The 11 women in the Missouri Senate have written a new book called "You Can, Too!" to promote literacy across the state, and encourage more young people to get civically engaged.

It was not until 1972 a woman was first elected to the Missouri Senate, and in the state's 200-year history, while there have been more than a thousand men who have held office, just 36 women have served.

Sen. Jill Schupp, D-St. Louis, said it is important to make sure young people know they can run for office, but more importantly she urged them to not let obstacles get in the way of whatever their dreams may be.

"At the end of the book, we have what is supposed to be a mirror," Schupp explained. "It's not perfect, but because we want, we want the kids who are reading this book to look in it and see themselves reflected in these stories and on this page."

Schupp noted a main goal of the book is to encourage literacy, and is meant for about a fourth-grade reading level, when kids are starting to read to learn, rather than learning to read. She added they are giving copies of the book to libraries, pediatricians' offices and dental offices, and other places where kids might pick it up and start reading.

Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, R-Bollinger, echoed kids should not let obstacles stop them from achieving their goals. She recounted she dropped out of school at 15 to help care for her family, had her first child at 16, and eventually got her GED and a college degree.

"I never once would have ever thought I would be in the Missouri Senate," Rehder remarked. "I love when I go and speak to children in my district, it is always been so eye-opening to me to see how encouraging them just knowing my background is."

Rehder also pointed to surveys showing women legislators are more likely to say they decided to run for office because they were recruited, rather than deciding on their own. And women are also more likely to be discouraged from running for office. Rehder noted when she first ran, party leadership told her it "wasn't her time."

"And so we hope by reading so many women's inspiring stories, that it will help girls to realize they don't need to ask for permission," Rehder stressed. "They need to go with their gut and believe in themselves, regardless if anyone else does or not at the time."

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Members of the Texas Legislature are back in Austin for its 89th legislative session.

After newly elected lawmakers are sworn in, members will vote on a new Speaker of the House.

Cal Jillson, professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, said it appears moderate Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, has enough support from both Democrats and middle of the road Republicans to beat the more conservative Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, but Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton could try to sway the vote.

"We'll see how strongly Patrick, Abbott and Paxton weigh in behind Cook to try to get the conservative speaker that they haven't been able to get for the past decade," Jillson explained.

Republicans have the majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Jillson pointed out school vouchers, border patrol, the power grid and water issues are top priories for lawmakers.

After the 2023 session, Abbott convened several special sessions in an unsuccessful attempt to pass a school voucher program. Jillson expects funding for both private and public schools will be addressed over the next 140 days.

"I think they have enough revenue available to start a voucher program and then to go ahead and expand public school funding," Jillson observed. "The trick is in the details. "

He pointed out the proposed voucher program was scaled back from two years ago. Funding for public schools has not increased since 2019.

Border security is also a top priority for the Republican Party. Jillson stressed with President-elect Donald Trump in the White House, lawmakers will be able to pass more legislation without pushback from Washington.

"There may well be a state border patrol bill to put more Texas uniforms on the border," Jillson projected. "Certainly, there will be more attempts to give local law enforcement more power to arrest people they find in the country illegally."


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The League of Women Voters of Florida is taking a personal approach to restoring voting rights for returning citizens.

The group is sending thousands of handwritten postcards to people with felony convictions, many of whom are unaware they may already be eligible to vote. The postcard initiative is part of a broader effort to ensure people know their rights and have the legal support they need to navigate Florida's complex voting restoration process.

Cecile Scoon, copresident of the League of Women Voters of Florida, described the importance of direct outreach to returning citizens and said the postcard campaign has made a significant impact.

"I have personally looked at people's records and they were not voting for over 10 to 20 years, but they didn't know that their felony charge was dropped to a misdemeanor," Scoon outlined. "So, 'I never filed a court paper.' I just read their records and that person was voting, like, within a week -- crying, excited."

The League's efforts began with Florida's 2018 passage of Amendment 4, which restored voting rights to most people with felony convictions. However, added fines and fees requirements created barriers, and while the state introduced a process to verify voter eligibility, advocates said it remains too complex and confusing for many returning citizens.

Scoon highlighted the challenges posed by the state's requirement, emphasizing incomplete or missing records often prevent people from proving they have paid their fines and fees.

"We proved that many of the records were lost, but the government was saying, 'You have to show me that you paid it.' If someone diligently looked for their records, 20 or 30% can't find them all," Scoon explained. "So, how are you going to prove you paid something, then there's no record, or they paid, and the probation office moved and didn't keep the record?"

She noted the League is advocating for legislative reforms to simplify voter eligibility verification. Despite challenges, like returned postcards due to the transient nature of returning citizens, Scoon pointed out they have managed to reach 5,000 people with felony convictions and yielded positive results.

She added anyone who needs assistance from the League's pro bono attorneys can call 407-710-5496 or email canivote@lwvfl.org.

Arkansas lawmakers are at the Capitol today for the start of the 95th Legislative session. Over the next 88 days, legislators will discuss more than 2,000 bills that have been filed since November.

University of Arkansas Political Science Professor Andrew Dowdle said legislators will also attempt to implement bills passed during the first term of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

"Part of that is the Learns Act, where about half of all new state spending is going to private school vouchers," said Dowdle. "There was also an Arkansas Forward report to try to find savings in state government."

He said the report includes measures to slash $300 millions from the state's budget in six years, and a plan to pay state workers more competitive salaries.

One of Sanders' more controversial plans is to build a new 3,000-bed prison in Charleston, in Franklin County. Dowdle said the proposal has received pushback from residents in the area.

"Nobody seems to want a prison in their own neighborhood," said Dowdle. "You usually end up finding more support for prisons in rural areas at times where you end up having higher times of unemployment, and I don't think Charleston would really see itself in that light."

State Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, has filed a draft bill opposing the new prison.

His proposal addresses reducing overcrowding in county jails by investing in new construction, expansions, or renovations in jails with the highest prisoner backlog.


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