By Jason Hancock | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning,
Missouri Senate Republicans pushed one of the session’s biggest priorities through just after midnight, advancing a plan that would ask voters to trade the state income tax for a broader sales tax while leaving much of the hard math for later.
The late-night vote exposed real unease inside the GOP, even after negotiations removed automatic tax-cut triggers and helped clear the way for quick passage.
Elsewhere, a judge has sided with the state in a closely watched fight over using public money for private school scholarships. But Missouri’s largest teachers union says the case is headed to the state Supreme Court.
And Senate budget writers are trying to soften a House cut to naloxone distribution that first responders say could have life-or-death consequences. And Gov. Mike Kehoe has 15 days to decide whether to sign a hemp bill that businesses say could upend the industry in Missouri.
(Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)
by Rudi Keller
Senate leaders moved quickly on a rewritten plan to eliminate Missouri’s income tax, but the sharpest objections came from Republicans who said voters were being asked to sign off on a framework with too many blanks left to fill.
(Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)
by Annelise Hanshaw
A Cole County judge found no clear legal barrier to using general revenue for MOScholars and said the teachers union challenging the move lacked standing, teeing up an appeal with higher stakes.
(photo submitted)
by Steph Quinn
Senate budget writers moved to restore part of a House cut to naloxone funding, but first responders and researchers say even a smaller rollback could cost lives as overdose deaths fall.
(Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)
by Rebecca Rivas
With 10,000 handwritten letters delivered to the Capitol, Missouri hemp businesses are making a last push to stop a bill they say could wipe them out even if Congress changes course.
(Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)
COMMENTARY
by Max McCoy
On the Tuesday the president of the United States threatened genocide against Iran, smoke drifted into our town from the southwest, an acrid veil that hung over streets and homes and businesses.
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