The following is a legislative update from Clarkston Nelson, LLC. Use the information within to inspire local coverage of issues important to your readers.
2025 Pre-Filing Begins Today!
Pre-filing of legislation for the 2025 Missouri legislative session begins today, December 2nd. Clarkston Nelson, Missouri Press Association’s lobbying partner in Jefferson City, reviews every bill as it is filed and tracks any legislation that could affect our industry.
Missouri Press will periodically distribute legislative updates throughout the 2025 session, typically Friday morning of each week, and post them on our website, www.mopress.com. To receive these updates, please contact Matthew Barba at mbarba@mopress.com.
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Political Overview: With the end of the year quickly approaching, so does the start of the 2025 Missouri legislative session.
As a term limit state, Missouri will see significant changes in January 2025 as many key leaders in the House and Senate will exit. Further, Missouri elected a new Governor in November, Mike Kehoe (R), who will be sworn into office on January 13th. Governor-Elect Kehoe is currently serving as our Lieutenant Governor and was formerly a State Senator from central Missouri and served as the Senate Majority Floor Leader from 2015-2018.
The legislature will also change dramatically in January as we will see new leadership in both legislative chambers as the current Speaker of the House and current President of the Senate have both termed out of office. For 2025, Rep. Jon Patterson (R-Lee’s Summit) will take the gavel as Speaker of the House. Patterson is elevated from his current leadership post as the House Majority Floor Leader and is a medical doctor. Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin (R-Shelbina) will become the Senate President Pro-Tem, she currently holds the position of Senate Majority Floor Leader. O’Laughlin is a retired small business owner who ran a family trucking business for many years before her recent sale of the business to her son. The House and Senate will see new faces in the roles of majority and minority leaders as these positions have been vacated due to term limits.
The Missouri House of Representatives has a Republican majority of 111-52, and the Missouri Senate will have a Republican majority of 24-10.
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Legislative Forecast: The constant disagreements in the Missouri Senate in 2024 led to one of the least productive legislative sessions in modern history. In 2024, only 46 bills reached the Governor’s desk and 18 of them were appropriation bills. This is expected to change under the new House and Senate leadership. Most in Jefferson City remain optimistic for 2025 and expect the House and Senate leadership to find ways to work together with the help of Governor-Elect Kehoe. He has maintained a strong working relationship with the legislature, unlike many of the recent administrations, and it is likely these long-standing personal relationships will allow for some of the larger priority bills to reach his desk.
Likely big-ticket and priorities of the Republican Majority Caucus include:
- Tax Reform – Phasing out of Missouri’s Income Tax and local property tax reforms
- Law Enforcement – State takeover of the St. Louis Police Department
- Abortion Restrictions – Modifications to the recently passed Amendment 3
- Initiative Petition Reform – Modifying requirements for amending the constitution by citizen initiative and vote threshold for approval
- Education – Addressing issues with St. Louis Public Schools and school district student achievement assessments
- Energy – Enabling utilities to finance and construct new generation facilities
- Labor – Modifying statutes related to paid sick leave as adopted by Proposition A
- Healthcare – Pharmacy issues, hospital pricing, and rural health care access
- Limitations on Foreign Interference – Banning investments by China and other adversaries
- Judicial Procedures – Court record access and judicial administration
- State Budget – Continuing to fund public education as state revenues decline
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2024-2025 Dates of Interest
December 2, 2024 – Legislation Pre-Filing Begins
January 8, 2025 – First day of the Legislative Session
January 13, 2025 – Inauguration Day
January 20, 2025 – No Session, MLK Jr. Observance
March 17-21, 2025 – No Session, Spring Break
April 21, 2025 – No Session, Easter Break
May 9, 2025 – Missouri Budget Must be Passed
May 16, 2025 – Last day of Legislative session
July 1, 2025 – First day of the new fiscal year for State Budget
July 15, 2025 – Last day for Governor Action on Passed Legislation
September 10, 2025 – Legislative Veto Session
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