Have a safe and happy Fourth of July from all of us at the Show-Me Institute.

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FORWARD MOVEMENT

INCOME TAX REFORM: HJRs 173 AND 174

Lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment for voter consideration that would authorize the eventual elimination of Missouri’s individual income tax. The measure represents the most significant advancement of income-tax reform in Missouri in years and ensures that the future of the state’s tax system will ultimately be decided by voters.

• Asks Missouri voters to decide whether the state should pursue eventual elimination of the individual income tax
• Allows lawmakers to modernize Missouri’s sales tax system as part of future income tax reductions
• Requires local governments receiving additional sales tax revenue to reduce other local taxes

OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING: SB 1233

Expanded opportunities for experienced professionals moving to Missouri by creating a pathway to temporary licensure for individuals with at least three years of work experience in a profession from a state that does not require a license for that occupation.

HEALTH CARE: HB 2372, HB 2974, SB 878, AND SB 1233

• Removed outdated barriers, allowing more patients to establish provider relationships remotely
• Eased restrictions on prescribing medications through telehealth
• Expanded access by allowing providers licensed through reciprocity to serve Missouri patients statewide
• Expanded pharmacist authority to test and treat for common illnesses and prescribe certain medical devices

MORE WORK TO BE DONE

Despite extensive discussion, several major policy proposals were left unresolved at the close of the 2026 legislative session.

EDUCATION REFORM

Legislation intended to address Missouri’s reading crisis passed in the House but died in the Senate. Meanwhile, 42 percent of the state’s fourth graders can barely read—the worst results in 20 years.

• Literacy reform
• A–F school accountability grades

TAX AND BUDGET REFORM

• Property tax reform
• Spending restraint

The debate over Missouri’s future did not end with the adjournment of the legislative session. Voters will soon weigh in on income tax reform, and lawmakers will return next year facing unresolved questions about education, taxation, and government spending. The most difficult reforms still lie ahead.

Download a copy of the report here.

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-A tribute to the late Joe Forshaw
-Lessons from Robert Caro’s books about LBJ
-Springfield voters declining to subsidize a convention center
-Traditional public schools signing on to MOScholars
-An update on Medicaid’s out-of-control growth in Missouri
-How Missouri could use consumer-regulated electricity to power data centers

Click here to find the newsletter.

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As 2025 comes to an end, we reflect on the progress made this year, from expanding MOScholars and strengthening property rights, to improving telehealth access and supporting Missouri’s entrepreneurs. Despite challenges, including rebuilding after the May 16th tornado, our mission remains the same, ensuring every Missourian has the freedom and opportunity to prosper. As we look to the next twenty years, we invite you to stand with us. Support the Show-Me Institute and help build a lasting legacy of liberty for Missouri. 

Click Here to Support Liberty in Missouri

The post Watch: Help Build Missouri’s Legacy of Liberty appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Download the 2026 Blueprint Here

The post The 2026 Blueprint: Moving Missouri Forward appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

-Potential reforms to the initiative petition process in Missouri
-The need for better accountability measures in our schools
-The role consultants play in creating harmful economic development policies
-Creating free-market policies in energy
-Big changes coming to welfare policy via the One Big Beautiful Bill
-Kansas City’s expensive failures are a warning, not a model

Click here to find the newsletter.

The post Show-Me Institute’s October 2025 Newsletter appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Download the annual report (PDF)

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-An assessment of the 2025 legislative session
-The trend of unfairly blaming landlords for a variety of ills
-The extremely poor performance of Missouri’s schools
-A new law that will restrict cell phone usage in Missouri schools
-The disappointing lack of progress on budget and spending reform
-How perceptions about crime hurt Missouri cities

Click here to find the newsletter.

The post Show-Me Institute’s June 2025 Newsletter appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Here’s an overview of some of the legislation passed this session (some of which is still awaiting the governor’s signature):

$50 MILLION FOR MOSCHOLARS PROGRAM

• First public investment in the K–12 scholarship program, with $50 million approved in the state budget
• Could triple the number of students served, expanding access to private school, homeschooling, and
specialized support

TELEHEALTH AND HEALTH CARE REFORMS: SB 79

• Improves telehealth access by allowing both audio-only and audiovisual services on any HIPAAcompliant
platform
• Expands health benefit offerings by allowing certain organizations to offer health plans to members,
sometimes referred to as farm bureau or association health plans, without many of the burdensome state
and federal restrictions that apply to traditional insurance offerings

PROTECTING PROPERTY RIGHTS: HB 595 AND HB 343

• Prohibits cities and counties from requiring landlords to participate in voluntary federal housing
programs such as Section 8 housing vouchers
• Bans caps on security deposits and restrictions on tenant screening criteria like income, credit, and
criminal history

