By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri House on Thursday passed legislation that gives police more power to make arrests.
People who are stopped by police would be committing a crime if they did not provide identification, under the measure.
But state Representative Connie Johnson (D-St. Louis) says the plan opens the door for racial profiling. Several lawmakers also spoke during debate Thursday of times when they believed they were pulled over because they're black.
Under the bill, which is now in the Senate, people who refuse to show ID could be jailed for 15 days and fined as much as $300.
The vote in the House on Thursday was 128-28.
Figures from the state show black motorists 40% more likely than whites to have been stopped in Missouri during 2002 and 2003.