Voters in St. Louis, Missouri will decide on April 5 whether to amend the city charter to include several new conflicts of interest provisions.

Proposition R would prohibit alderpersons from knowingly using their official position to influence others for their own financial benefit; require alderpersons to declare personal or financial conflicts of interest and abstain from voting when there are conflicts of interest; prohibit alderpersons from accepting employment or contracts that interfere with the discharge of public duties or create conflicts of interest; and require former alderpersons to wait at least one year before serving as a lobbyist to influence a city government decision.

Proposition R would also transfer redistricting from the Board of Alderpersons to a nine-member redistricting commission and change the name of the Board of Aldermen to the Board of Alderpersons.

A special election for Ward 28 will be April 19.

Despite a request from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Gov. Mike Parson did not file writs of election to fill the six vacancies in the Missouri House.

Ashcroft expressed disappointment after the Monday deadline to place special elections on the April ballot passed.

Without a special election, the six affected districts would go without representation until January 2023.

Missouri law calls for the governor to issue a writ of election without delay and House District 34 has been without representation since April 2021 when former Rep. Rick Roeber was expelled.

The other vacancies are House District 61, 65, 108, 114, and 147.

Former Rep. Rocky Miller, who represented House District 124 from 2013 to 2021, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri seeking compensatory damages and an injunction to prohibit the Missouri Ethics Commission from enforcing the lobbying ban for legislators.

Miller alleges the 2018 Amendment known as Clean Missouri is an unconstitutional infringement on his rights to freedom of speech and petitioning the government because he was unable to successfully register as a lobbyist to lobby the executive and legislative branches for a prospective client.

The veto session of the first regular session of the 101st Missouri General Assembly adjourned sine die on September 16 with no vetoes overturned by the Legislature.

During the session, House Majority Leader Dean Plocher was chosen to succeed Speaker Rob Vescovo, who will exit in 2023 due to term limits.

The appointment must be approved by the House during the 2023 session, and Plocher will continue in his current role as majority floor leader until then.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The first special session of the Missouri General Assembly adjourned sine die on June 30.

The special session began on June 23 and called by Gov. Mike Parson to focus on passing the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA) extension, a tax to pay for the state’s Medicaid program.

Before adjourning lawmakers passed health care bills, including Senate Bill 1, sending to Parson the required extension of the FRA.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson called a special session of the Legislature beginning June 23 to pass the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA), which renews a tax on medical providers to help pay for the state’s Medicaid program.

Lawmakers have until September 30 to pass the FRA.

The 101st General Assembly adjourned sine die on May 25, sending less than a hundred bills to Gov. Mike Parson and leaving unfinished business, including the passage of the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA), a tax on medical providers that helps pay for the state’s Medicaid program.

They have until September 30 to pass the FRA and Rep. Sarah Unsicker has requested a special session to renew it.

Other Lawmakers have also sent requests for special sessions to Gov. Mike Parson on different topics, including redistricting, election bills, the Kansas City police budget, and race-related school curricula.

The Missouri House of Representatives voted 153-0, with one member voting present, to expel Rep. Rick Roeber.

This is the first expulsion of a sitting member of the Missouri House since 1865, when state Rep. John Sampson was kicked out for being a secessionist.

The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation in January and issued its final report on Monday, finding Roeber was credibly accused of sexually and physically abusing his children.

The House rejected Roeber’s attempt to resign because the committee findings and expulsion are likely to increase pressure on officials to criminally prosecute him.

A writ of election to fill the vacancy has not been issued by Gov. Parson.

The Missouri House voted unanimously today to reject the resignation of Rep. Rick Roeber.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers argued the House Ethics Committee should complete its investigation into allegations Roeber sexually and physically abused his children.

Three adult children of Roeber publicly alleged that in 1990 he molested his adopted daughter when she was 9 years old.

Despite the allegations, which became public more than a month before Election Day, Roeber defeated his Democratic opponent by 300 votes.

The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation in January.

It was close to completing its work when Roeber announced his resignation on Tuesday, stating he had to step down because he was moving out of the district.

The committee plans to issue its report next week.

Missouri House District 140 Rep. Tricia Derges has been indicted on eight counts of wire fraud, 10 counts of illegal distribution of controlled substances, and lying to federal agents.

The newly elected Derges, who holds a special assistant physician license and runs multiple health clinics for low-income patients, began her first two-year term in office early last month.

She pleaded not guilty in her initial appearance.

The felony charges carry a possible prison sentence and fines.

A felony conviction would also bar Derges from running for public office in Missouri in the future.

If she resigns, Gov. Mike Parson must call for a special election.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order calling for a special election on April 6, 2021, the same day as the statewide spring election.

The election will fill the Senate District 13 seat being vacated after Sen. Scott Fitzgerald was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

A primary, if necessary, will be held on the same day as the spring primary, February 16.

A special primary and special election will also be held on those dates for the 89^th Assembly District seat vacated by John Nygren.

Nygren resigned less than a month after winning reelection to his eighth term to be the executive director for the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans.

The association is a coalition that lobbies lawmakers on behalf of health insurers.

The second special session of the General Assembly adjourned sine die on December 16.

The special session called by Gov. Mike Parson to focus on getting federal CARES Act funding distributed to the state began on November 5 and included 10 legislative days interrupted by COVID-19.

Before adjourning lawmakers passed a bill to distribute the federal CARES Act funds.

The second special session of the Missouri General Assembly has been delayed until after the Thanksgiving break.

This comes in response to a number of positive COVID-19 cases among members and staff.

The special session began on November 5 to focus on getting federal CARES Act funding distributed to the state.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Mike Parson won reelection as governor of Missouri over Democratic challenger Nicole Galloway by roughly 16 percentage points as of Wednesday morning with greater than 98% of votes counted.

Third-party candidates, Libertarian Rik Combs and Green Party candidate Jerome Bauer pulled in just over 2% of the votes combined.