Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Kansas City-based CBD American Shaman and several affiliated companies, demanding an immediate halt to the company’s advertising and sale of kratom products. #moleg #mogov

A fiscal crunch that threatens to consume Missouri’s remaining general revenue surplus reduced — but did not eliminate — budget earmarks that send money to politically favored projects and organizations. #moleg #mogov

Organizers say a court fight over Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’ ballot language delayed coalition-building, forcing them to abandon a 2026 push. #moleg #mogov

Public school districts will be encouraged to limit elementary school student use of iPads and laptops in the classroom under a Missouri House bill approved in a 143-10 vote Monday. #moleg #mogov

A Missouri Senate committee on Monday gave a warm reception to a bill intended to bar candidates from raising money with automatically recurring donations, a practice the sponsor of the legislation called “appalling.” #moleg #mogov

Because Sam Graves withdrew from the race so late, candidate filing for the 6th District will close tomorrow at 5 p.m. and reopen from Tuesday, April 7, to Friday, April 10. Here's my look at the candidates circling the GOP primary. #moleg #mogov

Republican state Sen. Mike Henderson believes he has the support to advance a bill that would impose age limits on kratom sales and ban the stronger opioid-like products known as 7-OH. But the effort derailed last week when the 7-OH ban ran into bipartisan resistance. #moleg #mogov

Backers of a new abortion-ban amendment say more time, tighter coordination and earlier support from Missouri Republican leaders could make the difference in 2026. #moleg #mogov

Submitting signatures to force a referendum on a state law is not enough to suspend a new state law, a Cole County judge ruled Friday in a decision that means Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map is in effect. #moleg #mogov

Missouri lawmakers advanced legislation this week to create a clear pathway for adults with severe mental illness to receive court-ordered treatment in their communities before they end up hospitalized or incarcerated. #moleg #mogov

BREAKING: U.S. Rep. Sam Graves is abandoning his run for a 14th term in Congress and will retire, the Northwest Missouri Republican told the Wall Street Journal. 62-year-old Graves has represented Missouri’s 6th District since 2001. (@missouriindependent.com)

Sam Graves is OUT of the race for the 6th District after 13 terms in Congress. Subscribers to The Independent's daily newsletter began reading about the likelihood of Graves retirement on Sunday. So get the scoop in your inbox every morning by signing up (BONUS: It's 100% free). #moleg #mogov

A proposal to mandate daily physical activity in public schools squeaked through the Missouri House Thursday after the legislation’s sponsor promised major changes in the Senate. #moleg #mogov missouriindependent.com/2026/03/27/s...

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves is abandoning his run for a 14th term in Congress and will retire, the Northwest Missouri Republican told the Wall Street Journal. #moleg #mogov

The Missouri House narrowly passed a spending bill that reallocates $1 billion in support for colleges and universities as part of a $50.4 billion budget for state operations. Some schools would see their funding cut by 40% or more. #moleg #mogov

The House General Laws Committee voted 9-3 against a bill aimed at reviving Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act. Opponents, including Republicans on the committee, said the bill would invite costly litigation and create conflicts with federal gun enforcement. #moleg #mogov

Hundreds of child care providers, parents and child advocates rallied in the Missouri Capitol Wednesday, a day after the House signed off on $51.5 million in cuts to the state’s child care subsidy program. #moleg #mogov

The Missouri House rejected attempts by Democrats on Tuesday to restore $51.5 million in cuts to the state’s child care subsidy program. The program helps cover the cost of child care for more than 27,000 low-income and foster children statewide. #moleg #mogov

The Missouri House gave first-round approval Tuesday to a state operating budget that will close an almost $2 billion deficit by using almost all the state’s remaining surplus in the general revenue fund. #moleg #mogov

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled lawmakers had the authority to pass a new congressional map last year, left intact the state’s photo-ID requirement for voters and struck down limits on voter-registration and absentee-ballot outreach. #moleg #mogov

Supporters of the proposed legislation cited mounting evidence that social media and chatbots can harm kids’ mental health. The discussion plays out against a backdrop of First Amendment challenges to similar laws in other states. #moleg #mogov

Backers of a proposed referendum on Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional plan believe they have met the minimum number of signatures needed to make the November’s ballot. #moleg #mogov

From a strained budget and fights over Medicaid and child care to tax cuts, gray-market slot machines and Senate gridlock, the second half of Missouri’s legislative session is packed with big decisions and little time. #moleg #mogov

A coalition of progressive groups in Missouri is using the fight over a proposal to eliminate the state income tax to build a coordinated alliance that organizers hope lasts beyond any single legislative battle. #moleg #mogov

About $95 million in Missouri marijuana-tax revenue that voters set aside for veterans services, public defenders and drug-addiction treatment programs sat unspent at the end of the last fiscal year. #moleg #mogov

In rural Missouri classrooms, a new approach to reading is taking hold #moleg #mogov

up now on @missouriindependent.com - @justsamironly.bsky.social and I wrote about Epstein emails mentioning a now-closed "troubled teen" school missouriindependent.com/2026/03/19/e...

