Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
Missouri News Network: Statehouse News for MPA Members
This report is written by Missouri School of Journalism students for publication by MPA member newspapers in print and online.
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Missouri News Network coverage this week focused on final passage or defeat of key legislation as the legislature wrapped up its work.
If you have thoughts or questions, contact Fred Anklam at anklamf@missouri.edu.
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THURSDAY
Republican unity brought success to conservative policies
By Natanya Friedheim, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Republican lawmakers worked with a unity unseen in recent years to pass conservative policies before ending the 2025 legislative session a day early on Thursday.
Senators from both parties use words like “efficient,” “cohesive” and “smoother” to describe the first few months of the session.
The tone changed Wednesday evening when Republican Senate leadership shut down Democratic filibustering with a rarely used maneuver called the “previous question” to push through measures on abortion and paid sick leave.
“Next session’s going to be extremely painful for everyone,” Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, warned in response to the tactics not seen for at least five years in the Senate, generally known for compromise.
Initial unity meant the Republican supermajority worked with Democrats early in the session to pass measures such as a bill allowing utility companies to change the way they charge customers and a measure giving state control over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
“We worked together really well on a lot of things from all points of view,” said Sen. Kurtis Gregory, R-Marshall.
A bill allowing Missouri residents to deduct capital gains from their state income tax along with providing property tax relief to people with disabilities and seniors passed with bipartisan support in the Senate. The measure also exempts feminine hygiene products and diapers from sales tax.
A higher education bill criminalizing hazing and adding protections against discrimination based on hairstyle and hair texture also made it through.
But as they decided to use the previous question motion Wednesday evening, Republican senators realized they were cutting the session two days short, leaving some measures with bipartisan support to die.
After forcing the votes on their two priority bills, Republicans then adjourned the Senate, ending their work for this session.
The House, which traditionally stays in session until the Friday constitutional deadline, was left with little to do after the Senate adjourned. After passing some bills by removing Senate amendments, the chamber adjourned around 2 p.m., leaving early for the first time since 1952.
Invoking the previous question allowed Republicans to use their super majority to pass their top-priority legislation aimed at reinstating an abortion ban and removing a new paid sick leave requirement. These two ballot measures, approved statewide by voters last year, are at odds with the Republicans’ positions.
“Obviously, we’re hesitant to use the PQ unless we see no other path forward. And that’s kind of where we were,” said Majority Floor Leader Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville.
Luetkemeyer and other Republican senators say they don’t foresee the previous question being used regularly moving forward.
“It is a tool and it is there for a reason just like the filibuster is a tool,” said Sen. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair. “There comes a time when a compromise can not be reached. We do have a Republican supermajority that has been elected by the people to get these things done.”
Debate in the House, with its 163 members and a Republican supermajority, routinely ends with the majority party using the previous question to force a vote.
Decorum in the Senate, which has just 34 members, enables the minority party to obstruct legislation with prolonged speeches. During these filibusters, lawmakers often seek to work out compromises amongst themselves.
“We stayed in the building for two nights, overnight, trying to negotiate,” Luetkemeyer said of the measure related to paid sick leave.
From the opening of the session in January, Republican leaders in both chambers declared priorities of forcing another statewide vote on abortion and ending the paid sick leave provision, which they say is too burdensome on businesses.
“They turned down the will of Missouri voters, the will of the people,” a visibly upset Senate Democratic Leader Doug Beck, D-Affton, said during a press conference Wednesday after the Senate adjourned. “Everything’s going to be so hard from here. It’s going to be very hard.”
Beck accused Republicans of working on behalf of lobbyists instead of voters.
When a resolution to put abortion back on the ballot came before the Senate on Wednesday, Democrats began filibustering as they had previously when the measure came to the floor.
Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby, accused Democrats of slowing down even bipartisan bills this week, like a measure that would clarify to courts the right of pregnant women to get divorces.
“The telltale sign at that point is there really is no more progress,” she said.
Some say the threat of future Democratic obstructionism is overblown.
“Those are usually very short-lived concerns,” said Samuel Lee, an anti-abortion lobbyist with four decades of experience in the Missouri legislature. “They have to pass legislation, so they can’t just shut the place down.”
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'It's really just been anger': Missourians rally in support of abortion, workers' rights
By Jackson Cooper, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Hundreds of protesters from across the state vowed to keep fighting for abortion and workers’ rights Thursday after the Missouri General Assembly repealed paid sick leave and put abortion rights back on the ballot. Both measures now await approval from Gov. Mike Kehoe.
