Date: March 26, 2025 To: Representative Myers, Chairman, and Members of the House Crime and Public Safety Committee From: Gwen Smith-Moore, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri Re: Support for HB 591 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri...Lee mas

Date: March 25, 2025 To: Chairman Schroer and Members, Senate Judiciary Committee From: Jerika White, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri Re: Support for SB 378 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents through advocacy. Since its inception,...Lee mas

Date: March 26, 2025 To: Representative Parker, Chairman, and Members of the House Judiciary Committee From: Gwen Smith-Moore, Criminal Justice Policy Manager, Empower Missouri Re: Support for HB 989 As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents through advocacy....Lee mas

Yesterday, Governor Kehoe signed HB 495, a criminal justice omnibus bill with a variety of provisions. The primary provision of the bill puts the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department under state control. Empower Missouri denounces this change of control for the following reasons:  There is simply no logical explanation for pursuing this change of control...Lee mas

At its core, Empower Missouri is an anti-poverty organization. You often hear about our priority issues areas; affordable housing, criminal legal system reform, and food security, but we know that to truly end poverty, we have to address the myriad factors that create and sustain it.  Family Planning and the Impact for Families in Poverty...Lee mas

Every year, bills are filed in Missouri that would increase prison sentences. Politicians’ commitment to being perceived as tough on crime is evergreen, as popular of a tactic now as it was in the 1980s with the rise of mass incarceration. This year, these types of bills have gained more traction than ever, with early...Lee mas

Date: March 10, 2025 To: Chairman Bromley and Members, House Utilities Committee From: Lucas Caldwell-McMillan, Chief of Policy Staff, Empower Missouri Re: Our opposition to SB 4 Empower Missouri has spent more than 120 years fighting poverty in Missouri. Today, we come to present testimony on a bill which specifically targets our neighbors with the...Lee mas

Date: March 12, 2025 To: Chairman Don Mayhew and Members of the Corrections and Public Institutions Committee From: Mallory Rusch, Executive Director, Empower Missouri Re: Support for HB 617 and Restoring Voting Rights Empower Missouri has been committed for over 120 years to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents through advocacy and...Lee mas

The Housing Crisis: A Community Issue Affordable housing is one of those phrases that is often seen as a problem for families earning low incomes; however, all Missourians have felt the impacts of the housing crisis. In 2024, Missouri experienced the largest rent increase in the country, and the cost of homeownership continued to rise....Lee mas

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – 11 March 2025 — On Monday, March 10, HB 595 was passed by Missouri’s Senate Committee on Local Government, Elections, and Pensions, moving us one step closer to enshrining discrimination against Missouri’s poorest tenants into state law. HB 595, and its companion bill, SB 507, would prevent municipalities in Missouri from...Lee mas