Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
MPA Legislative Director Doug Crews began the 2026 legislative session by tracking 30 House bills and nine Senate bills of interest to the Missouri Press Association and its member newspapers. By the end of session, MPA bills of interest totaled 89; 64 in the House and 25 in the Senate. It proved to be a productive session for MPA, highlighted by the passage of House Bill 1940 and the failure of other bills that would have adversely affected our members.
HB 1940, sponsored by Rep. Peggy McGaugh (R-Carrollton), changes the length of time for successor newspapers and newly established newspapers to be considered legal newspapers, qualified to publish public notices in their communities. The bill reduces the regular publication period from three years to one year and increases the time from 30 days to 90 days for a successor newspaper to begin publication. It also allows a newspaper that has been purchased or newly established by another newspaper that already satisfies these conditions to qualify.
The Senate Committee Substitute included provisions from Senate Bill 1094, an election notices bill sponsored by Sen. Sandy Crawford (R-Buffalo). That bill’s language requires a county clerk to publish notice of an election twice in at least two qualified newspapers within six weeks before the election. If a county clerk mails the election notice to the county’s registered voters, then the notice will be published only once.
“It was a very successful year for Missouri newspapers, a year when bills we wanted were passed, and bills we didn’t want, died,” Crews said. “We have so many people to thank, and I thank Chad for his help in establishing and maintaining good relationships with House Speaker Jonathan Patterson (R-Lee’s Summit), Rep. McGaugh, and Majority Floor Leader Alex Riley (R-Springfield). Obviously, without help in both the House and the Senate, our bills would not have passed.”
MPA worked closely with county clerks on SB 1094 to ensure that election notices will continue to be published at least once in newspapers. We believe most counties will still choose newspapers for both notices, as publication is considerably less expensive and much simpler than direct mail. Another important change: instead of requiring notices to run two weeks and one week before an election, the law now requires them to be mailed or published twice within the six weeks preceding the election.
The passage of HB 1940 is a testament to the tenacity and determination of Peggy McGaugh, the former Carroll County clerk whose service in the House is ending because of term limits. She had sponsored similar versions of the bill several times in previous sessions, giving this year’s effort a distinct “now or never” urgency.
HB 1940 passed the Senate by a 29-0 vote on May 7. MPA appreciated the efforts of Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville), Majority Floor Leader, for prioritizing the bill on the Senate’s calendar, and Sen. Mike Henderson (R-Desloge) for handling the bill on the floor.
It went back to the House for a final vote on May 12, where it passed 142-1. Only Rep. Bryant Wolfin (R-Ste. Genevieve) voted against it. Two reps − Scott Cupps (R-Shell Knob) and David Casteel (R-High Ridge) – voted “present.”
There had been concern that any of the three bills eliminating newspaper public notices for auctions of self-storage unit contents might be added to HB 1940, but that did not happen. SB 1022, sponsored by Sen. Justin Brown (R-Rolla), was voted “do pass” by the Senate Emerging Issues and Professional Registration Committee on March 10, but never went any further. HB 2717, sponsored by Rep. Dane Diehl (R-Butler), was voted “do pass” by the Standing Committee on Commerce and the Standing Committee on Rules-Administrative, and placed on the House’s Formal Perfection Calendar on April 29. Fortunately, it died there.
HB 2206, sponsored by Rep. Don Mayhew (R-Crocker), would have allowed self-storage owners to take the foreclosure notices out of newspapers and place them on their own websites. MPA Past President Peggy Scott and Dennis Warden, our 2016 president, testified against the bill on Feb. 18. HB 2206 was voted “do pass” by the Standing Committee on Judiciary and the Standing Committee on Rules-Legislative but saw no further activity after April 14.
MPA also lobbied hard against HB 2179, sponsored by Casteel. His bill would have allowed public notices in charter counties to be posted on the Secretary of State’s website or published in newspapers. Peggy Scott and I both testified against the bill on Feb. 10. It passed the Standing Committee on Legislative Review by a 6-2 vote on April 13, but then never came up again.
MPA played a role in the passage of SB 1067, sponsored by Mike Henderson. The bill establishes the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, also known as anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). It benefits the media because anyone sued for exercising rights protected by the First Amendment can ask the court to quickly dismiss the lawsuit.
We were hoping HB 2527, sponsored by Rep. John Voss (R-Cape Girardeau), and SB 1209, sponsored by Sen. Jamie Burger (R-Benton), which would provide tax credits for qualified printing plants in Missouri, would get more traction this session.
The identical bills were the brainstorm of Jon Rust, publisher of the Southeast Missourian, who testified before the Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee on March 25. The House version was referred to the Emerging Issues Committee on May 15 – the day the legislature adjourned.
Finally, although we were able to find a House sponsor for the Cronkite New Voices Act to protect freedom of press in school-sponsored media, Rep. Scott Miller (R-St. Charles) ended up writing a substitute bill and changing the name to the “Cronkite Journalistic Standards and New Voices Act.”
Proponents of the original bill, including First Amendment attorneys, objected to portions of the substitute, including the section referring to standards required of a news source: “Standards include but are not limited to: separating news and commentary, specific restrictions that commentary and editorial material may only constitute 10 percent or less of news sources; and news sources should not perceive to support or oppose any covered subject.”
House Committee Substitute 2918 was voted “do pass” by the Standing Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education on March 12. Miller agreed with our recommendation not to try to move the bill any further along.
Overall, it was a highly successful 2026 legislative session, as MPA helped secure passage of key bills while blocking others that would have reduced public notice requirements and harmed member newspapers.
