Lawmakers Still Need to Do a Lot Four weeks of legislative session remain and only two bills have been sent to the governor’s desk. As I’ve mentioned in earlier updates, the General Assembly needs to pass SB 748 (Hough R-30) — legislation authorizing the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA) — and the budget all within the…
Disenfranchising Voters is Top Priority Missouri’s General Election occurred last Tuesday and the results were astonishing. Right-wing backed candidates were defeated across the state in school board elections. Within Jefferson County, Springfield, St. Charles, and St. Louis County, voters chose to focus on actual educational issues facing our teachers and students instead of regulating their…
Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) is a day to celebrate trans joy throughout all its forms. Across Missouri, local communities and advocacy groups have put together incredible programming available for everyone. Each gathering, in its own way, honors the trans community in their area Participate in TDOV events as a sign of solidarity, support, and…
Giving the Alt-Right the Attention They Deserve The letter you’re about to read is different from the legislative updates we’ve sent to you in the past. Our team grappled with whether we should send this out, just as we regularly discuss whether we give airtime to hateful bills that seemingly have no path to passage…
Legal Discrimination on College & University Campuses For almost 30 years, you have fought alongside us to pass the Missouri Non-Discrimination Act (MONA). It is a law that would give LGBTQ+ Missourians — our community, our families, our elders, and our future generations — the absolute basic rights to freedom. It would guarantee our right…
Drag Performances Take the Spotlight Next Week The piece of legislation we are most closely engaging with this session is HB 1518 (Hudson). This bill would allow political, ideological, or religious organizations to be recognized groups and access funds and resources of the university or college. This includes student tuition and activity fees that are…
Three Specific Priorities Keep Coming Up Top of mind this legislative session is the emerging consistency of the GOP’s priority issues. We’ve seen the most momentum on the topics of revising the state’s majority rule, defunding clinics who provide abortions, and removing diversity, equity, and inclusion standards, requirements, curriculum, or practices within our state. We…
DEI is Under Attack This Week We’re incredibly grateful to the community members and fellow Missourians who joined us last Monday to testify against HB 1518 (Hudson) in the House Special Committee on Government Accountability. The bill claims to prohibit colleges and universities from “discriminating” against student organizations based upon their belief systems. In actuality,…
Multiple Upcoming Hearings The Freedom Caucus ended a 16-hour filibuster Tuesday morning meant to pressure their fellow Republicans into prioritizing legislation that would increase the threshold of signatures needed for Missourians to create laws themselves through the ballot initiative process. Their filibuster, time consumingly spent reading offensive books, ended in a deal to hear this…
Things Were Messy This Week This last week has made one thing clear: there are now three parties in the Missouri Senate — Democrats, Republicans, and the Freedom Caucus. The Freedom Caucus is primarily responsible for holding up the Senate’s ability to function since week one, and the rest of the chamber is frankly getting…
