JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House chamber was fast-paced on Thursday as members quickly cycled through bills, passing them to the Senate and one to the governor’s desk.
Bills dealing with topics from discriminatory speech to gun laws were limited to roughly 15 minutes each.
When the representatives reached that maximum amount of time, the “gentleman from Greene County,” House Majority Leader Rep. Alex Riley, R-Springfield, would call for the previous question.
Previous question calls for a vote that, if approved, ends discussion and forces an immediate vote on the bill on the floor. The bills considered Thursday all had gone through debate and amendments in a previous floor session.
House Bill 2061
This bill lays out a new set of rules that all K-12 public and charter schools, school districts and colleges must follow to prohibit antisemitic discrimination.
The bill states that these schools must follow the official definition of antisemitism as laid out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and put rules in place for the conduct of staff and students.
A similar bill sponsored by Rep. George Hruza, R-St. Louis, failed to gain Senate approval last year. It gained a lot of public support while also facing some public criticism. The Senate broadened the scope of the bill on Wednesday beyond antisemitism to include all forms of hate speech and discrimination, including race, religion, sex and disability.
“Once the House passes this bill and it is signed by the governor, Missouri will be the 39th state in the United States to provide enhanced protection of Jewish students and the Jewish ... community,” Hruza said.
The main opposition voiced to the bill claimed the protections could be used to silence pro-Palestinian voices.
The Senate also added that all schools will have leeway on how they impose and enforce these new set of rules.
“I think if we’re going to talk the talk, we’re going to need to walk the walk, and I have not seen the walk yet,” said Rep. Bridget Walsh More, D-St. Louis. ”We have ICE agents coming in and looking for minors without a warrant. We had a rise of hate crimes across the board, and I don’t see much being done other than some talking points.”
The bill goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe, who can sign it into law. If signed, the bill takes effect on Aug. 28.
Other bills received final House approval and go to the Senate for action.
House Bills 2387 & 2480
These combined bills, sponsored by Reps. Brad Banderman, R-St. Clair, and Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, bring the presidential primary back to Missouri. The presidential primary was repealed in 2022.
The bills would establish a statewide presidential primary on the first Tuesday in March of each presidential election year. The state will bear the cost of the primary, and the political parties are required to apportion their delegates according to the results of the primary, under the bill.
After adjournment, House democrats held a news conference where House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, spoke about Missourians’ wishes to reinstate the primary.
“Ever since we got rid of the presidential preference primary, both parties have come together and said, ‘no, we want this back,’” Aune said. “The parties had to run the primaries a few years ago, and it was kind of a disaster, I think, all across the board.”
“When you put that on a party and you move to a completely different style, voters were confused and frustrated, frankly,” she added.
House Bill 1730
This bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Costlow, R-Dardenne Prarie, would make it easier for a person in Missouri to buy or sell a firearm “suppressor” or silencer. Unlike most bills voted on Thursday, this bill saw debate of up to half an hour.
Currently, Missouri residents are able to buy a suppressor if they apply through the federal government. The waiting period often takes months due to licensing requirements and background checks.
Costlow’s bill has provisions that would allow suppressors made in Missouri to not be subject to federal laws or regulation, including registration. Suppressors manufactured and sold in the state would be clearly stamped with the words “Made in Missouri.”
Opponents of the bill, like Rep. Will Jobe, D-Independence, worried that this bill misleads Missourians. He said that as a criminal defense lawyer, he only saw these cases being charged on a federal level.
“The reality is that this is not being prosecuted on the state level,” Jobe said. “It’s federal law enforcement, and this bill is not going to change that.”
Some supporters stated that regulations affected law abiding citizens and would not lead to an increase of illegal activity.
“The actual number that are used for crime are very small. They’re difficult to get as it is,” said Rep. Jim Schulte, R-New Bloomfield. “Most of the guns used in these crimes are illegally obtained and not the result of legitimate people with legitimate purposes.”
House Bill 2292
This bill, sponsored by Rep. Holly Jones, R-Eureka, creates a link between those investigating domestic violence and animal abuse, as the two crimes can often happen simultaneously.
HB 2292 would create additional training for protective services for humans to be able to identify animal abuse. It would also train those who investigate animal abuse to be able to identify signs of domestic violence.
Many studies have shown a link between animal abuse and domestic violence, including a 1983 survey that found that 88% of U.S. homes that had experienced animal abuse had also experienced child abuse.
This bill would encompass more than just child abuse and would include training for identifying other types of domestic violence like spousal or elder abuse.
House Bill 2481
This bill tightens the reins on individuals trying to access food stamps and Medicaid. The bill would make proof of citizenship, or legal status, a requirement to receive these benefits.
Sponsored by Rep. Jamie Ray Gragg, R-Ozark, the bill states that only U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals and immigrants who meet federal requirements would be eligible to receive SNAP or Medicaid benefits.
It’s specified within the text that individuals must show proof of citizenship or legal immigration status to be able to collect those benefits.
For Medicaid, hospitals and clinics must send over the same information of citizenship status to the MOHealthNet Division to be eligible to receive assistance.
However, for SNAP benefits, if someone in an individual’s household is not eligible to receive these benefits, their income still counts when deciding the eligible individual’s benefits. Democrats say this could make it harder to receive benefits.
“It’s continually attacking the most disenfranchised people in the state,” said Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, “It’s a solution in search of a problem, which is par for the course in this chamber.”