Epstein emails mention now-closed Missouri ‘troubled teen’ school accused of abuse #moleg #mogov

This was a four-month long reporting project that took me out of reporting retirement and what I learned about physician training might help make sense of the experience so many women share about navigating perimenopause. #moleg #mogov #menopause #perimenopause #menoposse

Women across Missouri describe a health care system marked by conflicting advice, uneven physician training and limited access to menopause specialists. #moleg #mogov

Court orders Missouri to issue 13 marijuana licenses after scoring flaws exposed The decision lands weeks after a scathing audit of Missouri’s cannabis agency and may unsettle other licensing appeals built on the same scoring system. #moleg #mogov

A petition to force a statewide vote on Missouri’s gerrymandered congressional map was less than 200 signatures away from meeting its goal Tuesday as a Cole County judge heard arguments over the status of 100,000 signatures set aside in December. #moleg #mogov

Supporters say the bill would expand placement options for children in state custody, while critics worry it could shelter bad actors after years of abuse allegations at unlicensed boarding schools. #moleg #mogov

A ban on gender-affirming treatments for minors appears to be the strongest selling point in a Missouri ballot measure that would outlaw abortion, according to a new poll that suggests the issue could be key to persuading voters to back it. #moleg #mogov

More than 600 Missourians on Medicaid have given birth with help of doula since late 2024, when the program was launched as part of an effort to combat the state’s poor birth outcomes. #moleg #mogov

Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson is pledging support for legislation aimed at cracking down on “date rape” drugs, after two Democratic lawmakers said they believe they were drugged in Jefferson City during last year’s legislative session. #moleg #mogov

Missouri lawmakers signed off on proposed cannabis rules Thursday meant to curb abuse in the state’s microbusiness licensing program, but not before stripping out a ban on people tied to denied or revoked licenses from holding interests in future microbusinesses. #moleg #mogov

Among the first non-budget bills this year to pass the General Assembly targets predatory behavior toward young people and would extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sex trafficking from 10 to 20 years. #moleg #mogov

The gerrymandered congressional map pushed through the General Assembly by Republicans meets constitutional requirements for districts to be compact and contiguous, a Jackson County judge ruled Thursday. #moleg #mogov

The constitutional amendment would allow sales tax on any goods or services purchased in Missouri. The top income tax rate would fall as new revenue arrives, with income tax elimination targeted for 2032. #moleg #mogov

The Missouri House this week passed bills cutting extraneous teacher training requirements and adding supports for literacy in elementary schools. #moleg #mogov

There are big winners and big losers in the overhaul that would base funding on student numbers. Opponents warn the plan could force the state’s smaller universities to close. #moleg #mogov

A Republican state senator stalled a bill Wednesday honoring a Kansas City firefighter who was killed last year, saying the move was payback for Democrats dragging out debate all session. #moleg #mogov

The Missouri House on Wednesday voted to advance a bill that would extend the statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil action. #moleg #mogov

CoreCivic will reopen its private prison just across the state line in Leavenworth, Kansas, to house immigration detainees after city commissioners approved the company’s special use permit on Tuesday, the result of a process one commissioner called “agonizing.” #moleg #mogov

The bill approved in the House Wednesday would restore provisions struck down in January by the Missouri Supreme Court. If passed into law, it would allow three attempts at revisions by the secretary of state before the courts take on the job. #moleg #mogov

The Missouri House Budget Committee chairman is proposing a $51.5 million reduction in funding for child care subsidies, which could spur program reductions. #moleg #mogov

As Missouri lawmakers this week once again consider a bill that would abolish the death penalty, religious leaders, advocates and a former lawmaker urged them to heed the financial and human costs of capital punishment in the state. #moleg #mogov

The Missouri Senate unanimously approved legislation Tuesday clarifying that pregnant women can get divorced, making it the first non-budget bill to be sent to Gov. Mike Kehoe this year. #moleg #mogov

A proposed constitutional amendment that would give lawmakers broad authority to expand the state sales tax and use the revenue to eliminate the income tax won initial approval in the Missouri House Tuesday. #moleg #mogov missouriindependent.com/2026/03/10/m...