JEFFERSON CITY — A legislative session marked by lengthy filibusters and spirited debate ended with a whimper Friday, giving election-minded lawmakers few victories to crow about as they head out on the campaign trail.
Republicans who control both the House and Senate failed to get their top priority across the finish line after Democrats staged a 50-hour filibuster to successfully block attempts to put a question on the ballot making it harder for residents to change the state constitution.
They finished the $51 billion state budget on time, but even that outcome remains a question mark after Gov. Mike Parson and state school officials said it may not have enough money to cover a full year’s worth of expenses.
And, their productivity stayed at a historically low level amid fighting among Republicans.
Of the nearly 1,700 bills that were introduced beginning in January, a total of 46 made it through the House and Senate.
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That comes after the 2023 session when 43 policy bills made it through the House and Senate chambers. That marked the lowest production by a General Assembly in more than two decades, not counting the pandemic-limited session in 2020.
This year’s tally would have been even lower if Republicans in the House hadn’t spent the final day ramming through a number of proposals to pad their final bill tally after the Senate abruptly adjourned Friday morning without taking any action.
Rank-and-file Republicans said the four-month-long session was a major disappointment.
“I had to quit school at 15 to help take care of my family. I didn’t get to experience high school. But I have experienced high school in this building year after year. It is sad,†said Sen. Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, who will now hit the campaign trail as a candidate for lieutenant governor.
The sometimes chaotic session and its abrupt ending were not a surprise.
More than 15 legislators are running for higher office this year, creating an incentive for attention-seeking antics and confrontations ahead of party primaries in August and the November general election.
Democrats, who worked in shifts to fend off the proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the threshold for initiative petitions, cheered the fractured ending.
“I’d call it a win for reasonable people,†Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, D-Independence, said Friday when asked if the last week was a win for Democrats. “It’s not a win for Democrats or loss for Republicans.… It’s a loss for chaos.â€
In the Senate, five members of the Freedom Caucus, came away with no significant victories other than getting to vote for a smaller state budget.
Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, who is a member of the hard-right splinter faction, blamed Senate leaders for the breakdown.
“This is what happens when you have personality and emotions running the chamber,†said Schroer, who had hoped to pass legislation allowing the state to take over the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Police Department.
The Freedom Caucus was a constant thorn in Senate leadership, who tried to quell the rebellion by retaliating against the members.
In January, Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, removed four members of the group, including Sen. Bill Eigel, from their committee chairmanships. Their parking spots also were moved. Sen. Denny Hoskins, one of the senators stripped of his committee chairmanship, said taking his office furniture was also discussed.
Days later, Eigel erupted on the Senate floor after Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin floated the possibility of kicking the St. Charles County senator out of the upper chamber.
Eigel blew up soon after, shouting, “I’m not gonna bow to anybody … that thinks that they can come in here and throw me out of here because I talk too much!â€
‘A successful year’
Although the House was more productive than the Senate, it was not without drama.
House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, spent much of the session under investigation for ethics violation that included an attempt to steer a six-figure contract to a potential campaign donor.
While the complaint was ultimately dismissed, the real damage of the probe won’t be known until Election Day in August when the results of his bid for Secretary of State are counted.
Plocher said the chaos was a Senate problem that was out of his control.
“Everyone predicted this was going to be utter chaos,†said Plocher, a Des Peres Republican running for secretary of state. “But it’s been a successful year.â€
Plocher listed the budget as a key win, noting that it is smaller than last year’s spending plan. Other victories include allocating $2.2 million to send Missouri National Guard troops to Texas as part of the Republican’s election year focus on immigration.
“We’ve made a lot of headway this year and all the naysayers that are saying this is going to be the worst year ever, I contend ‘no.’ This has been a successful year,†Plocher said.
With few other high-profile legislative achievements, a wide-ranging bill affecting education in Missouri is likely to stand as a key accomplishment for Republicans.
The measure, which was quickly signed by Parson, calls for new public education spending and expanding an education voucher program that pays for private school expenses.
The new law will increase minimum teacher pay in state statute from $25,000 to $40,000 per year.
Additional provisions include more state support for pre-kindergarten, increasing the number of teacher recruitment and retention scholarships, and changing how school aid is calculated so that a school’s enrollment and attendance are factored into the funding formula.
But it also is expensive and could force a special session in September to spend more money on the different provisions that weren’t fully funded in the state budget.
Parson was not immediately available for comment as he prepares for an overseas junket to Italy.
But, in a Wednesday interview with a Springfield television station, he urged lawmakers to send him legislation designed to lower the cost of child care. The measure, however, was opposed by conservatives and failed to advance.
Other wins
There were some success stories.
Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican, won a key change in law that will allow him to launch a probe of cities, fire and ambulance districts, counties and other local units of government without first getting permission or being requested by local voters.
Fitzpatrick has argued his office is limited in its ability to ensure local governments are held accountable for their actions. Rather than wait for a request, he could begin an audit if he believes “improper activities†are taking place.
Meatpacking sludge, which has roiled rural residents, could soon be regulated under a new set of rules awaiting action by Parson.
Under the proposal, which won bipartisan, near-unanimous support in both the House and Senate, companies that want to build storage lagoons for animal byproducts would be required to test the waste monthly for heavy metals and pathogens and make sure those materials are not being spread on cropland.
Storage lagoon operators would also have to install groundwater monitoring wells to prevent groundwater contamination in some cases.
A state-financed low-interest loan program will be expanded to help more small businesses and local governments. The measure, sought by Republican Treasurer Vivek Malek, would raise the cap on the loan program from $800 million to $1.2 billion.
Parson also signed legislation barring state Medicaid dollars from being used to reimburse Planned Parenthood for health care services.
Despite abortion being banned in Missouri in almost all instances, Republican lawmakers approved the legislation after previous attempts to financially hobble the women’s health provider were tossed out by the courts.
The latest gambit comes as Missouri voters are poised to weigh in later this year on whether to restore abortion rights after the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.
A possible ballot measure for the Nov. 5 election would legalize abortions until after the point of fetal viability. It would also prohibit the state from discriminating against reproductive health care providers.