Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
The following is a legislative update from Clarkston Nelson, LLC concerning the Missouri General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session. Use the information within to develop local coverage of issues important to your readers.
Committee meetings continued to dominate the session, as the House and Senate held more than five dozen hearings this week. And with more than two dozen bills passing through the House Rules committees, the House continued to reload its perfection calendar.
The House moved quickly down that calendar and its third read calendar, perfecting or third reading more than 20 bills. The Senate, however, moved at a deliberative pace, with long debate and early evenings continuing to slow activity in the chamber. The Senate will not be holding session on Monday in observance of Presidents Day.
News continued to reverberate through the Capitol regarding Attorney General Hanaway’s committee testimony last week that her office and multiple federal agencies were investigating allegations of money laundering and fraud in connection with video terminal lottery and pre-reveal gray slot machines throughout the state. Notwithstanding, the House is expected to advance legislation on Monday that would allow such illegal gaming machines to operate in the state going forward.
Budget Update
This week’s budget hearings were dominated by agency FY2027 presentations amid tightening general revenue projections and growing concern about structural deficits in FY2027–FY2028. The House Budget Committee reviewed the State Auditor’s budget, highlighting staffing rebuild efforts, CPA shortages, performance audit authority, and long-term general revenue sustainability. Broader fiscal discussions centered on projected ending balances, potential depletion timelines under various revenue scenarios, the impact of prior tax changes, and concerns about the use of open-ended (“E”) appropriations.
In Senate Appropriations, departments including the Missouri National Guard, Agriculture, Conservation, Labor and Industrial Relations, and the Department of Corrections presented largely flat or reduced core budgets with targeted new decision items (NDIs) tied to infrastructure, technology modernization, federal funding shifts, and operational rightsizing. Corrections discussions focused heavily on staffing shortages, a 50 percent 180-day turnover rate for correctional officers, prison population growth trends, healthcare contract oversight and penalties, electronic monitoring funding reductions, and the long-term costs of potential facility expansion. Lawmakers emphasized fiscal discipline, workforce stabilization, and minimizing supplemental requests.
House Budget also heard from the Department of Economic Development, where members examined core reductions, one-time project removals, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) transfers, CDBG funding timelines, ARPA-related programs, the State Small Business Credit Initiative, Missouri Technology Corporation funding, semiconductor and CHIPS-related items, and the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) reshoring initiative. Significant attention was given to federal leverage, rural access to programs, lapse balances, and return on investment for economic development incentives.
The most significant public engagement occurred during House Bill 10 (Department of Mental Health and Department of Health and Senior Services), where extensive testimony focused on proposed reductions to Self-Directed Services (SDS) and day habilitation rates. Families, caregivers, and providers argued the cuts would reduce caregiver wages, increase turnover, destabilize medically fragile individuals, and potentially shift costs to more expensive institutional settings. Committee leadership acknowledged both the fiscal pressures facing the state and the high stakes for affected families, signaling that further deliberation and potential adjustments remain under discussion.
Harmful Materials to Minors on the Internet
The House Children and Families Committee met Tuesday morning to discuss House Bills 1839, 2921 and 3015, sponsored by Representatives Sherri Gallick (R-Belton), Melissa Schmidt (R-Eldridge) and Jeff Farnan (R-Stanberry), respectively. The bills are identical to each other and aim to protect children from harmful materials by requiring age verification on any commercial website or platform that has 33 % or more explicit content. The Attorney General will enforce the provisions of the bill. Rep. Gallick stated there is a substitute that will be offered which would mirror Texas legislation which was upheld in court this last summer. Testifying in support of the bills were Missouri Children’s Trust Fund, a Pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, Missouri Coalition for Children, Missouri Commission on Human Rights, Missouri Network Against Child Abuse, Missouri Catholic Conference, and the Attorney General’s Office. No testimony was presented in opposition.