The Defend the Will of the People Rally was organized by Abortion Access Missouri, Missouri Jobs with Justice and the Missouri Workers Center. It was a direct response to two bills passed by the Senate on Wednesday that counteracted progressive changes approved by voters last November.
House Bill 567, passed by the Senate Wednesday, repeals the paid sick leave provision of Proposition A that voters approved in November. House Joint Resolution 73, also passed by the Senate on Wednesday, will place a referendum over potential reproductive health restrictions on ballots in the November 2026 general election. If approved by voters, the resolution would restrict access to abortion and gender-affirming care in an effective reversal of Amendment 3 passed last year.
Protesters at the Capitol expressed disappointment and anger but were far from surprised that progressive, voter-approved laws were reined in by the Republican supermajority in the legislature.
“It’s really just been anger, anger that has been bubbling up for the past six months here as folks across the state have watched this legislative session play out,” said Maggie Olivia, director of policy and external affairs for Abortion Access Missouri.
Olivia’s sentiment was echoed by Andi Phillips, a working mother from Ozark who spoke to the crowd in support of paid sick leave.
“We have knocked on doors, we have marched,” Phillips said. “We went toe-to-toe with senators on Monday and made them look us in the eye, see us as humans, and they still told us that we were not worthy of sick time and paid time off.”
Numerous speakers from both abortion rights and workers’ rights groups addressed the crowd throughout the 90-minute-long rally. Also taking the mic were Nimrod Chapel Jr., president of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, and four Democratic state representatives.
Nearly all who spoke against HB 567 stated they had been forced to decide between working while sick or forgoing a needed paycheck. Fran Marion, a Wendy’s employee from Kansas City, spoke to the crowd about receiving an eviction notice after missing work due to illness.
“When you’re making starvation wages to begin with, it doesn’t take much to push you over the edge,” Marion said.
Several abortion rights advocates spoke against HJR 73, citing lived experiences with abortion as proof of its necessity.
“Attacks on abortion rights and the will of the people are unacceptable,” said Mary Anne Perkins, a leader with Abortion Access Missouri. “Politicians who disrespect the electorate must answer to us.”
Advocates for both issues expressed a firm resolve to fight back and stressed that they were emboldened to continue making their voices heard in future elections.
“Missouri was the first state to ban abortion,” Olivia said. “We were the first state to end an abortion ban. And we will be the first state to end a subsequent attack, post-abortion win.”
Phillips had similar optimism in vowing to support efforts to restore paid sick leave.
“We know these things are won small election by small election. It will start with our reps, we’ll go to our senators. We’re going to make sure that we are getting people out there,” she said.
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Pesticide bills wither again in Missouri legislature
By Mary McCue Bell, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Backlash from an ad campaign turned some state senators against a bill to safeguard pesticide labeling, leaving it to wither again this year.
But proponents plan to come back next year.
Two identical pesticide bills were proposed in the legislature, supported by agriculture giant Bayer Crop Science. House Bill 544 and Senate Bill 14 said that if a pesticide product is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency or is consistent with the agency’s cancer classifications, it doesn’t need additional cancer warning labels.
Proponents and opponents argue about what the language of the bills mean: protecting pesticide labeling versus a litigation shield.
The death of HB 544, sponsored by Rep. Dane Diehl, R-Butler, was ultimately blamed on flyers targeting state senators' constituents.
Nine state senators said that, because of the flyers, opposition grew stronger.
Each flyer accused the targeted lawmakers of sitting “on the fence in the fight to protect American agricultural manufacturers and prevent outsourcing of our food supply," according to reporting by the Missouri Independent.
The mailers say they are paid for by the Protecting America Initiative, not Bayer, although the senators said they suspected the company was behind the ads. Bayer Crop Science’s head of communications, Jess Christiansen, said in an interview with the Missourian that the company had no affiliation with the flyer campaign.
Despite this year's setback, supporters of the legislation said the effort is not over.
"I think that it's imperative that we continue, as a pro-agriculture state ... to push this to the forefront," Diehl said.
One of his commitments is to introduce a similar bill next session, whether that's revamping the legislation, making compromises or working with other legislators.
The issue dates back to 2021, when the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Bayer promised to explore changes to labeling for its weed-killer Roundup.
Last year, Diehl sponsored an identical House bill that passed the House with 91 votes but died in the Senate. This year, it had dwindling support, passing the House with 85 votes and again not making it to the Senate floor. Neither votes were divided purely by party lines.
