WEEKLY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 01/08/2024

January 8, 2024

The Mood at the Capitol

The Missouri legislature is back at work. The first week of session was a short one with the legislature only being in on Wednesday and Thursday. Unlike even number years, odd numbered years have much less ceremony and organizational matters to attend to so work will get started first thing. In fact, this year the house budget committees were meeting as early as December 1 to try to get a head start on the work of building out the state's budget. There is some doubt as to whether or not this tactic will actually save any time, but regardless, it is what is happening.


While the house is trying to get directly into legislation, the Senate spent the first two days of session in filibusters over disputes that came to a head in the last days of the 2023 legislative session. It is unclear whether anything will have been resolved by Monday. Rumor has it, State Senator Bill Eigel fully intends to continue blocking work until some kind of agreement is made with the Senate Republican leadership. Exactly

what he will be asking for is unknown. For anyone who is trying to block harmful measures though, the Senate looks to be even more dysfunctional than it has been in the last couple of years.


So far there have been over 1,500 bills introduced. Topics range from the now too familiar culture wars issues to basic good governance such as making sure schools are able to spend down Federal money to help with safety improvements. Here are some of the major issues that will be coming up this year for the NAACP.

guns in places of worship

Tuesday at 2pm the House General Laws Committee will hold a hearing on a bill that would allow concealed firearms in churches and other places of worship without the knowledge or permission of the faith leaders. We know that places of worship are often the target of hate crimes. We also value the autonomy of the leaders of each faith community. The default option should not be that any person in the crowd could be carrying a loaded and concealed weapon. The current law allows any place of worship to allow concealed firearms or to designate specific people to be able to carry concealed. This change is not needed for security purposes. It will only make our places of worship more vulnerable. If you want to testify against this bill on Tuesday, please contact Olivia Pener at olivia@jonesadvocacy.com. You can also submit testimony online by following the link in the hearings list below.

discrimination and cultural competency in education

The legislature is once again trying to remove an open and transparent teaching of history and discussion of cultural differences from our classrooms. On the heels of the US Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, the legislature is taking aim at educational instruction on all levels. This includes higher education institutions such as medical schools. This creates a real threat to the health and safety of black and brown

folks as we know medical outcomes are worse for people of color due to a lack of cultural sensitivity and even untrue “scientific” information that is passed from generation to generation of medical care providers. When the year is 2024 but medical students are still under the belief that black skin is “thicker” than white skin, the problem runs deep. We need cultural sensitivity training and consequences for instructors who perpetuate dangerous mythologies.

voting rights issues

We are once again working with the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition on issues related to ballot access. Election workers continue to receive threats for doing their jobs. Representative Peggy McGaugh (Chair of the House Elections Committee) has been working with the County Clerks and has put forward a clean bill to keep our election workers safe both during election day and all year round. The bill would not be in effect until after the August Primary, but it is still an important piece of legislation and one we will generally support. Last year’s version needed a couple of small changes, and we will watch to make sure those stay in place as the bill moves through the process.


The House and Senate may be in different places when it comes to the energy behind restricting access to Citizen Initiative Petitions, but the House will still have its hearings. The proposals this year are virtually identical to the ones from last year. The biggest change is in a statutory measure that was introduced. The statutory change wouldn’t require any more signatures or a higher vote percentage, but it would prohibit

providing compensation to signature gatherers. Those of us who have been involved in these campaigns, know it is impossible to collect enough signatures in the amount of time provided after legal challenges to collect signatures without using a signature gathering company or otherwise compensating the gatherers. This change alone would severely restrict the ability of citizens to put measures on the ballot and would require a major change in the way the process is approached in Missouri.

criminal justice issues

Every year there are several omnibus bills that deal with crimes and public safety. Most years they are a mixture of good and bad provisions. This year there are a few that we believe may have a chance to pass. Then there are a few others that are high on the priority list, but will need a while longer to make it across the line.


Voting rights restoration has a lot of energy behind it and is likely to become law in the near future. The bill would allow people who have been released from incarceration but are still on probation or parole to vote. This is a simple matter of restoring to citizens the rights afforded to them by the Constitution as quickly as possible. Criminal punishment should not be a life-time sentence for every crime, but continuing to deny

people fundamental rights after they have finished their sentence makes it so.


Sentencing credits for good behavior and program participation is another issue that has broad support. This bill would allow incarcerated citizens to complete their sentence earlier by avoiding getting into trouble and by participating in job training and other positive programs. The bill almost passed in 2023 before getting tripped up in the last week of session.

upcoming hearings

01/09/2024     2:00     PM House-General Laws

  • HB1708 - Changes the law regarding firearm concealed carry permits — Rep. Adam Schnelting (R)

calls to action

  • Attend the MOVPC Lobby Day on Jan 30th 9am - 2pm https://www.movpc.org/movpc-latest-news 
  • Let Olivia Pener or Sandy Jiles know if there is a week between now and May 17th you are willing to be on call to come to the Capitol on short notice.


If you have any questions about any of the legislation mentioned here or the legislative program generally, please contact President Chapel or Olivia Pener.


Save the Dates! Come to the Capitol to Support Our Legislative Issues

  • January 30 - MOVPC Lobby Day - Support Free and Fair Elections
  • February 6 - MO Education Equity Partnership Lobby Day - Oppose Efforts to Ban Black History Curriculum
  • March 6 - Day of Empathy - Support Criminal Justice Reform
  • March 12 - MO to Abolish the Death Penalty Lobby Day - Support Proposals to Reduce and Eliminate State Murder

Tracking List

https://govwatch.net/report/M6q8o0GrzR


*This list is continually updated and improved. If you have questions, please contact Sharon Geuea Jones at sharon@jonesadvocacy.com.

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