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The bill sponsored by Missouri Rep. Travis Smith, R-Dora, would cut the 4% corporate tax rate down to 3% next year, and make another one percentage point cut each year until the tax is eliminated in 2028. It passed the Missouri House on a party-line vote.
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The legislation, which now goes to the Senate, would place control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department under a board consisting of governor appointees members and the mayor. The Kansas City Police Department is the only major city in the U.S. currently under such a system.
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Republicans say the bill’s intent is to help decrease voter fraud in Missouri, but opponents worry it could lead to greater discrimination against noncitizens.
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Unlike Kansas and 22 other states, Missouri does not have licensing or registration laws for naturopathic doctors, or primary care physicians with a focus on holistic care. The bill would allow naturopathic doctors only to perform minor office procedures, but not perform surgeries or prescribe opioids.
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Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, faced criticism last year for unsuccessfully pushing the House to purchase a software system from a private company over the objections of nonpartisan legislative staff. Meetings his office helped arrange with an Oklahoma company last month are drawing comparisons.
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Starting last year when rumors of the proposed project in south Kansas City began circulating, Missouri state Rep. Mike Haffner has pushed legislation meant to give surrounding communities more sway over landfills.
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The Missouri Building Codes Act, introduced by Rep. David Casteel, would establish baseline standards for building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, property maintenance and other activities associated with construction or renovation.
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Under the proposed legislation, no public funds would be given to any clinic that provides abortions or its affiliate. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled two weeks ago that the legislature’s attempt to defund Planned Parenthood through the budget was unconstitutional.
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Plocher’s hold on his speakership remains tenuous, and his campaign for lieutenant governor is now considered a longshot. His top legislative staff are gone, either fired or resigned in the wake of the scandals. But the impact of the ethics probe is playing out in more subtle ways in the Missouri House.
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In Missouri, a child must be born before a divorce can be finalized, and advocates fear this can keep people in domestic violence situations from being able to leave their abusers. Representative Ashley Aune of Kansas City introduced a bill earlier this February that would undo the statute.
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While Republicans shelved two bills that would further loosen Missouri's gun laws, Democratic leader Crystal Quade of Springfield said she will introduce a proposed constitutional amendment allowing cities to write local gun laws that are stricter than state laws.
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One of the bills would have allowed concealed carry permit holders to bring firearms onto public transportation like buses, and inside places of worship. The other would have exempted firearms and ammunition from both state and local sales taxes.