• Legislators listen more closely to constituents - if you are in their district, tell them
• Legislators are interested in personal stories about how the proposed legislation will affect you and your pocketbook - look at the summaries and talking points and think about how the bill will affect you and talk about that in your phone call, testimony or email
• Look at the whole list of Calls to Action and pick the most important to you - we will be responding for months to come - don't get overwhelmed in the first few weeks
  

Citizen Initiative Petitions

Bill #: SB 152

LWVMO OPPOSES this bill. 

Short Description: This bill creates restrictions and mandates compliance regarding contributions of foreign nationals to Missouri Statewide ballot measures.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the Senate Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 24 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• This makes ballot measure campaigns more expensive (and more susceptible to the influence of money) by increasing compliance costs

• There is language about foreign nationals “indirectly” influencing a campaign. That term is vague and subject to abuse

• There is no evidence of foreign contributions having a material impact on Missouri ballot measures. Why is this bill necessary

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 152

Call to action: Contact your Senator HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill.

LWV Position: The League believes responsible government should be responsive to the will of the people. (LWVUS Impact on Issues, 2024 - 2026, p.11)

Bill #: HCS HBs 575 & 551

LWVMO OPPOSES this bill. 

Short Description: This bill makes it harder for the public to use the Initiative Petition process.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the House Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 24 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• Imposes restrictions on petition circulators

• Limiting who can circulate petitions infringes on the rights of free expression and violates the right to free speech

• Repeals requirement for a public comment period within 30 days of Secretary of State certifying signatures

• Requires final adjudication of a challenge to the official ballot title or fiscal note to occur at least 8 weeks before an election date

Link to the summary of the bill: HCS HBs 575 &551

Call to action:  Contact your Representative using the Legislative Lookup HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill.

LWV Position: The League believes responsible government should be responsive to the will of the people. (LWVUS Impact on Issues, 2024 - 2026, p.5)

Voting Rights

Bill #: HB 507

LWVMO SUPPORTS this bill.

Short Description: This bill establishes the offense of tampering with an election official; creates protection for election workers.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the House Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 24 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• Election workers are necessary for a functional democracy

• The growing incidence of election worker harassment is causing election workers to resign from positions, creating further strain on our election system

• Greater protections of election workers are necessary to ensure that we retain experienced and talented election workers

Link to the summary of the bill: HB 507

Call to action: Contact your Representative using the Legislative Lookup HERE and tell them you SUPPORT this bill.

LWV Position: Election Security: The League supports measures aimed at protecting and retaining election workers and officials and supports penalties for those who threaten or harass election workers and officials. (LWVMO Guide to State Action, 2023-2025, p. 7) 

Bill #: SB 280

LWVMO OPPOSES this bill. 

Short Description: This bill would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. 

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing Monday, March 24 at 2:30 PM in the Senate Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee. 

Talking points:  

• This bill would create onerous documentation requirements that are not readily available to many voters, resulting in voter suppression

• Women are particularly vulnerable as name changes from marriage will create mismatches between birth certificates and voting records

• There is no demonstrated need for this requirement as there is no proven incidence of illegal voting by non-citizens

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 280

Call to action:

Only in person testimony is allowed for Senate hearings. Contact members of the Senate Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill. Click on the Senator’s picture to be taken to their individual page for their contact information.

LWV Position: Citizen’s Right to Vote: Protect the right of all citizens to vote and encourage all citizens to vote.Support electoral systems at each level of government that encourage participation, are verifiable and auditable, and enhance representation for all voters. (LWVUS Impact on Issues, 2024-2026,

p. 7)

Reproductive Rights

Bill #: HCS HBs 195 & 1119

LWVMO OPPOSES this bill.

Short Description: This bill creates the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act”. Under this act, a child born alive during or after an abortion or attempted abortion shall have the same rights, privileges, and immunities as any other live-born child. It also contains provisions that subject medical professionals to prosecution.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the House Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 24 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• This bill conflicts with protections for medical professionals embedded in the Reproductive Freedom Amendment that voters approved by majority vote on Nov 5, 2024

• This bill injects the state into decisions on medical care without taking into account non-viable pregnancies

• This bill intrudes into a woman’s medical decision-making with her health care providers

• The bill denies the mother’s right to hold and comfort her infant after birth until it dies following an abortion or birth of a fetus with a medical condition doomed to fetal demise

Link to the summary of the bill:  HCS HBs 195 & 1119

Call to action: Contact your Representative using the Legislative Lookup HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill.

LWV Position: The League believes that public policy in a pluralistic society must affirm the constitutional right to privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. At the 2024 Convention, delegates passed a resolution reaffirming the Leagues commitment to fight for reproductive rights and justice, including bodily autonomy, privacy, reproductive health, and access to contraception and abortion. (LWVUS Impact on Issues, 2024 - 2026, pp. 64-68)

LGBTQ Rights

Bill #:  SB 100

LWVMO OPPOSES this bill. 