In a four-hour-long January committee hearing, Diehl said it’s important to make sure companies producing, manufacturing and distributing such products are doing everything right so that users can believe in their products.
HB 544 doesn’t reference Bayer; it has to do with all companies that have gone through the EPA’s Human Health Risk Assessment. If a company has completed the necessary research and the product has been deemed safe by the agency, then it has fulfilled its duty to warn, Diehl said.
The core arguments for and against such bills cite a duty to warn.
A plaintiff typically uses a duty to warn claim to allege that a product manufacturer did not provide adequate warnings or instructions about a product’s safe use. Lawsuits against Bayer claim that glyphosate, the main active ingredient in commercially sold Roundup, causes a type of cancer called Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The EPA determined in 2020 that the product is unlikely to cause cancer in humans, but that finding was later withdrawn for further review.
Attorney Matt Clement, who represents a multitude of Cole County cases against Bayer, is concerned that legislation, like Diehl's bill, would do away with failure to warn claims, such as the ones he represents.
Eliza Lockwood, Bayer’s medical affairs lead based in Missouri and whose background is in human health risk assessment, disagrees.
“It does not preclude anyone from suing pesticide manufacturers,” she said in the January hearing. “It only affects the health and safety warning labels that already have extensive regulatory processes in place.”
Glyphosate does have benefits. Products with the chemical are credited with being Missouri farmers’ best resource for controlling weeds, saving Missouri farmers money and keeping groceries cheap.
Roundup has “really changed the landscape for us on the farm front,” said Diehl, who is a fifth-generation farmer.
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WEDNESDAY
State Democrats use TikTok to reach more Missourians
By Siobhan Harms, Missouri News Network
In a TikTok posted last week, Rep. Wick Thomas discussed the state budget wearing a large hat their husband made them for Derby Day.
The fun, but serious, post has become a hallmark of Democratic content on TikTok as lawmakers learn to balance getting “reach” with promoting their agenda.
“I, basically, sit at my desk, and I talk about what’s going on in the Missouri legislature that week, and it resonated with people, and it’s getting a lot of followers and a lot of views,” said Thomas, a democrat from Kansas City.
In Missouri, nearly a fifth of House Democrats use TikTok to promote their work at the Capitol. Their TikToks range from clips of action on the floor and protests at the Capitol to direct-to-camera conversations about policy issues.
Collectively, the 10 House Democrats with accounts have more than 160,000 likes and over 31,000 followers.
A third of U.S. adults use TikTok and 52% of those users said they regularly get news on the platform, according to Pew Research Center data from 2024.
“The goal is to reach as many people as you can, and that’s where people are getting their news from,” said Rep. David Tyson Smith, D-Columbia.
“There are so many bills that come through every single day, and I was realizing that the weekly emails weren’t really meeting people where they were at and weren’t doing enough to explain to people what was going on in the day-to-day in the Missouri House,” Thomas said. “The TikToks were an easy way for me to be able to relate more information faster and get it to more people.”
Smith said TikTok has also helped him get feedback from Missourians faster.
“It’s fun to see how many people are looking into your views, and you can track it, whereas if you just send out, like a general newsletter, you don’t know how many eyeballs it has other than how many people you send it to,” he said.
“But, with Tiktok, you can have 1,000 people look at it, or 10,000 people, and it’s interesting to see people’s comments because it’s more interactive,” Smith said.
According to Pew Research Center, 55% of regular TikTok news consumers are Democrats, while 39% are Republicans. Although Republicans make up a sizable percentage of news consumers on the platform, Missouri Republicans haven’t embraced TikTok with the same zeal as Democrats. Thomas chalks this up to age, not party.
“I think the people who are utilizing Tiktok tend to be younger, and a lot of the Democrats are from very different demographics, and I think, on average, younger,” Thomas said.
In both the House and Senate, when asking office staff to confirm or deny if their respective lawmakers had a TikTok account, younger staffers would often burst into laughter.
Staffers weren’t the only ones amused. Rep. Kent Haden, R-Mexico, jokingly asked what the over/under was on whether he had a TikTok. (He doesn’t.)
In the Senate, which skews older, none of the lawmakers have TikTok accounts to promote their work. Referring to a state senator, one staffer said, “she’s as close to paper as a person can be.”
For those lawmakers on TikTok, posting has become a fun way to connect with their constituents.
