02/03/25 Missouri Mondays - You are not powerless! “Make some noise” to fight back threats to Amendment 3, initiative petitions, voting rights, public education, LGBTQ rights, and more!
Welcome to Missouri Mondays!
Thanks to the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition and advocates from all across Missouri for a powerful day at the Capitol last week meeting with lawmakers about poll worker protections, voting rights restoration, and protecting initiative petitions and majority rule.
As expected the MO GOP majority will be moving forward with legislation attacking the citizens initiative petition process, and on Tuesday the House will hold a public hearing on House Joint Resolution HJR 54, the first attack on Amendment 3. Also moving forward this week – legislation attacking the trans community, voting rights, public education. gun safety, and more.
“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. We will find a way to make a way out of no way.” Rep. John Lewis
We urge you to “make some noise” this week on these bills! Check out the League of Women Voters of MO Call to Action Guide here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ad55ImZoYSBk-URyjmFegE43Xr2C_GjC/view
Thank you for staying informed and taking action for a better Missouri for all! In these difficult times it is easy to feel discouraged. We are not powerless and taking action together we can make a difference! Help us spread the word by sharing this email and the link to sign up here: https://www.moactionalliance.com/signup
UPCOMING EVENTS / WAYS TO GET INVOLVED!
*MISSOURI VOTER PROTECTION COALITION (MOVPC) MEETING
MONDAY MORNINGS at 10AM
Online (Zoom)
To sign up text “MOVPC” to 66866 or register here: bit.ly/protectmovoters
Protecting the vote requires our continued attention! Join MOVPC Democracy Defenders across the state to learn how you can get involved with the fight to protect voting rights for all Missourians!
DONATE TO MOVPC
Help Missouri Voter Protection Coalition lead the fight against attacks on our freedom to vote in the statehouse, in the courthouse, in the media, in the streets and at the polls on Election Day. Donate: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/movpc
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Abortion Action MO
Defend Amendment 3!
Tuesday, February 4
3:00 PM
Missouri State Capitol Rotunda
201 W Capitol Ave.
Jefferson City, MO 65101
On Tuesday, February 4 at 4:00 PM, the MO House Children and Families Committee will hear House Joint Resolution HJR 54, the first legislative attack on Amendment 3, shamelessly violating the will of the people and the majority of Missourians who voted to end the abortion ban and enshrine reproductive freedom in our Constitution. Missourians want and deserve to make their own decisions about their own healthcare, and our bodies are not politicians' business. RSVP at https://secure.everyaction.com/zW_Z_RTOL0CiEb46ZxD1aw2 and select whether you plan to join us in Jefferson City to testify in-person or submit online testimony. If you will be joining us at the Capitol, please prepare to meet our group in the Rotunda at 3:00 PM.
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MO House Children and Families Committee
Hearing on House Joint Resolution HJR 54
Tuesday, February 4
4:00 PM
House Hearing Room 1
Missouri State Capitol
Jefferson City, MO
TELL THE HOUSE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES COMMITTEE TO VOTE NO ON HJR 54
House Joint Resolution HJR 54, is the first legislative attack on Amendment. HJR 54 shamelessly ignores the will of the people and the voices of the majority of Missourians who voted to end the abortion ban and enshrine reproductive freedom in our Constitution. Missourians want and deserve to make our own decisions about our healthcare and our bodies are not politicians' business. Read HJR 54 Bill Summary here: https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills251/sumpdf/HJR0054I.pdf
To testify in person on HJR 54, submit Witness Form here: https://witness.house.mo.gov If you plan to testify in person, you can also join Abortion Action MO in the Capitol Rotunda at 3pm prior to the hearing. RSVP here: https://secure.everyaction.com/zW_Z_RTOL0CiEb46ZxD1aw2
Anyone can submit written testimony prior to the House committee hearing. Submit written testimony on HJR 54 here: https://witness.house.mo.gov/Default.aspx
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House Emerging Issues Committee
Hearing on multiple bills directly targeting the trans community
Monday, February 3
4:30 PM or upon adjournment (whichever is later)
House Hearing Room 7 - Live feed here: https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00325/harmony/en/powerbrowser/RoomRouter
TELL THE HOUSE EMERGING ISSUES COMMITTEE TO REJECT ALL ATTACKS ON TRANS MISSOURIANS!