Newspapers’ Legal Publication Requirements Moving
The House Consent and Procedure Committee gathered on Tuesday afternoon and voted “do pass, consent” on House Bill 1940, sponsored by Rep. Peggy McGaugh (R-Carrollton), legislation that changes the length of time for successor newspapers and newly established newspapers to be considered legal newspapers to publish public notices in their communities. The committee vote was 8-0. Currently, to qualify as a newspaper to publish public notices, a newspaper must have been published regularly for a period of three years or must be the successor newspaper to a non-active newspaper that restarts publication no later than 30 days after the termination of the prior newspaper. HB 1940 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. The bill also allows a newspaper that has been purchased or newly established by another newspaper that already satisfies these conditions to qualify. The House Local Government Committee had passed the bill “do pass, consent” on a 16-0 vote.
Posting Notices on the SOS Website, Instead of in Newspapers
On Tuesday, the House Legislative Review Committee conducted a hearing on House Bill 2179, sponsored by Rep. David Casteel (R-High Ridge), a bill that would modify the process by which public notices are required to be published in newspapers located in Missouri’s charter counties: Clay, Jackson, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. Louis. Public notices in charter counties instead would be posted on the Secretary of State’s website or published in a newspaper. The Secretary of State would be required to develop procedures for submission of the notices and create a specific page on the website that would contain all the notices in a searchable format. During discussion, Rep. Casteel said the bill represented a “pilot program” regarding public notices. This bill would only affect notices in the state’s five charter counties. He filed a bill two years ago that would have affected notices in all counties. Committee member Rep. Jo Doll (D-St. Louis) asked why not place the notices in both the newspapers and online? “Lots of people rely on newspapers and read them. It needs to be in both, not just one or the other,” Rep. Doll said. Rep. Aaron Crossley (D-Independence), another committee member, suggested changing the word “or” to “and.” The bill’s current language is that public notices in charter counties “shall be published on the website of the office of the Secretary of State or published in a newspaper.” Rep. Crossley said the current bill would create more lines of confusion through duplication of effort. Rep. Casteel commented that he would be in favor of changing the word to “and.” Testimony in support of the bill was presented by a representative of fire districts who said most people get information from the Internet. A State Council of Firefighters representative said recently bond election notices were not published as needed in newspapers. Testimony in opposition to the bill was presented by Chad Stebbins, who said Missouri newspapers still have a healthy presence in the state with an estimated 1.9 million readers. MPA’s website, www.mopublicnotices.com, “is already doing what the Secretary of State would be required to do,” Stebbins said. Notices placed in newspapers are posted on the website and available at no charge to the public. Peggy Scott, publisher of newspapers in Jefferson and St. Louis counties, also testified in opposition to the bill and focused on residents of her area who receive her newspapers and depend on them for information. Other testimony in opposition was presented by ArmorVine’s representative, asking, why remove one of the tools to notify the public? The committee took no action on the bill.
Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The House Committee on Crime and Public Safety convened Tuesday afternoon to consider passage of HB 2587, sponsored by Representative Mike Jones (R-Kanas City). The bill allows law enforcement to take any measures necessary to prevent imminent threats posed by unmanned aircrafts when being utilized in a criminal action and modifies the offense of unlawful use of an unmanned aircraft to include when one is flown over a critical infrastructure facility. During committee discussion, members adopted a committee substitute that more closely aligns the bill with current federal law and adds an emergency clause. Following adoption of the substitute, the committee voted 18–0 to pass the bill.