“I’m an educator, I’m a librarian,” Thomas said. “It’s been a really great way for me to be able to kind of continue doing that, continue doing that education piece.”
“I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from people too, on how to better do my job. And that’s the whole point ... is I’m here representing people and so I want to hear from people,” Thomas said.
“It’s an exciting medium,” Smith said. “I’m going to keep it going. It’s work, but you know, anything you do is work, yeah?”
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Final approval given to bill allowing chaplains in schools
By Charlie Dahlgren and Jake Marszewski, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Chaplains are members of the clergy officially attached to an institution, and they can now be employed by or volunteer at schools in Missouri after a bill passed the Missouri House on Wednesday.
Sponsored by Sen. Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, Senate Bills 49 and 118 specify that chaplains can be accepted as “screened volunteers” at schools to provide support, services or programs for their students. They also would be subject to background checks before hiring.
Typically, chaplains provide spiritual support in a variety of settings, like branches of the military, courts or sports teams.
Supporters of the bill said there is a large demand for additional counseling services in schools, and chaplains provide a voluntary option for districts that may not have the resources to hire counselors.
As a former educator, Rep. Kem Smith, D-Florissant, spoke in favor of the bill. Rising during floor action, she said the bill will help support both students and teachers.
“There is more trauma than we think when you walk through the doors of a school building,” Smith said. “I do believe that just like a hospital (and) just like a prison, it would be wonderful to have that level of support.”
The bill’s opponents expressed worries about “indoctrination” if chaplains are introduced in public schools.
Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, spoke against the bill for that reason. She criticized Republican lawmakers for supporting the bill while claiming to be against the indoctrination of students.
“This is another example of you all being very concerned about indoctrination when it comes to everything except actual indoctrination,” Ingle said.
Opposing legislators also brought up concerns about mandated reporting laws conflicting with the confidentiality of religious confession, according to the bill summary.
Several other states have introduced similar legislation to allow chaplains in schools. Missouri’s first attempt, Senate Bill 1376, failed to make it out of committee last year.
Rep. Brad Banderman, R-St. Clair, who serves as a chaplain of the Sinclair Police Department and volunteers as a student pastor in his hometown’s school district, said he has personally consoled students and staff in crisis situations. He said he is excited to extend this ability to schools across the state.
“I’m proud of an opportunity to give our school districts another tool in their toolchest to provide care for the children of our state,” Banderman said.
The bill will now be sent to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.
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TUESDAY
Kansas City stadium bill stalls in Senate
By Shane LaGesse and Scout Hudson, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Kehoe’s last-minute plan to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri stalled in the Senate on Tuesday.
The House attached an amendment to Senate Bill 80 on Tuesday afternoon, dictating Missouri would shoulder up to half the costs of a new stadium for the Royals and a renovated Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs, and passed the bill 108-40.
Shortly after, Sen. Kurtis Gregory, R-Marshall, brought the bill up on the Senate floor as urgent legislation to keep the Chiefs and Royals in state for largely economic purposes.
“The state of Kansas wants (the teams). I want to show that we would like to keep them here,” Gregory said. “If they go to the state of Kansas, those tax dollars are no longer going to flow into the state of Missouri.”
Gregory acknowledged the bill’s late timeline, stating that he wished it could have come to the floor sooner but the plan had only just been finalized.
Kehoe laid out the parameters of the plan to legislative leaders Tuesday morning.
But the bill faced immense pushback in light of the House’s failure to pass House Bill 19 on Friday; the bill contained more than $500 million in planned construction projects. Debate continued into Tuesday evening until the bill sponsor set the bill aside.
Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, who worked extensively on HB 19 as the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, took issue with the House decision to shoehorn in the stadium renovations after killing the broader construction bill.
“All session long … at least a few times a month, I’ve been asked to sit in and participate in meetings where we’ve offered opinions and offered ideas about what to do here,” Hough said. “And here we are on Tuesday before the Friday end of session, debating potentially spending $900 million using the master incentives later, while the House isn’t even in this building.”
Hough was referencing the fact that the House recessed for the day shortly after passing the bill with the stadium provisions.
Hough, one of the top Senate Republicans, and Stephen Webber, a freshman Democrat from Columbia, engaged in a lengthy discussion criticizing the rush on the stadium bill while projects like the $50 million expansion of the University of Missouri’s research reactor were left unfunded when HB 19 died.
The Missouri Constitution forbids consideration of spending bills during the last week of the legislative session. This one ends at 6 p.m. Friday.
