As the Missouri House began the final day of this year’s session last week, state Rep. Tim Taylor reluctantly reported that last-minute efforts to salvage a package of changes to property tax laws had failed. For most of the past year, property taxes and how they are levied had dominated the three-term Republican’s legislative work. […]

The Missouri General Assembly adjourned Friday without the factional warfare and late-session meltdowns that have come to define the Capitol in recent years, ending a 2026 session marked less by dysfunction than by a return to legislative basics. Republicans used their supermajorities to advance major pieces of Gov. Mike Kehoe’s agenda, including a proposed constitutional […]

A Missouri House committee voted down legislation on Tuesday aimed at establishing safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence over concerns that the bill lacked enforcement mechanisms and included drafting errors. The bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Joe Nicola of Grain Valley, would have specified that liability for harm caused by an AI system […]

After years of budget chaos, Republican infighting and historically low productivity, Missouri lawmakers are entering the final week of session with something that has often been missing from the Capitol: a sense of normalcy. State Sen. Stephen Webber, a Columbia Democrat who served in the Missouri House from 2009 to 2017, said this year’s session […]

Energy demand has been growing and is expected to shoot even higher in the coming years, but the debate over how to pay for new nuclear power plants is likely stalled in the Missouri legislature for now. As electricity demand has increased, so have utility bills — which has caught the attention of customers and […]

The “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” remains Missouri Republicans’ signature piece of abortion legislation this year as they work to fast-track it to passage before the legislative session ends next week. A state Senate bill passed late Wednesday was modified to remove provisions allowing lawsuits over medication abortions. It has received pushback from some members […]

Missouri Senate Democrats secured a victory Tuesday evening in a deal with Republicans to ax provisions in an anti-abortion a bill that sought to open the door for lawsuits against anyone involved in an illegal abortion. The “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” is a top priority of anti-abortion lawmakers as the legislative session nears a […]

The Missouri House passed a bill Monday aimed at curbing minors’ access to social media, banning the distribution of “deepfakes” and setting new requirements for social media platforms and some artificial intelligence developers. The legislation, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Wendy Hausman of St. Peters, combines bills offered by at least 10 lawmakers. And while […]

An intraparty schism opened Thursday among legislative Democrats as the party’s leader in the Missouri House blasted state Senate Democrats for their silence during a 70-minute debate on a proposal to replace the state income tax with increased sales taxes. Speaking to reporters at a news conference, House Minority Leader Ashley Aune of Kansas City […]

After unveiling a new plan just before midnight to replace Missouri’s income tax with a broader sales tax, state Senate Republican leaders moved quickly to push it to passage early Thursday morning. Democrats unanimously opposed the proposal, but only one said anything against it — and then only briefly. The harshest criticism came from Republican […]

The Missouri Senate peeled back its plans to establish broad state oversight of the Missouri State High School Activities Association, passing a less expansive bill Monday that would create a secondary appellate body for the association’s athletes. State Sen. Jason Bean, a Holcomb Republican and the bill’s sponsor, said the legislation he pitched last week […]

The promise and peril of artificial intelligence have been a recurring theme for Missouri lawmakers this year, as they debate safeguards on campaign advertisements, companion chatbots and mental health therapy that use the technology. But efforts to enact regulations in Missouri stalled last week in the state Senate amid fears the legislation could jeopardize nearly […]

A bill simplifying licensing for food trucks in Jackson County ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup was discussed by a Missouri Senate committee on Monday. Under the bill, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Joe Nicola of Grain Valley, a license or permit issued by Jackson County would be valid for a mobile food business […]

A group of bills standardizing mandatory minimum prison terms and repealing conditional release provisions was debated by a Missouri Senate committee on Wednesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee discussed three bills, sponsored by Republican Sens. Curtis Trent of Springfield, Jill Carter of Granby and Joe Nicola of Grain Valley, which include identical provisions for restructuring prison […]

Missouri lawmakers are weighing a slate of bills aimed at reining in artificial intelligence, from proposals targeting “deepfakes” to limits on the technology’s use in political campaigns. At the same time, lawmakers are also considering measures that would limit the liability of companies that develop or deploy AI systems when those systems cause harm. But […]

A bill that would lower the minimum wage for minors was pitched by its sponsor last week as a way to help small businesses and young workers. The legislation would create a separate minimum wage for those under age 18 who are employed in Missouri. The new minimum wage rate for minors would be $12.30 […]