Missouri state Reps. Kip Kendrick and Martha Stevens, both Democrats from Columbia, appeared on Politically Speaking to talk about Medicaid expansion, the possible repeal of Clean Missouri and other topics.
Both Kendrick and Stevens support the Medicaid expansion initiative that is expected to appear on the ballot later this year.
Kendrick and Stevens said they don’t think Medicaid expansion will cost the state as much money as Republican opponents have suggested. Stevens said adopting Medicaid expansion could save the state money in the long run because the federal government pays a larger portion of the bill.
Both Kendrick and Stevens are opposed to the partial repeal of Clean Missouri, a ballot initiative that voters approved in 2018. The rewrite of Clean Missouri would ask voters to remove a nonpartisan demographer from the state legislative district drawing process. It passed the Senate this week.
Democrats, like Kendrick and Stevens, are generally opposed to the Clean Missouri partial repeal that the Republican leaders in the Missouri General Assembly are pushing.
Other topics discussed include:
- Legislation from Stevens that would provide free tampons and pads in schools. Stevens said low-income children don’t always have access to such products. Columbia-area high school students are helping to push the legislation. You can read that bill here.
- Legislation from Kendrick to raise the gas tax by 2 cents. The legislation doesn’t require voter approval to raise the tax, which has proven difficult to get recently. You can read that bill here.
Closing Music: “Love is Everywhere (Beware)” by Wilco
Follow Rep. Kip Kendrick on Twitter: @kip_kendrick
Follow Rep. Martha Stevens on Twitter: @Martha4MO
Follow Julie O’Donoghue on Twitter: @jsodonoghue
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Send comments and questions about this article to feedback@stlpublicradio.org.