Webber mentioned that Kansas City voters rejected a proposed sales tax extension in 2024 that would have helped fund stadium construction and renovations to keep the teams in Missouri. Both teams publicly signaled interest in leaving the state following the decision.
In response, Kansas lawmakers launched their own tax incentive program to encourage the teams to move westward.
Kehoe, citing the Chiefs in his proposal, claimed the team generates $28.8 million in annual tax revenue for the state and more than $570 million of economic activity within Jackson County alone.
Asked about the proposal at an event in Columbia, Kehoe said he sees it as “an economic development opportunity for the west side of our state.”
“People get caught up in the fact that they are sports franchises, but I look at it that they are no different than if they were a manufacturer wanting to move to another state and taking hundreds and hundreds of jobs with them,” Kehoe said. “We’d be doing everything we could to keep them in Missouri.”
If the two teams invest in their stadiums, they are eligible for up to $50 million in tax credits, according to the bill. However, if either team relocates their facilities outside of the state, Missouri will continue to claim state revenue generated by the teams.
If lawmakers don’t approve the governor’s plan within the week, Kehoe plans to initiate a special session later this year, according to the Missouri Independent.
Contributing: Max Quinn.
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Bill banning cellphone use in schools heads to governor
By Natanya Friedheim, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — A bill requiring public and charter schools in Missouri to ban cellphone use during the school day passed the Missouri House on Tuesday and awaits Gov. Mike Kehoe’s signature.
Policies barring phones all day — during classes, lunch, study hall and between classes — must be in place by next school year for K-12 schools. School boards must also outline consequences for students who violate the ban.
Columbia Public Schools’ 2024-25 policy bans phone use in class for high school students and throughout the school day for middle schoolers.
Bipartisan efforts to restrict students’ cellphone use resulted in at least four bills being offered this year.
Some bills, like those introduced by former classroom teachers Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, and Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, only proposed bans during class. Steinhoff said she was initially reluctant to impose a bell-to-bell ban.
“I thought it was kind of extreme,” she said in an interview. “However, all the research that I see supports that the bell-to-bell (ban) is the most effective and quickest way to bring about the changes that we want.”
Those changes include better academic outcomes, reduced anxiety and bullying, lower rates of loneliness among students and improved social interaction, she added.
Kehoe supports the bell-to-bell ban, Lewis said. A representative for Kehoe did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
At least 10 other states prohibit students from using their phones in classrooms, and another four states limit cellphone use, according to Ballotpedia. Seven states took action this year to limit cellphone use in schools, Steinhoff said.
Missouri’s ban includes exceptions, including for students with disabilities whose individualized education plans include the use of phones. Students can also use their phones in cases of emergency.
When he worked as a high school chemistry and physics teacher — a job he held for 32 years — Lewis remembers students looking down at their lap instead of up at him. At one point, a student ran out of the classroom, triggered by something that appeared on their phone.
Ultimately, Lewis had students swap their phones for calculators when they entered the classroom. Phones sat in a cubby during instruction.
“It was better,” he said. “The more I kept them from using their cellphones, the more they paid attention.”
The cellphone policy is one of many provisions in the wide-ranging education bill, Senate Bill 68. The measure passed with bipartisan support on a 132-20 vote.
The bill also requires education boards to adopt various emergency plans.
By the 2026-27 school year, schools must have a “cardiac emergency response plan” that includes ongoing training in CPR and use of automated external defibrillators. Schools would not be required to purchase AEDs unless the legislature appropriates funding.
A provision introduced by Steinhoff extends special education services for young children with developmental disabilities.
The measure also lowers the age to qualify for adult high school from 21 to 18 and allows retired teachers to work as substitutes without that work affecting their retirement benefits.
Per a measure passed last year, schools are eligible for extra funding if they have a certain number of school days. This year, severe weather forced school closures, affecting their eligibility for the funding.
A tweak included in this year’s bill allows schools to access the funding even if severe weather or other emergencies change their calendar.
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MONDAY
Senate spending chair vents over House killing construction bill
By Shane LaGesse, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Senate Appropriations Chair Lincoln Hough spent two hours on the Senate floor Monday expressing his anger over House Republican leaders killing a $513 million spending bill for construction.
Hough, R-Springfield, argued repeatedly that the House leadership’s decision not to vote on House Bill 19 prioritized padding the state’s surplus budget over enacting crucial investments around the state.
