Dozens speak in opposition of charging protestors for blocking roadways in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Protestors who block a public street or highway could soon face charges in Missouri.

Senate Bill 26, sponsored by Republican Sen. Bill Eigel from Weldon Spring, passed the Senate three weeks ago and now it’s the House’s turn.

A coalition of several civic and human rights organizations, religious leaders, and elected officials rallied inside the Capitol before the bill was heard Monday before the House Crime Prevention Committee.

“What we see is the people in this building think it is their voice that counts,” NAACP State President Nimrod Chapel said at the rally. “It makes no sense that we come here to this building today asking that not preserve life and liberty, that’s not what these bills are about. These bills are about silencing people who have something to say and not for the sake of just being heard because we are trying to live.”

Senate Bill 26 list a number of provisions, like charging protestors for blocking roadways.

“It’s only until protestors went to St. Charles and disturbed the comfort level of the people of St. Charles that someone from St. Charles decided that this was the appropriate thing to do,” Rev. Darryl Gray, event organizer, said to the committee.

Eigel’s legislation would create an offense for protesters who block traffic on public streets, highways, or interstates. The first offense would be an infraction, a second violation would be a class B misdemeanor, and any other violations would be a class E felony.

“The danger is created by the chaos that ensues when someone unlawfully enters a highway or public street, putting themselves in the direct line of path of vehicles using those roadways,” Eigel said. “It’s a question about whether your right to do something unlawful extends to putting your fellow man and woman in danger.”

Only a handful of House members and the St. Louis Police Officers Association spoke in favor of the legislation.

“You block a roadway, it does put people in harm’s way,” Rep. Ron Copeland (R-Salem) said.

“I think there is a place for maybe establishing some type of rules as far as getting on highways,” Jay Schroeder, president of the association, said. “I believe maybe there has to be some standard that lets you get up on a highway.”

During the 90-minute hearing, most spoke in opposition.

“Penalizing people for trying to do and exercise what they feel like is just and what they feel is right,” Rep. Nasheed Aldridge (D-St. Louis) said.

“When your voice isn’t heard, maybe on the sidewalks or in front of city hall, then sometimes it’s what you have to do,” Rep. Mark Sharp (D-Kansas City) said.

Rep. Richard West (R-Wentzville) questioned Gray about protesting on Interstate 70 last summer. Gray said it’s because of how George Floyd died.

“Did that happen in St. Charles?” West asked.

“No, but it is prevailing throughout this country,” Gray responded.

“Then why is it important to make the people of St. Charles County uncomfortable?” West said.

“Discrimination is in St. Charles County, people discriminate in St. Charles County,” Gray said. “Racism is alive and well in St. Charles County.”

The bill also adds a “bill of rights for law enforcement officers by protecting officers who are under investigation by notifying him or her of the alleged violation and who would be conducting the investigation. Also, the questioning of the officer would only happen while on duty.”

“Even with the law enforcement bill of rights, I can be cool with the bill, but when I see this, I do see a direct attack on people that have been exercising their First Amendment rights and to be very clear, people of color,” Aldridge said.

The legislation would also take away parole from any offenders who commit a violent crime against a law enforcement officer and penalizes another that would vandalize public monuments.

The next step for this piece of legislation is for it to be voted out of committee.

Protesters march down the Forest Park Parkway, in Clayton, Missouri on Saturday, May 30, 2020, closing the street, chanting and holding signs protesting the death of unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Missouri senator proposes largest income tax cut in state's history

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Missouri lawmaker wants to lower the state’s income tax rate. The cut would be the largest in the state’s history.

The Republican senator sponsoring the legislation wants to lower the income tax by half of one percent, which will cost the state millions, but he says the state has enough money for the cut.

“I don’t think there is any better time to put money back in people’s pockets than right now,” Sen. Lincoln Hough (R-Springfield) said. “I think this is something people see that the government says, look, we understand that it’s been tough, it’s been tough on everyone.”

Hough is sponsoring Senate Bill 627, which he says would give more money to Missourians.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who looked at their paystub and said, you know what, I wish I would have sent more money to the government, I wish the federal government had taken more of my salary, I wish the state government would have taken more of my salary,” Hough said.

His idea is to lower the state’s income tax from an expected 5.3 percent to 4.8 percent by 2022.

“I think the crux of this tax cut consideration is that if you give people this money back to their checking accounts, they are going to spend it at home,” Hough said. “People look at their paystubs and I think they could say thank you for actually understanding what we are going through.”