The House Emerging Issues Committee will have public hearings for EIGHT bills directly targeting the trans community.
View the list of bills here: https://house.mo.gov/AllHearings.aspx
Submit written testimony prior to the House hearing here: https://witness.house.mo.gov/Default.aspx
Submit a Witness Form to testify in person at the hearing: https://witness.house.mo.gov/Default.aspx
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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS MO - CALLS TO ACTION AND LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN
The League of Women Voters of Missouri provides two excellent documents with an overview of a number of bills being heard in committee and detailed action steps you can take on issues of importance to you.
Link to this week’s LWVMO Calls to Action for the week of Feb 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sqXkhY_C4O_K1DLfeqgKE-Qtx0nWFWg6/view
Link to LWVMO Legislative Bulletin for the week of Feb 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-rtQq0OcgMwqMWGXMFc9Ygw8u7yAGgKr/view
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SIGN UP FOR YOUR STATE LAWMAKER’S NEWSLETTER
A reminder to reach out to your state elected officials and sign up for their legislative newsletters. Connecting with your State Representative and State Senator is so important. To find your elected officials, enter your address in the legislator lookup here: https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/Default
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MORE WAYS TO GET INVOLVED! ORGANIZATIONS NEED YOU!
*Find additional events, resources, organizations that need your help here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SZqI3j4nv2N3ylrsLTYXHa60aNMC-a4GlXZyj08lmPw/edit?usp=sharing
MISSOURI VOTER RESOURCES
Find your Current State Elected Officials and U.S. Elected Officials
Enter your address to search for your electeds here: https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/Default
Next election: April 2, 2025. Register to vote by March 6.
Check your registration on the MO Secretary of State website: https://voteroutreach.sos.mo.gov/portal/
Missouri Voter Protection Voter Eligibility & Registration Guidance: https://www.movpc.org/missouri-voter-eligibility-and-registration
Identify your local election authority: https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/localelectionauthority
Do you have your voter ID? Approved forms of ID are listed below (your address does not need to match the address on the ID):
A non-expired* Missouri driver or non-driver license;
A non-expired military ID, including a veteran's ID card;
A non-expired United States passport; or
Another photo ID issued by the United States or the state of Missouri, which is either not expired *or expired after November 8, 2022.
Voter ID cards issued by your county clerk, driver licenses from other states, and student IDs are no longer accepted as valid IDs to vote.
MISSOURI LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Week of Jan 27 - MO House and Senate Dem Newletter Excerpts
“KEHOE'S BUDGET SHIFTS MONEY FROM PUBLIC TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS
New Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe proposed a state budget on Jan. 28 that would shortchange local public school districts by $300 million while providing $50 million in direct taxpayer funding for private school tuition vouchers, a plan that appears to violate a state constitutional prohibition against granting public money to private entities.
Basic state funding for local K-12 schools is distributed in accordance with a complex formula established in state law. The central feature of the formula is the “state adequacy target,” which is the amount of per-pupil funding deemed necessary under the law for students to achieve performance goals.
In his budget plan, Kehoe, a Republican who has been in office less than a month, opted not to fund the adequacy target for the upcoming fiscal year. However, Kehoe is proposing a $200 million increase in formula funding to account for costs enacted last year to bolster funding for public schools as part of a legislative deal to secure passage of an expansion of Missouri’s private school voucher program. But by not funding the adequacy target, the state will still fall $300 million short of hitting the minimum amount of K-12 funding called for under state law.
