
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — State. Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, filed three bills Wednesday aimed at tackling various pressing issues in Missouri.
House Bill 2580, better known as the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (MONA), would designate sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under Missouri’s civil rights language that prohibits discrimination in employment and housing. “Missouri Democrats and several Republicans have worked to make MONA a reality in Missouri for nearly two decades, and I am proud to personally file it this year after supporting such legislation for years,” Aldridge said. “This bill holds special meaning for me this year as I recently came out as a proud gay man. My LGBTQ family deserve to live free from discrimination in this state.”
House Bill 2581 would establish the Affordable Child Care for Families Tax Credit. This new tax credit would offer Missouri families a tax rebate based on the number of dependents in the tax filer’s household, as well as the household’s yearly income. Aldridge said the bill was inspired by the 2021 Child Tax Credit offered by the Biden administration before they were discontinued after legislation failed to get through the U.S. Senate along a mostly partisan split.
House Bill 2582 would place the City of O’Fallon’s police department under the control of a newly established Board of Commissioners. “Several other representatives who do not live in St. Louis City insist they know what is best for my city and its police force, so I say what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Aldridge said. “Additionally, this bill will allow O’Fallon to serve as a test case to determine whether or not such a bureaucratic structure will work in smaller municipalities, unlike the mitigated disaster it was for St. Louis City and still is for Kansas City.”
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