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Missouri House Passes FY 2020 Budget
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 The Missouri House passed the FY 2020 budget this week, approving a total budget of nearly $30 billion. This includes $3.5 billion for public K-12 education and $11 billion for Medicaid (health and mental healthcare for the poor), the two largest single items funded in the state budget. The Missouri budget is funded by money collected through state taxes and from federal funds sent to Missouri to pay for social programs, agriculture, and highways, among other programs. In the current fiscal year, Missouri is facing a shortfall of approximately $300 million. This may result in the Governor having to freeze funding for some programs before the end of the fiscal year on June 30th. It is hoped this will not be necessary as taxpayers file state returns and pay taxes due in the next few weeks.
The budget, as passed by the Missouri House, includes $6.4 million for the Alternatives to Abortion program, $32.5 million for the Show-Me Healthy Babies program, which provides funding for medical care for unborn children whose mothers do not qualify for Medicaid, and $2.5 million for a program to encourage healthy marriages and fatherhood. The budget also includes language prohibiting state funding from going to Planned Parenthood. There are many other programs funded through the Missouri state budget. For quick facts outlining state spending for FY 2019, which ends June 30th, please click here. The budget now proceeds to the Missouri Senate for further consideration. |
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Missouri Supreme Court Ends Debtors' Prisons
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 On March 19, in a unanimous opinion written by Judge Mary Russell, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that judges in Missouri can no longer threaten indigent defendants with jail time if they are unable to pay board bills for incarceration in the county jail. "While persons are legally responsible for the cost of their board bills under (state law), if such responsibilities fall delinquent, the debts cannot be taxed as court costs and the failure to pay the debt cannot result in another incarceration," the court wrote. The ruling puts an end to the practice of turning county jails into de facto debtors' prisons.
HB 192, sponsored by Rep. Bruce DeGroot (R-Chesterfield), would put an end to the payment review hearings and require that board bills be collected through civil means. The bill passed the House by a vote of 156-1. Now Rep. DeGroot is considering amending his bill to ban the practice of charging for jail time altogether. |
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Trump Administration Announces Tightening of Pro-life Mexico City Policy
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 During a March 26 news conference, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the Trump administration would be adding new restrictions to the Mexico City Policy to prevent backdoor funding of abortions.
The Mexico City Policy, which began under the Reagan administration and has been enforced by every Republican administration since, ensures that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to support foreign organizations that perform or promote abortion. According to Pompeo, the rule will now end "assistance to foreign [nongovernmental organizations] that give financial support to other foreign groups in the global abortion industry."
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, thanked the Trump Administration following its announcement, stating that "Taxpayer dollars should never fund abortion - and especially not in developing countries where many women need genuine, life-sustaining support for themselves and for their children."
Visit the USCCB website to read Archbishop Naumann's full statement. |
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Federal Judge Rules North Carolina 20-week Abortion Ban Unconstitutional
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 This week, a federal judge struck down a North Carolina law banning abortion after 20 weeks gestation. The law had been in effect since 1973 but was amended in 2015 to tighten the exemptions to the 20-week ban. U.S. District Judge William Osteen ruled that the law, even if not enforced, had a "chilling effect" on individuals' constitutional rights. Judge Osteen stated that under current Supreme Court decisions, a state is never allowed to prohibit pre-viability abortions. The ruling will go into effect in 60 days, to allow time for the North Carolina legislature to either pass further legislation or challenge the decision on appeal. |
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House Committee Endorses Omnibus Correction Bill
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 This week, the House Special Committee on Criminal Justice approved House Committee Bill 2, sponsored by Rep. Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin). A House Committee Bill is different than a regular House Bill in that it is filed after the deadline for bills to be filed, and represents a priority of the committee. HCB 2 is mirrored after the First Step Act, which was signed into federal law last year. The bill, called the Missouri First Step Act, is a comprehensive criminal justice reform package. The omnibus bill includes a ban on shackling pregnant inmates, would eliminate the practice of jailing people who owe counties for room and board assessed during incarceration, and would give ex-felons the opportunity to work in restaurants and grocery stores that sell alcohol or lottery tickets. The bill also establishes various provisions related to the prohibition of discriminatory policing. The committee approved HCB 2, and it now goes onto the House Calendar. |
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Online Prostitution Bill Heard in House
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 On Monday, the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee heard testimony on HB 882, sponsored by Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Arnold). HB 882 seeks to penalize internet sites, such as Backpage, that have been used to promote human trafficking. The bill states that any person who owns, manages, or operates an interactive computer service with the intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of another would be guilty of a Class A felony. The MCC testified in support of this legislation. |
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PDMP Heard in Senate Committee
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 This week, the Senate Seniors, Families and Children Committee held a hearing on HB 188, sponsored by Rep. Holly Rehder (R-Sikeston). The bill establishes a statewide prescription drug monitoring program, or PDMP. The legislation would allow doctors and pharmacists to see what prescriptions patients are receiving. Rep. Rehder noted that Missouri is the only state in the nation that lacks a statewide monitoring program. Numerous witnesses, including the MCC, testified in support of bill. They noted that the PDMP is confidential and allows medical professionals to identify patients who are receiving multiple prescriptions for painkillers, and is a way to address patient opioid misuse. Critics raised concerns about chronic patients who need pain medicine, as well as the possibility of personal health information in a government database being hacked, and questioned its effectiveness in fighting the opioid epidemic. The committee took no action on the bill. |
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The Catholic Origins of April Fool's Day
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 Loved by pranksters but loathed by teachers and those who are easily spooked, we can all agree that April Fool's Day is one of the world's silliest holidays. But did you know that the Catholic Church might have had a hand in cementing it on the calendar? According to this Catholic News Agency article, it was Pope Gregory XIII who unknowingly gave rise to April Fool's Day by ordering all Christian nations to adopt the Gregorian calendar. Those who didn't were called fools, and would have paper fish or 'poisson d'avril' (April fish) attached to their backs, said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person. |
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