Politics, Elections, and Government

Amendment 5 has garnered attention and advertising dollars aimed at swaying undecided Missouri voters. KC Media Collective partner The Beacon analyzed ads about the proposal to examine the claims and iron out what the constitutional amendment would actually do.

Amendment 4 would require any constitutional amendment put on the ballot through the initiative petition process to pass in all eight congressional districts.

63% of Missouri's general revenue comes from individual income taxes. Critics of Amendment 5 wonder how the legislature will fill the gap. States without income tax have raised revenue by adding taxes on everything from tourism to tobacco.

In January, Gov. Mike Kehoe called for a phase-out of the state's income tax and an expansion of sales and use taxes, which he wants voters to approve. That vote is Tuesday.

As the Trump administration continues to bolster deportation efforts, local advocacy groups have reported a rise in immigrant arrests between June 15 and July 3, while Kansas City hosted World Cup matches. The increased ICE presence across the Kansas City metro area has kept residents on edge.

The Department of Social Services submitted its request to postpone, along with a "revision of definitions," to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on June 3

Kansas City officials are working on a new way to ban so-called "conversion therapy." The move comes just weeks after the Kansas City Council repealed a prior ban on the discredited practice because of a Supreme Court ruling against a similar law in Colorado and a lawsuit from the Missouri Attorney General.

The Kansas Department of Revenue — the state agency that oversees driver's licenses — sent out hundreds of letters invalidating some, but not all, transgender Kansans' licenses. But lawsuits are underway to stop the effort.

Plaintiffs argue that the proposal, known as Amendment 5, violated constitutional prohibitions on addressing more than one subject. They plan to appeal the ruling.

City Council members on Thursday repealed a ban on the controversial practice that was first approved in 2019. The split decision comes after a group of Christian counselors and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sued the city.