Missouri Senate To Work On State Budget – Without Proposed Ban On State Spending Of Diversity Initiatives

FILE – Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz delivers opening remarks during the start of the annual legislative session on Wednesday, Jan, 5, 2022, in Jefferson City, Mo. The Missouri Senate remained divided over a congressional redistricting plan Tuesday, Feb. 8 as a filibuster from conservatives pushing for an aggressively Republican map carried on through a second day and Democrats raised concerns that they were being treated unfairly. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb, File)

(MISSOURINET) – An effort to ban state spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives has been stripped out of Missouri’s state budget proposal. The Missouri Senate is expected to decide next week if it backs the Senate Appropriations Committee’s move. The House included the proposed ban, despite the opposition of Democrats, including St. Louis State Representative Peter Meredith…

State Representative Doug Richey, a Republican from Excelsior Springs, says he will continue to work for a version of the proposed ban to make it into the final budget proposal.