In this second edition of the Missouri Report (available to members only) we have a round up of the flurry of activity happening as we enter the final weeks of the legislative session. As a reminder, anyone that wants to receive this newsletter can join the Missouri 82 Alliance and receive a complimentary membership to the Freedom Principle or join at Freedom Principle MO.

I ask you to consider sharing this newsletter with likeminded friends and encourage them to join The Freedom Principle. Growing our network is the best way to bring conservative principles back to the state we love.

This month we celebrate the passing of HB495 a comprehensive crime bill that was the purpose of starting this organization. We also highlight critical pro-life legislation making its way through the process. We have new interviews on the Show Me Conversations podcast highlighted below, and a recap of our accomplishments. 

We are continuing to take a proactive approach with legislators and making the most of every moment in this session. Your support makes it possible.

Always onward,

Byron Keelin

President, Freedom Principle MO

Crime bill passes! A huge win!

Missouri is finally on the road to maintaining law and order in the City of St. Louis as the Governor establishes a commission for oversight.

To our extreme delight, the Missouri Legislature passed HB 495, the crime bill. We cannot overstate how much this was needed. The City of St. Louis is one of the flagship areas of our state and an economic engine for all of Missouri. Through decades of mismanagement, it has been driven into the ground with crime and corruption. Now, with the oversight of an independent commission appointed by the Governor, St. Louis has a chance to shake off the past and begin to take control of its streets to the benefit of everyone in our state.

HB 495 establishes a six-person board to oversee the department and takes the control of the police out of the hands of the "Defund, Dismantle and Demean" mob. Click here to read what is in the bill: HB 495. Governor Kehoe signed the bill on Wednesday, March 26.

Closer to Nixing Foreign Influence

A Key Election Integrity Bill Passes the Senate in an Effort to Protect Missouri Elections from Foreign Spending

The Senate passed SB 152, sponsored by Senator Ben Brown. This is a key bill protecting our elections from the influence of foreign spending on state ballot measures. This bill, if passed by the House, would specifically prohibit foreign nationals from:

• Participating in the decision-making process about activities to influence a ballot measure; and
• Soliciting a donation to influence a ballot measure. 

Additionally, the act creates a new enforcement mechanism that is separate from the process that the MEC currently uses in investigating violations of campaign finance law. It allows the Attorney General to order civil investigation in the same manner as Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. If, after a hearing, the court determines that probable cause exists to believe that a violation has occurred, the case should proceed to trial on an expedited basis. 

Pro-Life Action Needed Now

The repeal of Amendment 3 is in jeopardy. All pro-life people need to contact their legislators to voice their opposition to the current version of the house bill (HJR 54) and support of the senate version (SJR 33).

Freedom Principle Missouri recently sent out an urgent action alert regarding the repeal and replace Amendment 3 efforts in the house and senate. Because there have been numerous edits to the house bill HJR 54 that completely strip away pro-life protections, we strongly oppose this version of the bill. It would essentially do nothing to protect life or place any limits on abortion.

The senate repeal and replace bill, SJR 33, retains language that would actually protect life. We urge voters to voice their support of this version. For a full description of what is in each bill and a comparison, read our action alert here. 

Missouri Lincoln Days blitz

FPM exhibited for the entire weekend at Missouri's state Lincoln Days in St. Louis. The gun raffle was a success, with many chances sold and a lucky winner drawn. Most importantly, we were able to spread the word about the Missouri 82 Alliance and get more supporters signed up for a monthly membership. 

Later in the month, we also had tables at the Franklin County Lincoln Days and the St. Charles County Lincoln Days. It was a productive month of seeing old friends and meeting new ones as we grow our network of true conservatives.

Stay informed with details on efforts to engage legislators with our regular, members-only legislative update emails and be one of the people making a difference for the future of Missouri by becoming an official member of FPM.

Freedom Principle MO in Action

We took your priorities to the legislature by testifying in person, via email and submitting online testimony in relation to many, many pieces of legislation over the past month, including:

Traveled to the Capitol to testify in person in relation to: 

• SJR 33 – (Schnelting) (Support) Establishes provisions relating to reproductive health care
• SB 495 – (Schroer) (Support) Creates provisions relating to reporting requirements of prosecuting attorneys
• SB 370 – (Moon) (Support) Phases out the corporate income tax
• HB 1064 – (Murphy) (Oppose) Requires a county central committee treasurer to accept a candidate's filing fee if the candidate has been affiliated with the party for at least twenty-six weeks prior to the election

Submitted letters via email to the Senate Elections Committee in support of all three Initiative Petition bills and the effort to move school board elections: 

• SJR 30 (Ben Brown)
• SJR 47 (Jill Carter)
• SJR 10 (Mike Moon)
• SB 485 – (Schroer) Moves school board elections to the November general election.

Submitted online testimony on five other important pieces of legislation: 

• HB 126 – (Veit) (Opposed) We opposed the presidential primary not requiring people to have to identify by party before voting in the presidential election. 
• HB 367 – (Banderman) (Opposed) Reinstates the presidential primary and would extend early no excuse in-person voting from 2 weeks to 6 weeks 
• HB 1246 (Laubinger) (Support) Abortion – Prohibits the use of fetal organs or tissue resulting from abortions for medical, scientific, research, experimental, therapeutic purposes, or any other use
• SB 4 (House Utilities Committee) Modifies and creates new provisions relating to utilities
• HB 605 (Holly Jones) (Support) Establishes the "End Organ Harvesting Act of 2025"

Nothing is more important than electing true conservatives.

Many of these politicians have switched parties from democrat to republican just to get elected in red districts but they have every intention of bringing their liberal ideology into office. This has to change.

The Missouri 82 Alliance identifies key open races and works to recruit, train, and fund constitutional conservatives to win their primary elections. These RINOs cannot hurt us if they are not on the ballot to begin with. We need 82 conservative representatives to reach a majority and you can help us get there.

If you haven't yet made the extra step to join The Missouri 82 Alliance, please do so today. While your support of Freedom Principle MO makes our work possible to advocate for conservative principles in the legislature, your support of The Missouri 82 Alliance will help us elect more like-minded representatives to accomplish these goals. Learn more about the candidates we are supporting and add your support at Missouri 82 Alliance online.

We discussed the need for Missouri 82 Alliance on the Show Me Conversations podcast. Listen below to hear the inside information on what makes this a critical venture in a return to conservative principles.

The Show Me Conversations podcast is posted weekly on Thursdays at 6 p.m. and can be found on Spotify and many podcasting platforms. New episodes:

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