Cronkite New Voices Act Moving
The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee met Wednesday afternoon and conducted a hearing on House Bill 2918, sponsored by Rep. Scott Miller (R-St. Charles), a bill that establishes the "Cronkite New Voices Act.” The bill provides that in both public high schools and public institutions of higher education, a student journalist, as defined in the bill, has the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press in school-sponsored media. Rep. Miller said the bill has been implemented in 17 states, and the legislation does not allow for unaccountable speech by students, and schools will not face legal challenges. Testimony in favor of HB 2918 was presented by a dozen people, including several high school and college students and organizations. There was no testimony presented in opposition to the bill. Those testifying included Cathy Kuhlmeier, who in the 1980s was a student at Hazelwood East High School. The Spectrum, the school-sponsored newspaper of Hazelwood East, was written and edited by students. In May 1983, the school’s principal received the page proofs for the May 13 issue. The principal found two articles in the issue to be inappropriate, in his opinion, and ordered that the pages on which the articles appeared be withheld from publication. Cathy Kuhlmeier and two other former Hazelwood East students brought the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-to-3 decision, the Court held that the First Amendment did not require schools to affirmatively promote particular types of student speech. In written testimony, Kuhlmeier said, “I was the student at the center of the landmark case Hazelwood v Kuhlmeier which covered censorship of the high school press. Censorship is still happening to students across the country today and needs to be stopped.” Others testifying at the hearing on Wednesday included Adam Watson, Charlie Balestra, Haowen Liu, all students from Clayton High School, and their journalism advisor, Debra Klevens. Comments included that it is disheartening that many students’ work will not reach the pages of the school newspaper. Positives and negatives of a story should be reported. Jared Schroeder, who teaches communications law at the Missouri School of Journalism, testified for information only, confirming that students do have First Amendment rights. Johnathan Gaston-Falk, staff attorney for the Student Press Law Center in Washington, D.C., and Michael Hurley noted campus media outlets hold administrators accountable. Sophia Anderson and Shane LaGesse, both students at the Missouri School of Journalism who will soon graduate, said it is important to state the facts in news stories and to follow a Code of Ethics. Others testifying in support were Otto Fajen of the Missouri National Education Association and Arnie Dienoff. Written testimony in support was presented by Chad Stebbins, Executive Director of the Missouri Press Association. The committee took no action on the bill.
Newspaper Notices Eliminated That Promote Self-Storage Auctions
On Tuesday morning, the Senate Emerging Issues and Professional Registration Committee met to hear Senate Bill 1022, sponsored by Sen. Justin Brown (R-Rolla), a bill that would delete newspaper public notices currently required to alert the public about auctions of self-storage units' contents. The bill, identical to House Bill 2717, would eliminate the newspaper notice, which advertises the sale of an occupant’s personal property if the occupant is in default for more than 45 days. Instead, the bill seeks the operator of the facility to provide a written notice in person, by mail, or by electronic mail, terminating the occupant’s rental agreement, and personal property left in the unit would be disposed of by the operator after the date provided in the written notice. Sen. Brown said the bill includes important updates to self-storage unit provisions, including repealing the public notices in newspapers. Testifying in support of the bill was Alex Erbs, President of the Missouri Self Storage Owners Association and the owner of storage units in Columbia and Waynesville. He said the current statutes have not been updated in several decades. Rental agreements can be delivered electronically. He said, “Newspapers aren’t around anymore,” and he said a newspaper in St. Joseph does not publish classified ads. Randy Scherr, representing the National Self Storage Association, said that 70 percent of auctions of contents bring in less than $100. He noted that some of the public notices do not have the names of content owners published because “it’s an invasion of privacy.” Testifying in opposition to the bill was Chad Stebbins, Executive Director of the Missouri Press Association, who said, “You need to make every effort to make sure people know their property is being auctioned.” He said the St. Joseph News-Press does publish such public notices and classified ads. And the names of people in those notices are not an invasion of privacy. It is telling the public that contents are being sold. Also testifying in opposition was Peggy Scott, publisher of four newspapers in Jefferson and St. Louis counties, who said, “We want people to know.” She said a family came to her newspaper office recently and said a deceased member of their family had contents in a self-storage unit. When the family member passed away a year earlier, the contents were sold without the family’s knowledge. They asked Scott if a newspaper notice had been published, which it had, and Scott told the House committee that the notice, having been published, actually protected the self-storage operator. The committee took no action on the bill.
