Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, who is running for governor, gives a speech on the Senate floor at the Statehouse in Jefferson City during the start of the 2024 Missouri legislative session on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, is surrounded by other Democratic lawmakers as she answers questions from reporters during a press conference at the Statehouse in Jefferson City during the start of the 2024 Missouri legislative session on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
JEFFERSON CITY — Lawmakers returned to the capital city Wednesday with a long to-do list, but realities in both legislative chambers threatened to inject chaos into the annual session.
More than 15 legislators are running for higher office, creating an incentive for attention-seeking antics and confrontations ahead of party primaries in August and the November general election.
An ethics investigation into House Speaker Dean Plocher, following his push for a no-bid IT contract, also loomed over the session.
In the upper chamber, Senate President Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, opened the session with a short address calling for cooperation and urging his colleagues to put the needs of their constituents over their personal political ambitions.
With six members of the Senate running for statewide office, Rowden acknowledged that the election cycle could lead to political gridlock.
“Let’s prove them wrong,†said Rowden, who is running for secretary of state. “Let’s get to work.â€
The call for unity appeared to be short-lived. Members of a hardline splinter faction of the Republican majority resurrected old grievances that GOP leadership in the chamber aren’t conservative enough.
They also signaled they are prepared to again hold up action in the Senate to address a range of issues like eliminating the state’s personal property tax system, which generates a major portion of funding for local governments.
Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, said the growth of government needed to be addressed at a time when state revenues are flattening.
He also resurrected criticism of Gov. Mike Parson for cutting money for projects in St. Charles County after the county’s GOP delegation held up action on key Parson initiatives last year.
“The time for statesmanship is over. We’re going to stay in the trenches. We’re going to fight for liberty,†Schroer said. “I don’t care if it’s Republicans screwing the pooch or Democrats doing it.â€
Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, hailed the formation of the new Freedom Caucus, patterned after a hard-line group in Congress that has obstructed action in the GOP-controlled U.S. House.
He said members of the caucus would take a “show-no-prisoner†approach to introducing and passing legislation.
“I’m not here to do little things. I’m here to do things that will save this Republic,†Brattin said.
Term-limited Sen. Bill Eigel, another member of the Freedom Caucus, also weighed in on the coming battles under the Capitol dome as he tries to run as an outsider for governor.
“The status quo is the No. 1 threat that the state faces,†the Weldon Spring Republican said in a campaign-style speech delivered from his desk on the Senate floor.
Eigel said he planned to push Republican priorities even if his efforts didn’t have the support of GOP leadership, a strategy that will likely lead to confrontations and legislative logjams.
Eigel is running for governor in the Republican primary against Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, who is allied with Rowden and Gov. Mike Parson.
Kehoe presided over the Senate Wednesday, a reminder of the tense political atmosphere as the 2024 session kicked off.
The Senate hard-liners are pushing for more government involvement in sexuality and gender issues.
Republicans last year approved a ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors who had yet to start treatment. The current ban is set to expire in August 2027.
But several of the hard-liners — including Sens. Mike Moon of Ash Grove, Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg, and Brattin — have filed bills to do away with the expiration date.
Plocher, the House speaker, on Wednesday cast doubt on those plans, saying legislators addressed the issue last year and “I was glad to get that done.â€
Plocher addresses controversy
Plocher briefly addressed ongoing controversy surrounding the ethics complaint filed against him last year.
In addition to the IT contract, Plocher has also faced scrutiny for the filing of false expense reimbursement requests and remodeling of his speaker office.
Plocher, who is running for lieutenant governor, said Wednesday he was “absolutely†confident he could continue to lead the chamber. “Look behind me,†he said, referring to the crowd of fellow Republicans to flank the speaker during the news conference.
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat who is running for governor, said the situation had caused mistrust.
“Any time that a member is under investigation, especially somebody who is a member of leadership, that causes some mistrust,†she said.
Quade also said Democrats would use a fractured Republican Party to their advantage, aligning with the so-called Freedom Caucus Republicans or more mainline Republicans depending on their goals.
In a speech to lawmakers, Plocher hinted at his legislative priorities.
He criticized “egregious†property tax increases and called for changes to the initiative petition process.
Plocher called for recruiting and retaining more police officers and for fighting the “scourge†of fentanyl in Missouri.
He voiced support for parental choices in education and signaled that a leaner budget year was in store as fewer federal dollars flow to Missouri than in recent years past.
He also said the Legislature must renew the Federal Reimbursement Allowance — a tax that funds the state’s Medicaid system.
Lawmakers reupped the tax for three years in 2021, but only after a protracted fight in the Missouri Senate.
While Quade echoed Plocher’s calls to pass the FRA and noted its importance toward the overall state budget, she attributed the “less robust budget†to years of Republican tax cuts.
Quade cited sports betting and legal video lottery terminals as avenues for increasing revenue.
Photos: Missouri Legislature kicks off 2024 session. Get your popcorn ready.
“I just can’t sit by any longer and allow them to continue to snow the voters,†said Holly Thompson Rehder, a Sikeston Republican who is runni…
Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, who is running for governor, gives a speech on the Senate floor at the Statehouse in Jefferson City during the start of the 2024 Missouri legislative session on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, is surrounded by other Democratic lawmakers as she answers questions from reporters during a press conference at the Statehouse in Jefferson City during the start of the 2024 Missouri legislative session on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.
House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, walks through a crowd of lawmakers on his way to the dais to gavel in the house for the start of 2024 Missouri legislative session on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, center, is surrounded by other Republican lawmakers as he answers questions from reporters during a press conference at the Statehouse in Jefferson City during the start of 2024 Missouri legislative session on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com