Missouri NAACP, advocates slam discrimination bill

State agencies, including public colleges and universities, no longer would face punitive damages in such lawsuits under the latest proposal.

Sen. Gary Romine, a Farmington Republican who is sponsoring that chamber's version, said past court rulings moved Missouri away from federal standards for discrimination lawsuits and the original Missouri Human Rights Act.

When asked by a Democratic colleague on the Senate floor Monday whether sponsoring the measure is a conflict of interest, Romine said he previously proposed changing state discrimination lawsuit policies — in December 2014, roughly four months before his business was sued.

A proposal by Creve Coeur Democratic Sen. Jill Schupp to amend the Senate measure to add gender identity and sexual orientation to classes protected under the Missouri Human Rights Act also has not yet come to a vote.