Short Description: No certificate of birth shall be amended if the sex of the individual was changed for reasons other than a medically-verifiable disorder of sex.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the Senate Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 24 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• A standard to determine who is transgender or not would be created even though not all trans adults desire undergoing surgery and no transgender minors have access to surgery (PROMO - promomissouri.org)

• This is another way of banning transgender youth from accessing appropriate methods of healthcare that affirm who they are (PROMO)

• According to the ACLU, this is also a breach of privacy; every time a person shows important documents, transgender people would be forced to out themselves

• Every time someone has to show an ID for employment or to a store clerk, security guard, or TSA agent, that fails to match their gender,  they are at risk (PROMO)

• A birth certificate from other states could be changed leading to confusion for individuals born elsewhere but living in Missouri

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 100

Call to action: Contact your Senator using the Legislative Lookup HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill.

LWV Position: Secure equal rights and equal opportunity for all. Promote social and economic justice, and the health and safety of all Americans. (LWVUS Impact on Issues, 2024-2026, p. 135)

Taxes

Bill #: SCS SBs 101 & 64

LWVMO SUPPORTS this bill. 

Short Description: This bill would increase the Circuit Breaker credit for low income senior citizens and disabled persons and expand income eligibility.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the Senate Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 24 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• The circuit breaker law was designed to help low income disabled persons and senior citizens to continue to live in their homes or to make rents more affordable to them

• The circuit breaker law’s income limits and credit amounts have not been adjusted since 2008; since then, incomes as well as the property tax and rental fees have increased substantially, resulting in many low income senior and disabled persons no longer qualifying for this support

• Income eligibility and credit increase will help to achieve the purposes for which this law was originally enacted - providing support for the increased housing expenses incurred by low income disabled persons and senior citizens

Link to the summary of the bill: SCS SBs 101 & 64

Call to action: Contact your Senator using the Legislative Lookup HERE and tell them you SUPPORT this bill.

Links to further reading: 

Improving Missouri’s Property Tax Credit Would Help Seniors, Missourians with Disabilities Stay in Their Homes

LWV Position: Supports retention of tax relief measures for qualifying seniors and disabled persons (circuit breakers/homestead provisions). Basic income should be shielded from property tax overload. The criteria for such a plan include relief based on income, relief to renters as well as homeowners, no erosion of the local property tax base, and use of income tax credits or rebates as reimbursement for property taxes paid by low-income taxpayers. (LWVMO Guide to State Action, 2023-2025, p. 30)

Education

Bill #: SB 485

LWVMO OPPOSE this bill.

Short Description: This bill moves school board elections to the November general election.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the Senate Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 24 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points: 

• It would move school board elections to the November general election making school board elections potentially partisan and more expensive

• It could potentially discourage citizens from running due to the added cost and difficulty in communicating to voters in a busy election season

• The school board election would appear at the bottom of long ballots and many people don't vote all the way down the ballot

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 485

Call to action: Contact your Senator using the Legislative Lookup HERE and tell them you OPPOSE this bill.

LWV Position: Support public schools that have accountability and transparency in matters of governance, accreditation, and funding.

 (LWCMO Guide to State Action, 2023-2025, p. 54) 

Bill #: SB 360

LWVMO: FOR INFORMATION ONLY

Short Description: This bill creates the Education Freedom Act and modifies provisions relating to the assessment of public elementary and secondary schools.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the Senate Formal Perfection Calendar, Monday, March 24 at 8:00 AM. 

Talking points: 

• It may negatively affect educators’ ability to make educational decisions

• It will promote authentic testing by promoting local control and accountability

• This bill turns the accreditation system into an improvement system

• It will make districts more competitive

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 360

Links to further reading: 

ACCREDITATION AND ASSESSMENT REFORMS

Bill #: HCS HB 477

LWVMO FOR INFORMATION ONLY

Short Description:This bill expands parental consent requirements for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) beyond current federal special education rules.

Status of the Bill: Placed on the House Formal Perfection Calendar for Monday, March 24 at 8:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• Parents in support of the bill say written consent should be required for more than just initial special education placements including changes to an IEP, changes in placement, etc

• Special education teachers and administrators say the expansion of required consent will create additional paperwork and procedural burdens on already overworked teachers in short supply

Link to the summary of the bill: HCS HB 477

Other

Bill #: SJR 35

LWVMO FOR INFORMATION ONLY

Short Description: Subject to voter approval, the Missouri Constitution would be amended to require the Jackson County assessor to be elected as is required for all other charter counties in Missouri.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a Hearing Monday, March 24 at 2:30 PM in the Senate Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee.

Talking points:

• Supporters say the assessor position in Jackson County should be elected as is the case for all other charter counties in Missouri

• Some have voiced concern that this issue should be decided by Jackson County voters rather than by a statewide vote

Link to the summary of the bill: SJR 35

To volunteer, join a committee, register for a special event, or view the Member Roster, please log in to your member account on our League website lwvkc.org: 

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