“You couldn’t go to the gas station without somebody getting in your face and saying, ‘Wait a minute, do you all seriously have $2 billion sitting around in the bank that you’re not doing anything with because someone is concerned that in the long run ... we run out of money?’” Hough asked his colleagues.
House Budget Committee Chair Dirk Deaton, R-Seneca, said Monday that he supported several of the projects and regretted that they were not funded.
“Unfortunately, it seems that the only option that remained to continue to make sure we had a fiscally responsible budget in the future and to protect the state’s triple-A bond rating was to ensure we had a balanced budget this year,” Deaton said.
Hough criticized the House Republican leaders, who did not inform the House Democrats or members of the Senate that the bill would not come to a vote, for their lack of communication on the move.
Deaton complained that the Senate was late in returning the construction bill to the House to consider. Several senators complained on the floor that the Senate had very little time to address the entire budget because House bills were not sent to them until April.
Hough ran through the list of axed projects for several hours, inquiring of the senators from the relevant districts, many of whom joined him in enumerating the projects’ projected benefits and condemning the House’s action.
Hough first called on Sen. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, to highlight the elimination of $50 million in funding for the planned expansion of the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center.
Hough and Webber highlighted the life-saving cancer medication and research that would come from the expansion and also noted that the concept had received approval from the House in its original spending bill as well as the Senate and Gov. Mike Kehoe.
Boone County’s only Republican member, Rep. John Martin, supported the decision not to pass the construction bill.
“Unfortunately one of the victims of that is the MU Research Reactor,” Martin said. “I’m supportive of that but at the same time I understand the House’s position and I wish it could have worked out in a better way with timing.”
Hough also took time to discuss the failure to fund $55 million for improvements to the Missouri State Fair, almost $16 million for a project related to Jefferson Barracks and $15 million dollars for construction projects relating to the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City.
The Missouri Constitution blocks lawmakers from passing spending bills in the final week of their regular session. Kehoe could call a special session later this year to address the projects, but he could also decide not to wade into the issue.
Sterling Sewell contributed to this story.
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Republicans launch another effort on abortion restrictions
By Shane LaGesse, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — Senate Republicans opened the final week of the 2025 session Monday with a push to pass a joint resolution that would ask voters to ban most abortions.
House Joint Resolution 73 would provide limited access to abortion for victims of rape and incest up until 12 weeks — and in the case of fetal anomalies and medical emergencies. Republicans in both the House and Senate cite the resolution as a step to “protect women.”
Since arriving here in January for the beginning of the legislative session, Republican leaders vowed to pass a resolution to ask for another vote on abortion. HJR 73 emerged late in the session as the preferred language Republicans want to put before voters.
Democrats launched a filibuster of the resolution, noting that it would overturn Amendment 3, which passed in November and enshrined access to abortion in the Missouri Constitution.
Senate Republicans began by offering their proposed substitute for the resolution and spent more than an hour speaking about it on the floor, arguing that Amendment 3’s ballot language and accompanying ad campaign was misleading and effectively tricked Missourians into voting for abortion rights they did not want.
“Missourians were presented a false dichotomy,” said Sen. Adam Schnelting, R-St. Charles. “They were told that if we didn’t pass Amendment 3, women would be dying in our hospitals from an inability to receive care from their physicians, pregnancies, medical emergencies, miscarriages and so on. And that simply was not true.”
Several Republican senators told stories of their experiences with pregnancy and childbirth and criticized advertising campaigns tied to amendment supporters for misleading voters on the true purpose of the amendment.
Once Republicans ended their speeches, Democratic Sen. Doug Beck of Affton offered an amendment that would kill the bill.
Democrats used that legislative maneuver to begin their filibuster where they argued voters knew what they were voting for on Amendment 3, and the will of the people had been made clear. They also argued that the bill contained new provisions to entice voters to overturn Amendment 3.
“We have a piece of legislation before us that will overturn what (the voters) just voted on this past November,” said Sen. Patty Lewis, D-Kansas City. “And it does this by lying to the people about what Amendment 3 allows and does not allow. It has ballot candies on unrelated issues to trick voters into giving up our rights.”
Lewis complained that only five supporters of the resolution testified before the committee she sits on that heard the bill while more than 100 were prepared to testify against it but were not allowed to speak because of time constraints.
After some three hours of debate, the resolution was set aside for the day.
