Missouri legislature

The bipartisan bill allows requests for an investigation to be submitted by individuals or community groups, not just local governments.

Under the plan from Gov. Mike Kehoe, the state would help pay up to half the cost of a new stadium for the Kansas City Royals and a refurbished Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs, though the overall cost was not clear. Mayor Quinton Lucas said Kansas City "strongly supports the legislation."

The bill includes a provision prohibiting discrimination against natural Black hairstyles. But many House Democrats argue it also contains language that could protect campus student groups that engage in discriminatory behavior.

With just days remaining in the 2025 legislative session, unfinished Republican priorities include overturning voter-approved initiatives on abortion rights and paid sick leave.

The tentative plan would commit Missouri to paying $15 million a year to a newly created Clay County sports authority for the two decades. That money would be used to help finance a new stadium in order to prevent the Royals from moving to Kansas.

The Missouri House declined to pass one budget bill that contained hundreds of millions of dollars for capital improvement projects across the state. Now that proposed funding is effectively dead for the session.

The legislation, which state Rep. Jim Murphy called "a pro-life bill that everybody agrees with," also expands tax credits for maternity homes and diaper banks and creates a "Zero-Cost Adoption Fund."

The bill is predicted to cost Missouri almost $430 million in its first year, and Democrats warn that eliminating the tax on capital gains — which happen when people sell assets like stocks and bonds — will only benefit the richest Missourians.

The number of people waiting in jail to be transferred to state mental health facilities reached an all-time high in February. People are sometimes being incarcerated for longer than if they’d actually received the maximum sentence for the crime they were charged with.

The Republican bill was prompted by legislation in Kansas City and other communities that banned landlords from denying leases to renters on the grounds that they receive housing assistance, such as Section 8 vouchers.

Senate Bill 71 expands the death benefit for officers killed in the line of duty to $100,000.

Missouri lawmakers are still wrestling with abortion rights, paid sick leave, tax cuts and the state budget. What's ahead for the General Assembly in the last two weeks of this legislative session?