On Wednesday morning, the House Commerce Committee gathered in executive session and voted “do pass” on House Bill 2717, sponsored by Rep. Dane Diehl (R-Butler). The committee vote was 7-0.
Modifying Provisions Governing Property Taxes
Senator Brad Hudson appeared before the Senate Select Committee on Property Taxes and the State Tax Commission Wednesday morning to present SB 1517. The bill is similar to HB 2780 but is more narrowly focused on election procedures and ballot standardization. It centralizes property tax ballot language, requires all real and personal property tax measures to appear only on general election ballots beginning January 1, 2027, and eliminates individualized ballot templates. A state public advocate testified in support. A state public advocate supported the bill. The MO Council of School Administrators, MO NEA, Howell County, MO Municipal League, Kansas City School District, MO Association of County Clerks opposed the bill arguing it reduces local control, limits fiscal flexibility, and would make it harder to pass or manage property tax measures. The Missouri Special Districts Association provided informational testimony stating SB 1517 could create California-style constraints on local property tax authority by limiting flexibility in revenue approvals and tightening revenue-neutrality rules and warned that requiring levy reductions tied to certain tax abatements could hinder economic development by reducing the financial benefits of growth, complicating redevelopment financing, and discouraging use of state-authorized incentive tools.
Anti-Trafficking Efforts
The full House gathered Monday afternoon to third read and pass anti-trafficking legislation, HCS for House Bills 2273, 1946, 1814 & 2551, handled by Rep. Ed Lewis (R-Moberly). The vote was 148-2, and the bill now moves to the Senate. The bill includes several provisions seeking to modify sex crimes, increasing the age of offenses, reactivating the statewide task force, providing protections for victims, updating terms, and providing additional resources to prosecuting attorneys. The bill attempts to strengthen Missouri’s response to sex and human trafficking by creating new oversight bodies, expanding training for professionals, updating legal terminology and penalties, and increasing victim protections and civil remedies. It also enhances law enforcement authority, funding, and sentencing, particularly for crimes involving children. The bill modifies and establishes provisions relating to sexual offenses. Also, the bill removes the exemption for licensed teachers, health care providers, and youth mentors, modifies the felony penalty provisions, and increases the age of grooming by an adult from 18 to 21. No floor amendments were added to the bill last week.
Modifying Provisions Governing Property Taxes
The House dedicated floor time Wednesday morning to debate HB 2780, sponsored by Representative Tim Taylor (R-Bunceton). The bill is a comprehensive property tax reform measure that revises election procedures, assessment practices, and levy calculations across numerous statutes. The bill shifts certain real property tax elections to the general election beginning after August 28, 2026, modifies how new construction is treated in levy rollback calculations, and requires proportional application of senior property tax credits, which must be treated as tax revenue for purposes. Overall, it significantly restructures Missouri’s property tax administration and election framework. During debate, the sponsor added provisions from HB 2925 to standardize how local property tax ballot measures are written and submitted statewide. Representative Rodger Reedy (R-Windsor) then amended the bill to allow counties with township organization to submit property tax questions in either April or November rather than only at the general election. The House then gave the bill its first of two required approval votes.
House-Rules-Legislative
2/16/26 4:30 PM or upon adjournment (whichever is later)
Committee Hearing, HR 4
Executive Session:
HB2682 Chappell - Renames the "Missouri Student Religious Liberties Act" the "Missouri Safeguarding Personal Expression at K-12 Schools (SPEAKS) Act" and creates provisions safeguarding students' political and ideological expression at public schools
House-Economic Development
2/17/26 8:00 AM
Committee Hearing, HR 1
Executive Session:
HB2047 Terry - Creates provisions relating to expungement
HB2747 Davidson - Modifies provisions relating to proceedings resulting from criminal conduct