He said this would cost the state around $500 million a year, but due to the pandemic, the state continues to receive more money from the federal government.

“Right now, the state is sitting on $1.7 billion worth of general revenue that is sitting in the bank,” Hough said. “We have a $1.9 trillion dollar bill that’s being discussed in Washington D.C. right now, that has literally billions of dollars of state aid.”

Hough said it’s because of this pandemic that he thinks this is the perfect time to give money back to Missourians.

“We all know that this last year has been incredibly tough and I think this is something that can help every individual in this state and it will help the businesses in our communities,” Hough said.

Gov. Mike Parson said the state needs to be careful with its money.

“I think we’ve still got a ways to go and I wouldn’t say by any means we’re flushed because I don’t think we know what’s going to happen in the next couple of years down the road,” Parson said during his briefing Thursday. “I think the one thing you have to remember, is there was two income tax years in the same year.”

Hough said there is no sunset in his bill, meaning unless lawmakers passed new legislation increasing the income tax, it would remain at 4.8% for years to come.

“I don’t want to give something back to an individual and then a few years later or however long, say, oh now we need to start collecting that again,” Hough said. “I think these are the kind of decisions that are made that bring people to a state.”

Across the aisle, Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Kansas City, said the tax cut should only go to people in need.

“I think if you’re providing relief to the regular Missourian, that works a 9 to 5 job and barely making ends meet, I think that’s something we can talk about right now,” Rizzo said.

Rizzo said there are other things in the state those tax dollars could go towards.

“We have pressing issues with infrastructure, transportation, and a lot of places that we could spend the tax dollars in the state for the greater good,” Rizzo said.

Hough said this historic tax cut could bring more people and sales tax money to the state.

“We would be the lowest income tax state of all our surrounding neighbors except Tennessee,” Hough said. “It would be just another thing that I think Missouri could tout as a good reason to call Missouri home.”

Missouri’s neighboring states like Kentucky and Oklahoma have a 5 percent rate, while Illinois is at 4.95, Iowa at 8.53, 5.9 in Arkansas and Kansas with 6.84.

The last time lawmakers voted and passed an income tax cut was in 2018, when the rate was 5.9 percent before the reduction.

The bill was proposed this past week and has not been heard in front of a committee yet.

New Missouri scholarship program could allow tuition at private schools to be paid

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Education has been a big topic in Missouri’s Capitol this week as the Senate debated a large education reform bill overnight Tuesday and the House perfected legislation creating a new scholarship program.

The Senate spent nearly 12 hours debating and failing to vote on a bill that included this scholarship program Tuesday, but on Wednesday, it was the House’s turn. Lawmakers say it’s a conversation that’s been going on in the statehouse for years.

Rep. Phil Christofanelli (R-St. Peters) is the sponsor of House Bill 349, better known at the “Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program.” This program would allow students in Missouri to attend a school of their choice with tuition paid for.

“It’s not a silver bullet,” Christofanelli said. “We will still have problems in our education system after we pass this, but for a lot of children, it will make a real difference.”

The program would allow certain nonprofits to raise funds and in exchange for their donations, give tax credits up to 100% of their donation amount.

“Nonprofit groups, known as education assistance organizations, those organizations will register with our state treasurer’s office and they will be able to raise money for the purpose of issuing scholarship accounts to children in need across Missouri,” Christofanelli said.

Democrats pushed against the bill, saying there were no negotiations from Republicans on this legislation.

“We all, all 163 of us want to help kids the best way we can and sometimes we have different way to go about it,” Rep. Ian Mackey (R-St. Louis) said. “We’ve got to do better at working together in a meaningful and productive way.”

Tax credits would be capped at $75 million under the proposal. During Wednesday’s debate, Christofanelli added an amendment that would limit who’s eligible for the scholarship. Only students living in a city with a population of 30,000 or more would be able to apply.

“Unfortunately, in many rural districts, unfortunately the public school is the only place to go,” Christofanelli said. “There may not be a private school that you can send your kid too.”

That addition to the bill did not sit well with others.

“How do I now go back to them [my district] and say, ‘Well, I voted for it, some of you liked it, some of you didn’t, but the bottom line, you get no advantage of it,’” Rep. Rudy Veit (R-Wardsville) said.

Rep. Raychel Proudie (D-Ferguson) called the bill an experiment, with the target being urban areas.

