Republican representatives and the newly elected Mayor Mike Kehoe have put forward a series of amendment proposals, initiatives, and executive orders that follow the issues President Trump has tackled in his first weeks in office. Dealing with immigration, abortion, trans surgeries on children, and most recently an attempt to limit state income tax have all been on the docket for Republicans since the new year. All of these have been key initiatives the President has also been tackling since taking office.
In 2023, Missouri passed two laws that barred transgender students from competing in sports and banned sex-change operations on minors. Now, the state’s legislature aims to remove expirations on these laws, due to end in 2027, effectively making them permanent. There was over eight hours of discussion and 100 protesters that showed up at the hearings. Democrat politicians in the state also announced the formation of an “Equality Caucus,” lead by Kansas City democrat Representative Wick Thomas, who identifies as nonbinary and is the first state lawmaker to do so. The caucus would strive to “advocate for minorities.”
This comes on the heels of President Trump signing an executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports, which the NCAA said the next day they would enforce. The President also signed an executive order restricting federal funding of transgender surgeries for people under the age of 19 years old. The transgender issue is just the most recent topic that Missouri lawmakers tackling at the same time as the President.
Mayor Mike Kehoe has pushed a limiting of income tax in the state, and proposals have been made to gradually reduce the percentage, moving to a flat tax. This has been taken up by the legislature with two bill proposals that also aim to limit future spending by the state government. HJR 1 and HB 100 laid out a plan to form a “Tax Reform Fund” that would be used to fund budget shortfalls in place of imposing new or increased taxes on Missouri residents.
The proposed limitation of income tax would not be a complete elimination by any means. However, it would create steady reductions in tax percentage in concert with the amount of money in the proposed “Tax Reform Fund.” As the fund increases, the percentage residents are taxed decreases, although the decrease is 1/10th of a percent. The difference between President Trump’s plan to eliminate federal income tax and Missouri’s plan, is Trump’s ability to impose tariffs to make up differences created by the absence of the tax revenue.
A few weeks ago, a committee hearing was held on bills regarding illegal immigration within the state. Opponents and advocates gave testimony on the bills that would create a state-level version of I.C.E. and a $1,000 reward for tips that result in the apprehension of an illegal alien. House Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, said that the bill creating the supposed “bounty” would be unlikely to pass in the state’s house, citing the ongoing federal-level work happening regarding immigration.
“House Republicans are committed to making sure that we have legal immigration, but that we don’t tolerate illegal immigration,” Patterson said. “I have not heard any enthusiasm from our members about doing any sort of bounty on that. I don’t think that’s something that you’re going to see on this side.”
As far as the proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal the pro-abortion amendment that passed in November, no action has been taken since it was proposed and discussed in committee.
