While Missouri is no stranger to challenging legislative sessions, this year’s infighting and inability to prioritize Missourians reached new heights. The legislature’s Conservative Caucus, consisting of seven far-right Senators, stalled their own party’s legislation and added controversial amendments to otherwise bi-partisan bills, leading to mass frustration and overall lack of decorum.
Similar to previous legislative sessions, food security advocates helped block legislation that would put access to essential support for Missourians in need at risk. Food security advocates helped stop bills that:
- Threatened to add additional work requirements and increased penalties to SNAP.
- Tried to strip SNAP access from individuals who become behind on child support payments.
- Attempted to ignore the will of Missourians who voted to expand Medicaid.
We also worked in coalition with other food security advocates to advance several bills that support food and health access for Missourians:
- HB1720 – an omnibus agriculture bill containing legislation by Sen. Barbara Washington that provides a tax credit for urban farms. This bill was truly agreed and finally passed by the legislature and awaits consideration by the Governor.
- SB798 – SNAP Restaurant Meals Program, legislation sponsored by Sen. Angela Mosley, would provide access to hot meals for disabled, elderly and houseless Missourians. While the bill passed the Senate, it was stopped in the House fiscal review.
- SB698 – This bill would extend pregnancy-Medicaid coverage from 6 weeks postpartum to 12 months, as it is a critical time to access physical and mental health support. It was introduced by Sen. Jill Schupp, Sen. Bill White, and Sen. Elaine Gannon. Despite largely bipartisan support, this bill was blocked by an extremist amendment.
Thank you to our fellow advocates for your work this session. We look forward to continuing our advocacy in the interim and revisiting our legislative goals for the next session.