Missouri House of Representatives

Current state law requires Kansas City to allocate 20% of its general fund to the KCPD every year. A bill pushed through the legislature by Missouri Republicans increases that threshold to 25%, but it's unclear if the move is constitutional.

The new map passed by the House likely would keep Missouri’s current congressional delegation of six Republicans and two Democrats. It now goes to the Missouri Senate with only four days left in the legislative session.

According to the state’s Department of Revenue, of the roughly 3.2 million Missourians who filed state income taxes, only around 1.4 million of them would receive their full tax credit amount.

The GOP-backed bill outlines rights for parents to review instruction material, visit schools during class hours and have “sufficient accountability and transparency regarding school boards.” Schools that are found noncompliant could face civil lawsuits and have state funding withheld.

Missouri law doesn’t prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Efforts to change that have failed for 24 years.

Missouri’s current unemployment benefit ranges from 13 to 20 weeks, depending on the state’s unemployment rate. The new bill shortens it to as few as eight.

Under the bill, facilities can still limit things like visitor movements and the number of visitors per patient, but cannot require patients be vaccinated against any disease to receive treatment or visitors. Experts warn it could cause a conflict between state and federal requirements.

The bill would allow parents to bring civil lawsuits against school districts. If a court found a school knowingly violated the bill’s provisions multiple times, then funds allocated to the school through the state’s foundation formula would be withheld until the school proved it was in compliance.

The Correctional Center Nursery Program would allow women who give birth while incarcerated the chance to stay with their newborns in prison for up to 18 months. Nurseries for incarcerated mothers are shown to reduce recidivism and have long-term benefits for babies.

Despite passing a more than $46.5 billion budget, the House left about $1.8 billion in general revenue unspent. Senate leaders have indicated they plan to spend at least some of that leftover money.

The bill also makes it a felony to donate fetal tissue from abortions for research or therapy purposes, and bars public funds from going to abortion providers or their affiliates.

The Missouri Senate is expected to make changes to the House’s legislation. Senators have expressed frustration at the House taking what they believe is longer than normal on the budget with only six weeks left in the 2022 session.