“If it’s good enough for your children, then you do it where you live, but don’t sit here on your high horse and say you’re going to help the poor kids,” Proudie said. “If it’s not good for your community and your kids, it’s not good for mine. So, stop using poor kids and black kids to experiment on. We pay taxes too.”

St. Louis Democrat Rep. LaKeySha Bosley offered an amendment the tied the scholarship program to the K-12 transportation line item in the state budget. Her proposal requires 40 percent of the line item to be funded by the state, giving her votes from both sides of the aisle.

The scholarship could be used for other things than tuition, like transportation, tutors and school supplies. Christofanelli said the measure would also put students who live at the poverty level to be at the front of the line for the scholarship.

The bill needs final approval from the House before moving to the Senate.

Missouri officials say they are working to ensure equity in vaccine distribution

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – With people across Missouri asking where they can get the COVID vaccine, trying to get an appointment for a shot can be equivalent to winning the lottery in some regions. But the state’s vaccine distribution team says it’s working on equity when it comes to distribution.

Members of Missouri’s vaccination distribution team said Wednesday the state will be receiving nearly 10,000 more doses of the Moderna vaccine this week.

Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) Director Dr. Randall Williams said Operation Warp Speed is hopeful on the approval of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

“General Perna was very optimistic that in April and in May, and certainly by June, that we will have a very ample supply of vaccine, including on the front end with the J&J,” Williams said.

Gov. Mike Parson’s Deputy Chief of Staff Robert Knodell said the state could soon see more pharmacies administering the vaccine.

“We understand that would be a phase in and that additional locations within those chains and additional pharmacy chains themselves will be added to that as time goes along,” Knodell said.

Next week, federal qualified health centers will be receiving a dedicated allotment of vaccine next week to reach vulnerable populations and medically underserved communities, Knodell said.

“So, we will see an increase of our Moderna allocation into our state this week,” he said. “We will be receiving close to 60,000.”

Earlier this week, the state announced some pharmacies in Missouri are partnering with the federal government to vaccinate those in rural areas. Starting Friday, 81 Walmart’s and Sam’s Club pharmacies will be able to vaccinate Missourians.

“We’ve set a clear expectation that first dose be administered within seven days of being received by a vaccinator and we also have the expectation the second doses will be administered as quickly as possible to the date that is recommended by the CDC,” DHSS Director of Community and Public Health Adam Crumbliss said.

According to the CDC, people should receive the second dose of Pfizer 21 days after their first dose, and 28 days after their first dose of Moderna.

“We become concerned when a vaccinator or region has not been reporting or administering those vaccines in a timely fashion and we are very aggressive in making sure that those shots get into arms as quickly as possible,” Knodell said.

Some communities are calling themselves a vaccine desert, but the state’s vaccination team thinks differently.

“We see that some of our communities are on the low end of our data, but they have been on the high end previous weeks and then vice versa, as we continue to move forward in the coming weeks,” Crumbliss said.

Crumbliss said that the numbers will eventually even out, but one of the reasons it might look uneven to the different regions in the metro areas received most of the doses at the beginning.

“When you look at the vaccine distribution process across Missouri, about the first five weeks, we really spent an intensive amount of time focused on distributing specifically to the top 50 health care systems in the state,” Crumbliss said. “Our commitment and our expectation is that we will continue to achieve regional balance.”

Last week, the state started a partnership with selected hospitals across the state for a throughput distribution plan. Under this plan, the state gives 53 percent of its allotment to the hospitals. Some hospitals have the capacity to give 5,000 doses a week. This week, 25 hospitals across the state will give 40,000 doses and Crumbliss said it’s up to those hospitals to re-locate doses of the vaccine.

“The high throughput health care systems have the ability to do at least 5,000 vaccinations a week,” Crumbliss said. “We also expect those same high throughput health care system to work with other partners in the community. We do think there is cooperation that could be had and should be had, not just from the standpoint of talking about how to design a system, but we do think that they need to be redistributing those doses.”

Knodell also mentioned some mass vaccination sites being held by the Missouri National Guard and local health departments, are postponed this week due to weather.

“We’re experiencing winter weather across the state this week,” Knodell said. “Our National Guard mass vaccination teams tell us it’s very difficult to thaw frozen vaccine at an outdoor event when the temperature is 5 degrees.”

Williams said if the supply remains consistent, with the approval of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, Missouri could be vaccinating Tier 3, which includes the education system, by March.