Returning from spring break, the Missouri General Assembly is on track to win one of the most productive sessions in recent years.
a Dozens of Invoices I passed both rooms and was sent to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s desk. As Missouri legislators prepare for the second half of the session, local lawmakers are working to get priority bills across the finish line.
Beacon reached out to more than 40 delegates and senators from the Kansas City area metropolitan area for this story. This is what they had to say.
Pass the state budget
Passing state budgets, along with individual member invoices, will be a major priority in the coming weeks. In January Keho introduced him The proposed budgettotaling $54 billion, and lawmakers have since cut back on items and added.
Kehoe’s first budget is because of the federal Covid era’s exciting money dry. Republican lawmakers are also pushing to cut or eliminate taxes on income, property and capital gains that are significantly reduced to state income.
Sen. Maggie Nulelen, a Kansas City Democrat, said her biggest priority later in the session was to “ensure we pass on a good, financially sound budget.”
“If inflation rises and revenues remain flat, we’ll have to pay our spending obligations as one-off money has probably expired from the federal government,” she said. “The governor’s proposal is underfunding neighborhood schools by $297 million while simultaneously adding general revenue to the (school) voucher program to $50 million.”
Kehoe’s proposed budget includes $4 billion from the Foundation Formula, the state’s public school funding mechanism. However, it has not reached the additional $500 million that it requested in 2026 to meet the state’s “reasonability goals.”
In addition to helping to shape larger programs within the state budget, local lawmakers like Rep. Anthony Eay of Grandview Democrat have sought to secure funding for the district’s projects. Ely said he will work with Sen. Barbara Washington, a Kansas City Democrat, to include budget items for Grandview and Hickman Mills development and public safety projects.
Keeping sports teams in Missouri
The sports team was a great heart for Nurrenbern. Clay County Sports Department Founded Pass the general meeting.
ノースカンザスシティは、新しいカンザスシティロイヤルズスタジアムの可能性のある場所として宣伝されています。 If passed, the bill can be formed to advise and decide on the county’s sports-related issues by establishing a committee.
Nurrenbern said the change “will allow professional teams to participate in building stadiums, training facilities, conventions and exhibition spaces. There are many possibilities, and North Kansas City has actually placed itself in place for the past few years to actually place some of these top tier projects.”
Healthcare priorities
For Sen. Patty Lewis, a Kansas City Democrat, she said she was the first nurse to serve in the Missouri Senate.Women’s health” invoice.
“We are committed to additional blood tests for pregnant women, updates on mammography notifications, annual supply of birth control, rapid partner therapy updates, and route victims of sexual assault to the right level of care,” she said.
Lewis said she would push to spread her bill too. Telehealth definitionKansas City Democrat Patty Mansour will put the bill in place; I’m carrying it at home.
Mansoor said that many Missouri have used telehealth appointments to meet with doctors since the pandemic, but that not all Missouri have reliable access to video calls.
“Audio alone wasn’t written as an acceptable mode for receiving your medical visits, but not everyone has the ability to make audiovisual visits,” she said. “There’s inconsistent Wi-Fi. (and) broadband is inconsistent and inaccessible to everyone (but) most people have access to their phones.”
Another Bill Lewis said she would push her as she aims to expand her authority. Advanced Practical Registered NurseLewis said it will help prevent Missouri nurses from moving to nearby states where there are fewer restrictions on how they can practice.
Addressing a decline in the number of nurses and other healthcare workers in Missouri is also a priority for Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Republican of Warrensburg, whose wife is a doctor.
Phelps said he would work to pass his bill. Request to a medical facility to post a signature A warning of the potential criminal consequences of attacking healthcare workers to stop further attacks.
Rep. Mark Sharp, a Kansas City Democrat, said healthcare is also on the list of priorities. Specifically, he said he wanted to change the way Missouri Department of Health’s senior services Grants “trauma center” status to hospital.
“In South Kansas City in my district, St. Joseph’s Medical Center is about to become a (Level) III trauma center. People currently in South Kansas City have (Level) III trauma needs if they are picked up by an ambulance or EMS.
Sharp’s bill prohibits DHSS from refusing to hospitals to position as trauma centers because it is in proximity to other trauma centers.
Another health problem facing Missouri is AmyloidosisA rare disease caused by the accumulation of a protein called amyloid in organs. Ely said many people don’t know about the disease, but he has seen it affect his own components. That’s why he made this session a priority.
“One of my constituents, Mike Lane, is with the Amyloidosis Army. About two years ago, he was the first to go to different communities to let people know about it,” Ely said. “(It’s often) misdiagnosed and people don’t know they have amyloidosis until they’re in the morgue.”
EALY and Washington proposed the same bill to make May 8th Amyloidosis Awareness Day Encourage people to share information about the disease and get tested for genes that may cause it.
Correction 3 and proposal a
In November, Missouri voters passed Amendment 3, codified the right to abortion in the state’s constitution, with Proposition A requesting that the state’s minimum wage be increased and employers be given paid sick leave to workers.
The session was submitted to limit or block the enforcement of these policies, but Lewis and others said it was a “priority to protect what voters have voted for.”
Nurrenbern called Legislation aims to limit abortion rights “The dark clouds approaching during the session.”
“We are on alert, we are ready, ready to protect the will of our voters and our constitutional rights to reproductive freedom,” she said.
On the other hand, for Mansour, the main priority is to protect Proposition A. Target with Number of invoices
“I volunteered for the prop and did the canvas before I decided to run for the office,” Mansoor said. “(It was not passed by Democrats alone. It was passed by people on both sides of the aisle.”
Economic priorities
As the cost of living remains the best for many, local lawmakers said economic policy is one of the priorities for the rest of the session.
Sen. Mike Cielpiot, a Republican at Lee’s Summit, said he wants to pass the bill. Update your income and other requirements For property tax relief credits for Missouri seniors.
A policy commonly known as a “circuit breaker” provides tax credits to eligible elderly people or disabled Missouri people, helping to offset property tax costs.収入要件は2008年以降更新されていません。 This means that inflation will allow many residents who may otherwise qualify as too expensive to participate.
Another priority for Lewis is a bill that cuts sales tax on women’s hygiene products and diapers. .
Sharp, who’s carrying it? House tax credit billThe final session of the council said it prevented lawmakers from extending the life expectancy of tax credits. He is more optimistic than passing this session.
“This year, we are about to extend the sunset that expired last year, so the Missouri-wide diaper banking system will continue to receive tax credits,” he said. “Without that, they wouldn’t be able to provide many diapers to communities that are otherwise in need.”
Governor’s priorities
For Kehoe, who identified public safety, economic development and support for farmers at the beginning of his term and expanded educational opportunities as the four “pillars” of his administration, there remains a priority that his legislative colleagues should achieve before leaving Jefferson City in May.
At a press conference on March 13, Keho told reporters, “As the second half, there’s still a lot to do.”
He said Republican lawmakers are “very committed to what they hope we can come together by getting back more money in your pocket and getting past multiple issues with meaningful utility laws, school choice and reform.”