Here is the provisional language that would appear on Missouri’s ballot if this resolution is passed by the legislature:
If passed by the legislature, Missouri residents would vote on the resolution’s contents in the November 2026 general election, unless Gov. Mike Kehoe places it on the ballot in an election held sooner, such as the August 2026 party primaries.
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House gives final OK on a wide range of education initiatives
By Sterling Sewell, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House gave final approval Monday to an omnibus education bill that would criminalize hazing, protect student groups from discrimination based on their beliefs and add additional protections against discrimination based on hairstyle and hair texture.
Senate Bill 160, proposed by Sen. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair, will now head to the governor’s desk for approval.
Danny’s Law was included in the bill. It’s named after former University of Missouri student Danny Santulli, who suffered a severe brain injury and was left unable to walk following a hazing incident in October 2021 at Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
Danny’s Law would make hazing a criminal offense for those who knowingly participate in acts that endanger a student or member of a private or public university.
Another provision would protect student organizations at public universities, trade schools and community colleges from being disciplined or curtailed solely because of the organization’s beliefs or the actions of its leadership. However, it would allow universities to take action if organizations’ behavior is considered disruptive or averse to education at the institution.
It would also require universities to provide the same benefits to belief-based organizations as it does any other organization.
Supporters say this provision helps to protect religious and political student organizations from university overreach, but opponents have said the bill could allow for discrimination in student organization membership.
The “Missouri Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act,” or the CROWN Act, was another provision added to the original bill.
It would bar elementary and secondary educational institutions from discriminating against people based on their hairstyle or the texture of their hair if it is associated with a particular race or origin.
Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, spoke in support of the CROWN Act, reflecting on her own experiences growing up in St. Louis.
Bosley, along with several other Democrats, chose to vote “present” on the bill. This means that their votes did not count for or against the bill. The bill passed the House on a vote of 117 in favor, 11 opposed and 27 present.
Bosley said she voted that way because she supports the CROWN Act, but is opposed to the provision of the bill attempting to protect student organizations. She said she fears it would hinder universities from taking action against potentially harmful student organizations.
“I am 100% on board with the CROWN Act,” Bosley said. “I just hate that we always have to couple something amazing and transformative for our state with something extremely detrimental to our scholars and our higher education institutions.”
Another provision of the bill would allow Missouri State University to offer doctor of philosophy degrees in areas other than engineering, and create bachelor’s degrees in veterinary technology. Currently, only MU can offer those degrees.
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Legislature designates holidays and highways
Shane LaGesse, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — The legislature gave final approval Monday for a bill naming several state holidays, highways and other designations.
September has been dubbed Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month in Missouri, and the week of the second Tuesday of April will be known as Human Trafficking Awareness Week.
The radio station KSHE 94.7 is now the state's official rock radio station, and Branson is now the "Live Entertainment Capital" of Missouri thanks to Senate Bill 348.
Missouri's Senate passed the bill by accepting additional designations made by the House.
Two late Missouri baseball players were also honored with the creation of John Donaldson Day on Feb. 20 and Eddie Gaedel Day on Aug. 19.
The bill also named numerous memorial highways and bridges across Missouri, and adjusted provisions to maintain and repair Route 66 signage in the state.
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SUNDAY
Legislative process slows Missouri's government efficiency efforts
By Sterling Sewell, Missouri News Network
JEFFERSON CITY — President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, has been scrutinized for making inaccurate claims, firing tens of thousands of federal workers and dismantling multiple government agencies.
In this legislative session, both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly took up Trump’s call for efficiency by creating committees on government efficiency as well as a joint committee on the topic.
“President-Elect Donald Trump is doing something often talked about, but rarely acted on: creating a federal entity dedicated to reducing federal spending and slashing regulations,” House Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, said in a December news release. “Our goal is to continue to identify areas where we can shrink government and better serve the taxpayers of Missouri.”
Though the committees have taken cues from the president’s effort, Missouri’s government efficiency push has had a shorter reach and focused more on regulations than personnel or spending.
“I think in Missouri we’re doing things a little differently than we see federally happening with the federal DOGE project,” said Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, chair of the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency. “(DOGE) is in the executive branch, and so obviously we’re working through the legislative process.”
Lawmaking limitations
In the 2024 legislative session, the General Assembly passed only 28 non-budget bills, a recent low. Though the General Assembly is projected to pass more legislation this year, making changes through any legislative body is slow.
Often, similar bills are proposed year after year in an attempt to gain enough support for passage. Some bills can take more than a decade to find the needed support to pass through the legislature.
