The Missouri legislative session is less than a month away, and lawmakers are already working to make sure their priorities have a chance to become law next year.
In the Kansas City area, several lawmakers have advanced legislation focused on mitigating the effects of inflation and restricting celebratory gunfire.
Many of the hundreds of bills introduced by lawmakers in December won’t even get a hearing, let alone become law. But sometimes the process reveals what lawmakers have in mind as they look to next year.
The 2024 legislative session will begin on Wednesday, January 3.
Reducing sales taxes on food and hygiene products
There have been plenty of proposals to cut taxes or exempt items from sales tax — everything from food to feminine hygiene products and diapers to bingo cards.
Rep. Robert Soules (D-Independence) has proposed a bill that would eliminate Missouri’s sales tax on grocery stores.
Missouri is just one of 13 states that tax groceries. Kansas passed a law in 2022 that phases out the food sales tax by 2025.
Soules said the bill would ease the financial burden that inflation has placed on Missourians. He pushed a similar law last year to no avail.
“A lot of Missourians have had to struggle to put a strain on their pocketbook,” Sauls said. “What I’m hearing from voters is that some of the cost of things over the last few years has affected them and this is a way to correct that.”
Savannah Hawley
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KKOR 89.3
In a separate bill, Rep. Chris Sander (R-Lon Jack) has proposed similar legislation that would effectively end the sales tax on grocery stores.
Other area lawmakers want to make more cuts and cut the sales tax for other daily necessities.
Reps. Maggie Norburn (D-Kansas City) and Mark Sharpe (D-Kansas City) have introduced bills that would limit the sales tax on diapers and feminine hygiene products from exceeding the rate at which groceries are taxed. On the Senate side, Democratic Representative from Clay County, Lauren Arthur, proposed a bill that would create a tax exemption for the purchase of diapers.
Soules said he hopes to collaborate with other representatives working on similar bills that would make it easier for Missourians to make ends meet.
“Ideally, we could have a joint bill that addresses all of that,” Sauls said. “The attempt is to reduce the burden on consumers and citizens.”
Hot-button issues remain our top priority
It appears that lawmakers will once again try to find consensus on sports gambling in Missouri.
Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) has introduced legislation to legalize sports betting. Previous efforts to legalize sports gambling in Missouri have failed, even as it has been legalized in neighboring states like Kansas and Illinois.
Clay County Sen. Lauren Arthur (D-Kansas City) has proposed a bill that would repeal Missouri’s ban on abortion — one of six bills introduced in the House and Senate to either relax or restrict the procedure in the state.
On the other side of the aisle, Jefferson County Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Arnold) has introduced a bill that would prohibit any public funding from being directed toward any abortion-related services.
Anneliese Hanshaw
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Missouri Independent
Schools and diversity have also been the subject of several bills.
Norburn previously introduced legislation prohibiting corporal punishment in any school district or charter schools in Missouri. Sharp has introduced a bill that would make observing Black History Month a requirement in Missouri schools.
State Sen. Greg Riser (D-Kansas City) has proposed banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The law would prohibit any type of gender or sexual orientation discrimination in housing, loan applications, employment, or membership in an organization.
In a July interview, Riser told The Pitch that he believes Missouri has hit “rock bottom” when it comes to LGBTQIA+ rights after a year of legislation targeting transgender rights in Missouri.
Also among the Inauguration Day filings were several efforts to change election procedures, including a bill introduced by Republican Dan Stacy of Blue Springs that would require party registration for several months before voting in a primary in order to vote in it.
Blair’s law
Sharpe also introduced a bill to renew efforts to create Blair’s Law, a law that would ban ceremonial gunfire within municipal limits.
The law is named after Blair Shanahan Lane, an 11-year-old Kansas City girl who was killed during Fourth of July celebrations in 2011 by a stray bullet fired into the sky.
The law was approved by the House and Senate last year before Gov. Mike Parson vetoed the legislation.
Sharpe said he was confident Blair’s Law would pass this year, but pledged to continue introducing the legislation until it becomes law.
“There are too many cases in this state, and unfortunately in our urban areas, where people simply lack the care they need with firearms,” Sharp said, noting that just last month, another 11-year-old girl was paralyzed by a gunshot wound. Random fire. In Kansas City.
Sharp said he feels the bill will have the full support of the Legislature in 2024 and noted that in Parson’s 2023 veto letter he stated he supported Blair’s law but not the other bills included in Senate Bill 189.
“There are still people getting shot and people are afraid in their communities,” he added.