Because the Missouri Constitution prohibits lawmakers from directly granting public money to private organizations or individuals, the state’s school voucher program currently is exclusively funded by private donations. In exchange for those contributions, however, donors receive tax credits that reduce their state tax liability – and thus the amount of money coming into the state treasury.
Kehoe’s proposal to appropriate $50 million in taxpayer money for the program marks the first time the state has attempted to directly fund tuition for private K-12 schools. If lawmakers approve the funding during the budget process, it will almost certainly face a legal challenge for violating constitutional restrictions.
Overall, Kehoe proposed a $52.77 billion state operating budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins July 1. He announced his budget, along with his policy priorities for this year, during his first State of the State address before a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly.
While Kehoe’s plan calls for close to $2 billion more in spending than what lawmakers originally authorized last year for the FY 2025 operating budget, that spending plan underfunded Medicaid and many other programs well below anticipated costs, with many budget observers – including then-Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican – predicting lawmakers would need to pass a supplemental appropriations bill for FY 2025 that could be the largest in state history.
As anticipated, Kehoe asked lawmakers to pass a $2.12 billion supplemental spending bill to make up for underfunded costs in the original FY 2025 operating budget. When factoring in the massive supplemental bill, Kehoe’s FY 2026 budget proposal would keep spending roughly flat over FY 2025 levels. Kehoe also requested another $954.5 million for one-time capital improvement projects in FY 2026.
The day after Kehoe presented his plan, the House of Representatives began hearings to review his spending requests. Lawmakers face a May 9 constitutional deadline for granting final passage to the various appropriations bills that will make up the FY 2026 state budget.
LAWMAKERS AGAIN WORKING TO BAN CHILD MARRIAGE IN MISSOURI
A Senate committee on Jan. 29 heard legislation to completely ban child marriage in Missouri. A similar bill passed the Senate 31-1 last year but died for lack of action in the House of Representatives after Republican leaders didn’t bring it up for a final vote during the closing hours of the 2024 legislative session.
Senate Bill 66 sponsored by state Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, would set the minimum age for obtaining a marriage license at 18, up from the current minimum of 16. Until 2018, Missouri law allowed children as young as 15 to marry if they had parental permission, with even younger kids able to marry with judicial approval.
Before lawmakers raised the marriage age in 2018, Missouri’s permissive law gave the state an unwelcome reputation as a haven for child marriage, often involving girls being wed to much older men. Supporters of SB 66 say it would close the remaining loophole in the law to finally end child marriage in the state. The Senate Families, Seniors and Health Committee took no immediate action on the bill, which is again expected to enjoy widespread bipartisan support.
REPUBLICAN SENATOR WANTS TO PUT CASH BOUNTY ON IMMIGRANTS
Missouri would award $1,000 bounties for tips leading to the arrest of undocumented immigrants under Republican-sponsored legislation the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee considered during a Jan. 27 hearing in which opponents of the legislation far outnumbered supporters.
The bounty program Senate Bill 27 would establish is one of more extreme of several anti-immigrant proposals filed in the legislature this year. While supporters say the bill would reduce the presence of undocumented immigrants in the state, opponents countered that the bounty system is designed to terrorize immigrant communities with little regard for the legal status of individuals. The bill contains no penalties for filing a false report wrongly accusing a legal resident or U.S. citizen of not having lawful immigration status.
SB 27 also would create the felony offense of “trespass by an illegal alien” that would be punishable by life in prison without possibility of parole – a punishment usually reserved for more serious crimes like murder. An undocumented immigrant would be deemed guilty of that crime merely for existing within the state. The committee took no immediate action on the bill.”
MISSOURI MONDAYS NEWS SUPPLEMENT!
With so much important news each week we don’t want you to miss a thing! Check out our MISSOURI MONDAYS NEWS SUPPLEMENT here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wMmphHQfXS3af8AnxQ145XN9hEfv6RLmtS5XTv-XcFk/edit?usp=sharing
THANK YOU! for staying informed and taking action to make a difference!
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