Jake Haselswerdt is an associate professor in government and public affairs at the University of Missouri. Haselswerdt’s research focuses on public policy at a federal level, but he said lessons about previous government efficiency efforts in Congress could apply in Missouri.
“Typically what happens is you have a lot of recommendations,” Haselswerdt said. “And then eventually all that stuff makes it to the legislature and doesn’t have much impact.”
No bill referred to either chamber’s government efficiency committee has been passed thus far, and — as the legislative session ends Friday — passage might be difficult.
“These committees in Missouri do not have the same authority as the federal DOGE does to actually go after budgets and to make those substantive changes within departments and agencies — we don’t,” said Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, chair of the House Committee on Government Efficiency.
Haselswerdt said the slow nature of legislative bodies is one possible reason Trump attempted to circumvent Congress by creating DOGE.
Sen. Brad Hudson, R-Cape Fair, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency, said the committee’s purpose is not only about lawmaking.
“When someone comes to me with a concern that they have about a state department, the first thing I’m looking at is: Can we take care of the concern ASAP? It takes a long time to pass a law,” Hudson said. “If I can have a conversation with a department and they can change a rule, they can change a policy, and that addresses the concern, that is a more efficient way for me to get results for the constituents.”
Earlier this year, the Senate Committee on Government Efficiency created a portal where Missourians can submit concerns to the committee. In the first week, the portal received thousands of submissions. According to reporting from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the majority of these initial submissions were not considered “constructive” by Coleman.
Hudson said the portal now receives fewer weekly submissions but they’re helpful in determining what issues to focus on.
“Its been helpful to help us organize the concerns that our constituents have in such a way that we can seek the answers from the departments,” Hudson said.
While lawmakers say constituents can help direct them to potential sources of inefficiency, truly determining where inefficiencies are can be difficult. Haselswerdt said that even determining what is considered inefficient can take time when done well.
“If policy researchers got their way, we would test all this stuff in a randomized experiment, the same way we would test a pharmaceutical. But in the real world that rarely happens,” Hasselsewerdt said. “We don’t always have great evidence about what’s working well and what’s not working well.”
Leadership needs
Coleman and Baker have led a government efficiency committee in each chamber. Together they were named the chair and vice chair of a recently re-formed joint committee on government accountability that had been dormant for five years before being reassigned in early April.
Eight of the 13 members of the joint committee are members of their own chamber’s committee on government efficiency. The joint committee has only met once.
Baker last week was appointed by the Trump administration to be the rural development director for the USDA in Missouri, and he began work Monday after resigning from his legislative post. His departure leaves an open seat on both the joint and House committees.
“With a short session like we have, we’re barely getting off the ground, and it’s almost toward the end of session,” Baker said in an interview before his appointment. “But I think what we’re doing is setting that up for next year.”
Coleman said she does not intend to run for reelection. Her term of office will end in early 2027, leaving just one more year in the Senate.
Coleman proposed a slew of bills this year that would create annual mechanisms to eliminate inactive boards, sell off unused state property and move unused funds into general revenue.
Coleman said that bills with annual requirements, as well as the implementation of sunsets in legislation, are a couple of ways to ensure government efficiency efforts continue after her term has ended.
None of Coleman’s efficiency bills has made it to the Senate floor thus far.
Hudson, a Senate freshman, said that government efficiency will continue to be a top priority for him as long as he remains in the General Assembly.
“What the future holds for this committee is yet to be seen,” Hudson said. “I know that we have begun a very important conversation, and I want to see that conversation continue, and to be involved in that in whatever position I am in in the future.”
Concerns
This year’s push for government efficiency has not come without criticism.
Rep. Doug Clemens, D-St. Ann, is the ranking minority member for the House Committee on Government Efficiency. He said this year’s push for government efficiency is “more of a mission to punish government and punish some citizens than it is for government efficiency.”
“The idea of government efficiency is something that I can strongly get behind. However, we do see things that add regulation to rein in or punish people that the majority party doesn’t like,” Clemens said regarding legislation he has heard in committee this year. “We see added burdens on our departments, which actually cost more money to their budgets.”
Clemens also expressed concerns that attempts toward government efficiency sometimes amount to running the government like a business.
“The concept that government should be run like a business is misguided,” Clemens said. “The reason it’s misguided is because that’s not our job. We’re not here to optimize profit — that’s a business’s job.”
“Our job is to provide services to the citizens, be that schools, be that streets, be that protections from government itself,” he said.