CAPITAL GAINS TAX EXEMPTION: HB 594

• Exempts 100% of long-term capital gains from Missouri state income tax for individuals
• Applies to all individual income reported as capital gains for federal tax purposes, starting tax year 2025
• Designed to encourage investment and entrepreneurship by reducing the tax burden on productive
activity

EXPANDING LICENSE PORTABILITY: SB 150

• Expands access to temporary occupational licenses across most licensed professions in Missouri by
repealing the harmful compact exemption, ensuring that more professionals moving to Missouri can
start working without unnecessary delays
• Provides expedited occupational licenses to law enforcement spouses moving to Missouri, allowing
those licensed in another state for at least one year and in good standing to receive a Missouri license
within 30 days of applying

Download a copy of the report here.

The post 2025 End of the Legislative Session Report appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

On April 10, 2025, Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites, visited Washington University School of Law to discuss the ideological and bureaucratic challenges facing American higher education. In this lecture, Shapiro argues that elite universities have abandoned their core mission of truth-seeking in favor of activism, driven by bloated administrations and timid leadership. Drawing on personal experience and national trends, he explains how law schools, in particular, are failing to uphold classical liberal values such as free speech, academic freedom, and equal justice.

Listen to it as a podcast

The event was hosted by the Show-Me Institute, the Federalist Society, the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, and Show-Me Opportunity.

The post Lawless: Ilya Shapiro on Free Speech in Higher Education appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

-An update on where we are in the legislative session
-The literacy crisis in Missouri’s schools
-The problems with healthcare access in Missouri
-Slow and steady progress on education reform
-Why we need to cut spending
-People want local government to handle the basics

Click here to find the newsletter.

The post Show-Me Institute’s March 2025 Newsletter appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

RSVP for This Complimentary Event Here

Thursday, April 10, 2025

12:00 noon

Washington University in St. Louis Law School

Anheuser-Busch Hall, Room 305

One Brookings Drive

St. Louis, MO 63130

About the Book – Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites

Law schools used to teach students how to think critically, advance logical arguments, and respect oppo­nents. Now those students cannot tolerate disagreement and reject the validity of the law itself. Rioting Ivy Leaguers are the same people who will soon:

• Be America’s judges, DAs, and prosecutors
• File and fight constitutional lawsuits
• Advise Fortune 500 companies
• Hire other left-wing diversity candidates to staff law firms and government offices
• Run for higher office with an agenda of only enforcing laws that suit left-wing whims

Ilya Shapiro will discuss how we got here and what we can do about it. The problem is bigger than radical students and biased faculty—it’s institu­tional weakness.

About the Speaker

Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute. Previously he was executive director and senior lecturer at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, and before that a vice president of the Cato Institute and director of Cato’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies.

Read full bio here.

This event is brought to you by: Show-Me Institute, WashULaw Federalist Society, Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, and Show-Me Opportunity.

The post Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites with Ilya Shapiro on April 10 appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

What’s Happening in Jefferson City?

Get the inside scoop on the Missouri legislative session and policies that could directly impact the lives of Missourians at the Show-Me Institute’s Insider’s Hour! Join CEO Brenda Talent, Director of State Budget and Fiscal Policy Elias Tsapelas, and Senior Fellow Patrick Tuohey for a discussion on tax and education policy and the latest efforts to improve government efficiency.

Wednesday, March 26

Carriage Club

5301 State Line Road

Kansas City, MO 64112

Doors open: 4:30 p.m.

Discussion and Q&A: 5:15 – 6:00 p.m.

Ticket Price: $20.00 (includes light snacks and beverages)

Get your Tickets Here

The post March 26: Insider’s Hour in Kansas City appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Founded in 2005 by Rex Sinquefield, Crosby Kemper III, and Michael Podgursky, the Show-Me Institute has spent two decades championing free-market solutions. With key victories like reducing Missouri’s income tax, expanding school choice, and increasing government transparency through initiatives like the Missouri School Rankings Project and the Show-Me Checkbook, the Institute has driven meaningful progress across the state.

As we look to the future, the Show-Me Institute remains committed to empowering Missourians and policymakers to build a freer, more prosperous Missouri.

The post A Legacy of Liberty: 20 Years of Show-Me Institute appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Click here to download this publication.

The post Missouri’s Free-Market Policy Guide appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

-Optimism about the 2025 legislative session
-DESE’s accountability system lacks accountability
-The potential for more nuclear power in Missouri
-An update on Medicaid expansion in Missouri
-St. Louis municipalities behaving badly
-Free speech means sometimes hearing out bad ideas

Click here to find the newsletter.

The post Show-Me Institute’s December 2024 Newsletter appeared first on Show-Me Institute.