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.
While the Senate was off on Monday for Presidents’ Day, the House plowed ahead with business, holding regular committee meetings and perfecting multiple bills. Those bills included the perfection of legislation to legalize unregulated gaming devices, which passed the House by one vote later in the week.
This House also gave approval to issues relating to hemp regulation, joint employment, financial fees, work requirements for MO HealthNet, and certification of juveniles for trial. In the Senate, bills relating to DNR funds and relating to attachment, execution, and garnishments in civil proceedings were third read and passed.
On budget, the Chair of the House Budget Committee presented the House budget bills to committee this week. The Senate Committee on Appropriations heard testimony this morning from Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, and it is scheduled to hear next week from the Treasurer, the Department of Revenue, the State Tax Commission, and the State Lottery.
Budget Update
This week, both the House Budget Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee conducted extensive hearings on the FY27 budget, focusing heavily on public safety, emergency management, corrections, higher education, and supplemental appropriations. In the House, lawmakers reviewed funding for the Missouri National Guard, Department of Corrections, Public Defender, Treasurer’s Office, Higher Education, and the General Assembly, alongside markup and amendments to supplemental bills. Key themes included staffing shortages in corrections and law enforcement, overtime pressures, healthcare and food service cost increases, scholarship funding formulas, death penalty litigation costs, and victim services funding—particularly concerns about reductions affecting domestic violence shelters and VOCA-supported programs.
In the Senate, appropriators examined the Department of Public Safety and its divisions, including the Highway Patrol, Veterans Commission, Gaming Commission, Fire Safety, Alcohol and Tobacco Control, and SEMA. Major discussion centered on FIFA 2026 World Cup preparedness, including counter-drone initiatives, trooper deployments, communications upgrades, and federal grant pass-through funding. The Highway Patrol outlined 150 sworn vacancies, rising fleet costs, crime lab relocation, digital forensic backlogs, and multiple “Safer Missouri” proposals to expand investigative and special victims’ capacity. Senators also questioned the Patrol’s ICE 287(g) training agreement, disaster response thresholds and FEMA reimbursement processes, veterans’ home staffing needs, and the sustainability of funding streams tied to gaming and marijuana revenues. Across both chambers, the dominant themes were workforce shortages, rising operating costs, public safety readiness, and balancing one-time versus ongoing funding sources as committees move toward markup and floor action in the coming weeks.
Harmful Materials to Minors on the Internet
The House Children and Families Committee met Tuesday morning to consider passage of 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. House Committee Substitute for HB 1839, 2921 and 3015 was passed out of committee by a vote of 17-0. The substitute combines the 3 bills together.
Targeting Catalytic Converter Theft
Representative Don Mayhew (R-Crocker) presented HB 2206 Wednesday afternoon to the House Committee on Judiciary. The bill modifies several Missouri statutes related to commercial activity, scrap metal transactions, self-service storage liens, and theft offenses, with a focus on catalytic converters and organized retail theft. It expands requirements for salvage and scrap dealers, creates a felony for unlawful possession of a detached catalytic converter, increases related theft penalties, revises storage lien sale procedures, and repeals the Sunday sales law. A sheriff, MO Police Chiefs Association, MO Sheriffs Association, a state public advocate, and MO Insurance Coalition supported the bill. Advantage Metals Recycling opposed the bill and noted current recycling business practices and document requirements. Additional opposing testimony was provided by Recycle Materials Association, and the Press Association.
Proceedings Resulting from Criminal Conduct – “CLEAN SLATE ACT”
The House Committee on Economic Development convened Tuesday morning to consider passage of HB 2747 and HB 2047, sponsored by Representatives Bishop Davidson (R-Republic) and Representative Marlene Terry (D-St. Louis). The bills are similar and establish a phased-in automatic expungement (“clean slate”) process for certain eligible criminal records, which may affect the long-term availability of arrest and conviction records used in law enforcement and background checks. The legislation requires the Office of State Courts Administrator to identify eligible records and report expungement activity annually beginning in 2031, limits how long credit bureaus may report criminal records, creates the Missouri Expungement Fund, and modifies procedures in first-degree murder cases when a jury cannot agree on punishment. During committee discussion, a committee substitute was adopted to combine the two bills into a single legislative vehicle. As modified, the committee passed the bill by a 14–0 vote.
On Wednesday morning, the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee gathered to hold a joint hearing on Senate Bill 854, sponsored by Sen. Brian Williams (D-University City), and Senate Bill 1494, sponsored by Sen. Nick Schroer (R-O’Fallon), similar bills dealing with the expungement of eligible offense records. The bills provide that beginning Aug. 28, 2029, all records and files maintained by any court, pertaining to clean slate eligible offenses, which shall be offenses currently eligible for expungement by law, shall become closed records without the filing of a petition, subject to certain requirements as provided in this bill. Also, this bill provides certain time limitations for when records shall be closed and limitations on the number of offenses that may be expunged.
