care.

Missouri Republicans have made multiple attempts in recent years to raise the approval percentage a proposed constitutional amendment needs in order to pass. It comes after Missouri voters approved amendments

The constitutional amendment approved by Missouri voters protects abortion access until the point of fetal viability, when a fetus can survive on its own outside the womb without extraordinary medical interventions. But the phrase does not have a precise definition — or date.

Nearly two months ago, Missouri voters approved Amendment 3 to enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution. But even after a judge froze the state's abortion ban, the procedure still isn’t available yet. Plus: A Kansas City arts magazine has been revived, 23 years after its last issue rolled off the presses.

In August, Planned Parenthood opened a clinic in Pittsburgh, Kansas — just five miles from the Missouri border. But workers don't expect demand at the clinic to decline after Missouri voted to lift it's current abortion ban. Plus: Midwest builders are using wood in a new, climate-friendly way to construct high rises.

Missourians have backed ballot items supported by Democrats in the past decade — including abortion rights, expanded Medicaid, legalized marijuana and labor rights — while also giving Republicans unfettered control over state government.