Senator Mike Bernskoetter

6th Senatorial District

For Immediate Release: 

May 16, 2025

Capitol Building, Room 416

Jefferson City, MO 65101

Contact Kenny Ross: 

 573-751-2076

The Final Fight of Proposition A

This week the legislative session ended, and the General Assembly completed their work for the year. In the coming weeks I will spend time telling you about all the bills we passed, but I wanted to spend this week talking about the passage of House Bill 567. This legislation repealed a majority of the 2024 ballot measure Proposition A.

I agreed with many provisions in Proposition A, which raised the minimum wage and put in place a system of sick leave for Missouri workers. Unfortunately, the actual mechanics of the Proposition and how it would be implemented would affect Missouri small businesses too negatively. This lack of foresight and vetting of the language is all to common in initiative petition measures.

I spent countless hours this session working to reach a compromise that would see as much of this proposition remain in place but remove the cumbersome and dangerous burden it placed on our small businesses, specifically relating to the mandated sick leave. Unfortunately, after so much work, certain compromises could not be met. As a result, the sick leave provisions were completely repealed. However, the initial increase of the minimum wage to $13.75 and the future increase to $15.00 on Jan. 1 of next year are still in place.

It was not the result I wanted, I truly was hoping for a compromise around the sick leave provisions, but it was the only good option left. In a time of such economic uncertainty, we had to do something to help relieve the burden on our small businesses. 

With the conclusion of this session, I want to again thank you for the honor of letting me be your Senator and represent you in the Missouri Senate.

Please feel free to contact my office at 573-751-2076. For information about my committee assignments or sponsored legislation, please visit my official Missouri Senate website at senate.mo.gov/Bernskoetter.