Williams said he has worked on this issue for several years. The bill would help streamline expungements in Missouri, where more than 500,000 Missourians are eligible for expungements of their records, but only one percent annually receive expungements, he said. The bills would lessen the financial barrier for those who clean the slate, he said. Williams later noted that a Senate Committee Substitute will address fiscal issues of the proposed legislation. Schroer said these Missourians are already entitled to expungements by law. He suggested the possibility of using current databases to enable the expungements. We want to cut unnecessary spending, but passing this bill would have a positive effect on Missouri’s economy, he noted.
SB 854 and SB 1494 also provide that, beginning Aug. 28, 2029, the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA) shall identify and transfer, every month, all clean slate-eligible offense records to the Central Repository and to every prosecuting agency in the state within 30 days of the offenses becoming eligible for expungement. All records currently eligible for automated expungement shall be expunged by Aug. 28, 2031. And, OSCA shall provide notification of records to be expunged to the presiding judges of every circuit court and to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The bill creates the "Missouri Expungement Fund," which shall be used by the Department of Public Safety, the Office of Administration, and the OSCA to provide system upgrades, staffing needs, and implement the provisions of the legislation.
Testimony in favor of the bills was offered by Empower Missouri, which said it ensures that punishments fit the crimes, instead of some crimes affecting people for a lifetime, and noted that expungement would remain unavailable for people who have committed violent or sexual crimes. Others in favor of the bills were a social worker who works with veterans in St. Louis, the owner of two businesses in St. Charles, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Missouri Justice Coalition, Manna Ministry, Show Me Justice for All, the Missouri Catholic Conference, American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, and the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Testimony in opposition was presented by the Counsel for the Missouri Supreme Court, saying its opposition is not on the policy of expungement, but concerns center on the mechanism and how the process gets done. House Bill 2747, another expungement bill, has a process that is less expensive and better regulated. Also testifying in opposition was Arnie Dienoff, saying criminal records should not be closed and noting the fiscal note for the bills is $30 million for the first year, with more than 400 new employees to be hired. The committee took no action on the bill.
Good Time Credit Awarded to Some Prisoners
On Monday afternoon, the House Corrections and Public Institutions Committee met in executive session and voted “do pass” on House Committee Substitute for House Bills 2751, 2831 & 2695, a bill which gives good time credit to certain persons incarcerated in Missouri prisons. The committee vote was 14-1. Currently, offenders in the Department of Corrections may earn time credited off the end of their sentences for serving their sentences in an orderly and peaceable manner and taking advantage of the available rehabilitation programs. The bill requires the Director of the Department to issue a policy for good time credit and, separately, earned time credit. The bill also provides that criminal justice agencies, as defined in the bill, shall share with a bona fide researcher, also defined in the bill, all criminal justice data and records, including relevant personally identifying information and demographic information, held by that agency relating to various crimes. The committee substitute says, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any right of any member of the public, including representatives of the media, to access public records under chapter 610.”
Highway Project Cost Transparency
The House Committee on Transportation met Tuesday afternoon to discuss HB 2759, sponsored by Representative Sean Pouche (R-Kansas City). The bill would require the Missouri Department of Transportation to post the estimated cost and expected completion date for any state highway construction, maintenance, or repair project on its public website when contract bidding closes. MO Asphalt and Pavement Association, and a state public advocate supported the bill, noting the measure reinforces openness and stability in the highway construction market. MoDOT opposed the bill, pointing to its existing procedures for handling projects and the bidding process.
Coordinator of Federal Funds
The House Special Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs convened Monday evening to receive public testimony on HB 3006, sponsored by Representative Louis Riggs (R-Hannibal). The bill creates within the Office of the State Treasury the Coordinator of Federal Funds Recovery whose primary duty will be to monitor the status of all federal funds allocated to the state of Missouri. Additionally, the bill specifies the duties of the coordinator and reporting requirements for all federal funds. The sponsor’s intent with the legislation is to have one focal person track these funds so departments are not continuously subject to verbal disparagement for not spending funds they never received. No supporting or opposing testimony was presented to the committee.
Board of Education Annual Report
The Senate Committee on Education convened Tuesday afternoon to receive public testimony on SB 892, sponsored Senator Jill Carter (R-Granby). This legislation proposes to require the State Board of Education to publish its annual report on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) website and make available 60 printed copies for the public. No supporting or opposing testimony was presented to the committee.
School District Financial Transactions
The Senate Committee on Education convened on Tuesday morning to consider passage of SB 1029, sponsored by Senator Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville). The bill requires each school district in Missouri to maintain an easily accessible online record of all financial transactions the district conducts, including all income and expenditures. Under the proposed bill every district will be required to post an easily accessible and regularly updated financial ledger on its publicly accessible website, with an individual link to each school building's finances. During discussion, a Senate Committee Substitute was adopted which added a definition of financial ledger and specifies what information must be included and where it must be accessible to the general public. Once modified, the committee passed the bill by a 5-0 vote.
Senate-Local Government, Elections, and Pensions
2/23/26 2:00 PM
Committee Hearing, Senate Lounge
SB1094 Crawford - Modifies provisions relating to elections
House-Rules-Legislative
2/23/26 4:30 PM or upon adjournment (whichever is later)
Committee Hearing, HR 4
Executive Session:
HB2747 Davidson - Modifies provisions relating to proceedings resulting from criminal conduct
