Missouri House

Following hours of testimony last week, a Missouri House committee on Tuesday evening approved bills that would remove the 2027 sunsets from the state's restrictions on transgender minors and athletes.

If the House does not make any changes to the legislation, the bills could pass the entire legislature on Wednesday.

While the Missouri legislature is accountable to the state’s sunshine law, lawmakers can still find loopholes to get around it.

One bill being discussed in the Senate would include life imprisonment without parole as a punishment for immigration violations, and would allow Missourians to collect $1,000 bounties for reporting people who are in the country without legal status.

Formerly, House members were allotted 10 minutes to speak on the final vote of a House bill. That time is now five minutes.

Boone County voters elected two new individuals Tuesday to represent them in the state House of Representatives.

David Tyson Smith is unopposed in his bid to continue as representative in House District 46.

The incumbent, Rep. Doug Mann, D-Columbia, is backing Gregg Bush's bid for the state's 50th State House district.

Because the House made changes to the legislation previously approved by the Senate, including adding language that was stripped off, it has to again get Senate approval.

Included in the budget is a 3.2% pay increase for state workers, money to fully fund school transportation and funds to improve Interstate 44. However, the House version of the budget is about $2 billion less than Gov. Mike Parson requested for the upcoming fiscal year.