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The Week of April 21, 2025

On the Floor

This week, the Senate began floor discussion on House Bill 742, which would prohibit state departments from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Additionally, the Senate continued discussing House Bill 567, which would repeal provisions of law that were passed as a part of Proposition A in the November 2024 election. It would repeal the minimum wage increase to $15 on Jan. 1, 2026, as well as the yearly increases to minimum wage based on the Consumer Price Index after that date. It would also amend the paid sick leave requirement for certain private employers by allowing an employee to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 32 hours worked, provided that the employee cannot accrue more than 56 hours in a 12 month period.

After last week’s filibuster of this bill, my colleagues and I have been negotiating a compromise over the sick leave requirement that would have exempted some smaller businesses from being subject to it. However, those negotiations collapsed after a substitute version of the bill was introduced that members of the minority caucus said did not reflect the deal they had struck. Because of this, my fellow senators I spent time on the floor Wednesday night into early Thursday morning fighting for the people’s vote, causing the bill to be set aside for future discussion. The people voted to have a certain minimum wage and guaranteed access to earned sick leave, and we should not overturn the will of the people.

In order to prevent the sick leave requirement from taking effect on May 1, the Legislature would need to both pass repeal legislation before then and include an emergency clause allowing the bill to take effect immediately upon being signed into law, instead of the usual Aug. 28 effective date for new laws. However, an emergency clause requires the support of two-thirds majorities in both legislative chambers. The House previously rejected the emergency clause, falling 25 votes short of the minimum 109 needed. But if the Senate approves it, the House would have a second shot at mustering the required supermajority.

Finally, the Senate third read and passed the following bills:

Bills and Committees

Judiciary Committee:

The committee heard House Bill 1218 this week. This bill would modify the offense of burglary in the second degree to include when a person knowingly unlawfully enters or knowingly remains unlawfully in a restricted area of a commercial business.

Appropriations Committee:

Next week, the full Senate is expected to discuss and debate each of the 13 appropriations bills that make up the fiscal year 2026 state operating budget:

On April 16, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to allocate an additional $300 million in spending for K-12 public school districts and not to support a plan to provide $50 million in direct taxpayer funding for private school tuition vouchers. Both of these inclusions in the budget go against the governor’s wishes.

If the full Senate accepts the committee’s position on these points, it would set up a showdown with the House of Representatives during final negotiations over the fiscal year 2026 state operating budget. The House version of the budget follows the governor’s recommendation on both the K-12 funding level and state funding for private schools.

Basic state funding for local K-12 school districts is distributed in accordance with a complex statutory formula. The central feature of the formula is the “state adequacy target” – the amount of per-pupil funding deemed necessary under the law for students to achieve performance goals. Despite calling for increases to certain parts of the formula, the governor opted against funding the adequacy target for FY 2026, which means state K-12 funding would fall $300 million short of the minimum amount called for by state law.

The Senate committee’s move to eliminate taxpayer funding for private school vouchers came after members of the House minority caucus unsuccessfully sought to do so when the budget process was in the lower chamber. The program currently is exclusively funded by private donations. In exchange, donors receive a credit against their state income tax liability equal to the amount of their contribution.
 

The voucher law is structured this way to circumvent a state constitutional prohibition against the Legislature providing direct public funding to private individuals or organizations. Because of this prohibition, the proposed direct appropriation of taxpayer money for the voucher program is likely to be accused of being unconstitutional and vulnerable to being blocked by a court if challenged.

In terms of overall spending authority, the Senate committee version of the FY 2026 operating budget is closer to the $50.1 billion plan the governor presented in January than the $47.9 billion proposal the House approved in early April. The full Senate could make additional changes when it debates the appropriations bills in the coming days.

Once the Senate completes its work, House and Senate negotiators must work out a compromise budget plan. Lawmakers must grant final approval to the budget bills by a constitutional deadline of 6 p.m. on May 9. The 2026 fiscal year begins July 1.

Other News

Omnibus child welfare bill on verge of going to the governor

Wide-ranging child welfare legislation that would ban child marriage, block enforcement of non-disclosure agreements in child sexual abuse cases and prohibit the state from seizing the federal survivor benefits of kids in the foster care system is one Senate vote away from final passage after the House of Representatives approved it on April 24 with a vote of 129-14.

The Senate could send House Bill 737 to the governor as early as April 28. Senators unanimously approved an earlier version of the bill in March. Since the current version contains only minor changes, Senate opposition at this stage isn’t expected.

During the previous state fiscal year, the state Children’s Division collected more than $10.6 million from the approximately 1,200 Missouri foster kids who received federal benefits, using the money to offset that state’s foster care costs. Opponents of the practice, which has few defenders, contend it’s wrong to take this money from foster children since it leaves them with no resources with which to begin their lives when they age out of the system.

Another provision of HB 737 would set the minimum age for obtaining a marriage license at 18, up from the current minimum of 16. Until 2018, Missouri law allowed children as young as 15 to marry with parental permission and even younger kids could marry with judicial approval. However, child advocates say Missouri law still left some children vulnerable to exploitation.

Another significant provision of HB 737 prohibits judicial enforcement of non-disclosure agreements in cases of child sexual abuse. Such agreements are common in civil actions and generally prohibit litigants from talking about their case as a condition of reaching a financial settlement. 

Critics of NDA use in child sexual abuse cases say NDAs serve both to silence victims by preventing them from speaking about their experiences and protect perpetrators from exposure, leaving them free to abuse others. Days before passing HB 737, the House unanimously approved the non-disclosure language in stand-alone legislation, House Bill 709.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Thank you for your interest in the legislative process. I look forward to hearing from you on the issues that are important to you this legislative session. If there is anything my office can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 573-751-3599.