Voting Rights/Elections

Bill #: HB 1871

LWVMO SUPPORTS

Short Description: This bill increases the no excuse absentee (early ) voting period from two weeks to four weeks and also reinstates the presidential primary.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for Executive Session on Tuesday, January 20 at 11:00 AM in the House Elections Committee.

Talking points:  

• Early voting facilitates voter participation 
• It reduces stress on election workers and makes elections less vulnerable to disruption 
• A presidential primary encourages greater participation as voters can access primaries over longer voting periods while caucuses have a limited window for participation and have seen low turnout

Link to the summary of the bill: HB 1871

Call to action: Email committee members and tell them you SUPPORT this bill. Members of the House Elections Committee are found HERE. Click on the representative’s picture and you will be taken to their information page for their contact information.

LWV Position: Support no-excuse absentee voting either by mail or in person, advance voting and measures that facilitate participation in the election process and expand all forms of early voting and work to reduce election administration stress and Support open primaries for all primary elections. (LWVMO Guide to State Action 2025-2027, page 7)

Reproductive Rights

Bill #: HB 1667 and HB 2294

LWVMO OPPOSES

Short Description: Establishes the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act" mandating same rights, privileges and immunities as any other person and requires action to preserve life when a fetus is born alive after an abortion or attempted abortion.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a hearing in the House Children and Families Committee on Tuesday, January 20 at 10:00 AM.

Talking points:  

• These bills are a conflict with protections for medical professionals embedded in the Reproductive Freedom Amendment that voters approved by a majority vote on November 5, 2024
• They inject the state into decisions on medical care without taking into account non-viable pregnancies
• They deny 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
• Abortion care is a part of evidence-based reproductive healthcare and includes decisions between the clinicians and patients using best medical evidence

Link to the summary of the bill: HB 1667 and HB 2294

Call to action: Submit testimony to OPPOSE HB 1667 and HB 2294 HERE. Make sure to mark “in Opposition to” under reason in the testimony form.

LWV Position: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that public policy in a pluralistic society must affirm the constitutional right of privacy of the individual to make reproductive choices. At the 2024 Convention, delegates passed a resolution reaffirming the League’s 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, p. 64-68)

Education

Bill #: HB 1607

LWVMO OPPOSES

Short Description: Modifies guidelines for student participation in athletic contests organized by sex.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a hearing in the House Emerging Issues Committee on Tuesday, January 20 at 4:30 PM.

Talking points:  

• They argue these bans discriminate on the basis of sex, contravening Title IX's mandate for equal opportunity in education and sports
• The LWV points to research showing sports participation boosts self-esteem and reduces depression, benefits denied by bans, potentially increasing distress for trans youth
• They note that proponents of bans often lack evidence of widespread unfairness, with some laws targeting individuals based on stereotypes rather than actual competitive advantage, according to LWV blog

Link to the summary of the bill: HB 1607

Call to action: Submit testimony to OPPOSE HB 1607 HERE. Make sure to mark “in Opposition to” under reason in the testimony form.

Links to further reading: Anti-LGBTQIA+ State Legislative Trends

LWV Position: LWV is an organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice to all persons regardless of their race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability. (LWVMO Guide to State Action 2025-2027, p 56)

Health Care

Bill #: HJR 154

LWVMO OPPOSES 

Short Description: Constitution Amendment would require the Department of Social Services, MO HealthNet Division to implement work requirements for applicable individuals, as defined in the bill.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for Executive Session in the House Tuesday, January 20, at 12:00 PM in the Legislative Review Committee.

Talking points:  

• The American Academy of Family Physicians has long opposed Medicaid work requirements, which limit patient care, increase administrative complexity and medical debt for patients
• Those who can't work, don't earn enough, or where no jobs are available, should have the right to income and/or services to meet basic needs
• This bill reduces the number of people on Medicaid by making the work requirements so onerous that people give up
• The bureaucratic paperwork involved is a deterrent to those trying to comply
• States that have adopted this show much drop off in people who really do qualify failing to obtain help, and the costs to the state to implement are high as well as being complicated enough to cause problems for state employees

Link to the summary of the bill: HJR 154

Call to action: Email committee members and tell them you OPPOSE this bill. Members of the House Legislative Review Committee are found HERE.

LWV Position: The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that one of the goals of social policy in the United States should be to promote self-sufficiency for individuals and families and that the most-effective social programs are those designed to prevent or reduce poverty. Persons who are unable to work, whose earnings are inadequate, or for whom jobs are not available have the right to an income and/or services sufficient to meet their basic needs for food, shelter, and access to health care. (LWV 2024-2026 Impact on Issues Pages 170-171)

Firearms

Bill #: SB 858

LWVMO OPPOSES

Short Description: Prohibits police and sheriffs from enforcing federal firearms laws against law-abiding citizens of Missouri, imposes civil penalties for violations, but provides some exceptions.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a hearing in the Senate on Tuesday, January 20 at 2:30 PM in the Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee.

Talking points:  

• States can't block or ignore valid federal laws because the U.S. Constitution says federal law is supreme
• The bill makes it harder for police to fight serious gun crimes and penalizes departments for cooperating, making Missouri more attractive to criminals
• The few exceptions in the bill don’t cover common cases, leaving loopholes for criminals

Link to the summary of the bill: SB 858

Call to action: Only in person testimony is allowed at Senate hearings. Please contact committee members and let them know you OPPOSE this bill, Members of the Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee are found HERE. Click on the Senator’s picture and you will be taken to their information page for their contact information.

LWV Position: The League supports strong federal measures to limit the accessibility and regulate the ownership of these weapons by private citizens. The League supports regulating firearms for consumer safety. (LWVUS Impact on Issues 2024-2026, p 179)

LGBTQ Rights

Bill #: HBs 1672, 1608, 1854, 2033

LWVMO OPPOSES

Short Description: Repeals expiration date for provisions of this subsection allowing prescriptions for under 18 who received drugs/hormones prior to 8/23/23 expiring on August 28, 2027.

Status of the Bill: Scheduled for a hearing in the House Emerging Issues Committee on Tuesday, January 20 at 4:30 PM.

Talking points:  

• Interferes with the medical decisions made by parents, their children and medical professionals
• Repeals a previously agreed expiration date, permanently prohibiting these treatments
• Prevents medically necessary care established by professional medical organizations*, based on false claims of health outcomes for those with gender dysphoria* (*The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Psychiatric Assoc., The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry).

Link to the summary of the bill: HB 1608

Call to action: Submit testimony to OPPOSE HBs 1672, 1608, 1854, 2033 HERE. Make sure to mark “in Opposition to” under reason in the testimony form.

LWV Position: LWV is an organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice to all persons regardless of their race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability. (LWVMO Guide to State Action 2025-2027, p 56)

Resources

Read more about Kehoe's State of the State Address: HERE

Missouri Budget Project State of the State Reaction Statement: HERE

League Resources

League of Women Voters of Missouri: www.lwvmissouri.org

Register to Vote / check vote registration and more at : Vote411.org

There is a Local League near you. Get involved or join today to help protect democracy.

Track Missouri Bills: www.senate.mo.gov | www.house.mo.gov

The League of Women Voters envisions a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge and the confidence to participate. We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy.

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