Lobbyist Report

Campaign season has moved into high gear as members of the General Assembly are back in their home districts after the conclusion of the 2024 legislative session. All 163 seats of the Missouri House, 17 of the 34 Senate seats, and all but one statewide office is up for election.  There is no doubt Republicans will continue to hold a sizeable majority in both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly.  However, it will be the results of the August 6 primary election, not the November General Election, which will likely determine who will serve in the House, Senate and open statewide offices in January 2025.

We know the August 6 primary will shape the future of the political landscape in the Capitol, especially in the Senate. In a handful of the races in the upper chamber, conservative Republicans are squaring off against more traditional Republicans. Should the more conservative candidates come out ahead, it will add to the numbers of the Freedom Caucus in the Senate and have a drastic impact on how the body will operate next session. Members of the Freedom Caucus were largely responsible for the record low number of bills passing last session due to the tactics they employed to slow down legislation throughout the year.

In addition to House and Senate seats being up for election, all statewide offices, with the exception of the State Auditor, are on the ballot as well. In the race for Governor, many polling outlets show that Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe has closed the gap over supposed frontrunner Jay Ashcroft, and in some areas, Kehoe has taken the lead. Senate Freedom Caucus leader Bill Eigel remains in third place in all polling.

In other news, all eyes are on Governor Mike Parson as he decides the fate of legislation that reached his desk at the conclusion of the legislative session. Of particular interest will be his actions on the FY25 budget and the items he could trim from the $51.7 billion spending plan sent to him by legislators. Many will be watching to see the fate of the money earmarked for rebuilding Interstate 44, and the $100 million planned for improvements to rural and low volume roads. The Governor has until June 30 to reach a decision on budget related matters and July 14 on policy related bills.  At the time of the submission of this newsletter piece, the Governor had not taken action on the budget; however, by the time you are reading this, the Governor will have taken action on the budget.  We will send a special report if there are any notable vetoes.

Parson recently announced 19 appointments to various boards and commissions, including two appointments to the Bi-State Development Agency and two appointments to the Missouri Workforce Development Board. Those appointed must still be approved by the Missouri Senate. Several of the announced positions are re-appointments that did not receive Senate confirmation earlier in the year due to days of inaction during the legislative session. The Governor also made an appointment for an open position on the Missouri Ethics Commission, which is the body charged with overseeing and enforcing campaign finance and lobbying laws in the state. This is an important appointment, as the Commission has been unable to meet or take any enforcement action for many months due to a lack of a quorum on the Commission.

Next on the political calendar is the August 6 primary election.  It is extremely important you get out and vote on August 6 and encourage your friends and employees to vote.  Important dates to remember:

Last day to register to vote:                July 10, 2024

Absentee Voting begins:                     July 25, 2024

No Excuse Absentee Voting begins:    July 23, 2024

Primary Election:                                August 6, 2024

If you cannot vote in person on August 6, there are plenty of opportunities to vote absentee as noted above.  As previously stated, the August 6 Primary will likely determine who will serve in the majority of the statewide, House and Senate seats NOT the November General Election.  We can’t stress enough how important it is to cast your vote in the August 6 primary.  If you have any questions regarding any of the candidates in the August 6 Primary, please reach out and will be happy to answer your questions. Nikki Strong, Strong Consulting

The 2024 legislative session came to an end on May 17 as mandated by the constitution, but the ending was quite unusual this year. Normally, legislators would be busy meeting in conference committees and trying to work out last minute details on dozens of bills before the final gavel at 6:00 pm. Instead, the Senate spent less than ten minutes in session on the final day, which capped off a year marked by party infighting and multiple, extended filibusters. The final week weas really no different that the entire year, as very little work was actually done by the upper chamber including a record breaking 50-hour filibuster.

Although House members were able to pass several bills in the final weeks of session, they did not work full days, as they were waiting for the Senate to take up a number of priority bills, but in the end, that did not happen.

While there were numerous points of disagreement between the Freedom Caucus and other Republicans in the Senate all session, the main point of contention the final week was initiative petition (IP) reform. House members as well as the Freedom Caucus wanted language that stated only US citizens can vote and banning foreign money from interfering in the election process, which was called “ballot candy”. While Senate Democrats filibustered the ballot candy language, moderate Republicans refused to use a parliamentary maneuver to force the issue through. Since House members refused to move on the issue without the ballot candy language, and Senate Freedom Caucus members would not allow the Senate to debate any other bills until the IP measure was approved, the final week of session saw little progress on many important pieces of legislation.

Despite there being over 2500 bills introduced this session, only 28 of those (excluding budget related bills) found their way to the Governor’s desk. Notable bills that passed include all the bills that make up the nearly $50 billion FY25 budget; SB754, a major public safety bill; SB894, which modifies several provisions to promote business development in the state; SB727, which expands charter schools and provides an increase in teacher pay statewide; HB2634, which prohibits state funding from going to Planned Parenthood; and SB748, which renews the all-important Federal Reimbursement Allowance for critical funding to hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and emergency services.

Governor Mike Parson now has until June 30 to decide the fate of budget items, and July 14 to make a decision on policy related bills that have reached his desk. Any vetoes issued by Parson may be considered for an override when legislators gather for the annual veto session on September 11. Any bills signed by the Governor will go into effect on August 28, unless they have an emergency clause or date specific implementation.

The focus now turns to campaign season as legislators running for reelection and for higher office will hit the campaign trail in anticipation of the August 6 primary election.

The first pieces of legislation to be approved by both chambers of the General Assembly found their way to the desk of Governor Mike Parson in late April. It took a total of fifteen weeks, but several bills now await Parson’s signature. One is an historic bill dealing with K-12 education reforms in the areas of teacher salaries, expansion of charter schools, and an expansion of education voucher programs. Another bill includes funding for members of the Missouri National Guard and the Missouri Highway Patrol who have been deployed to the southern border in Texas since February.  Parson has directed 200 soldiers and 11 troopers to the area, with their deployment beginning in February. The $2.2 million spending bill will cover the cost of the deployment through the remainder of the fiscal year which ends June 30. Yet another bill receiving final approval is a measure that will stop a proposed landfill project in the Kansas City area. The issue had been making headlines for over a year, but a compromise has been reached where the City of Raymore will pay nearly $4 million to the landfill developers to buy the 270 acre property.

As of the writing of this report, the FY25 budget had not passed out of the Senate.  It was expected that the budget would be extremely controversial as the Freedom Caucus had vowed to go line by line through the budget.  Pursuant to the Constitution, the budget must be passed by Friday, May 10 at 6:00 p.m.

The first major construction of the Improve I-70 Project has begun in mid-Missouri. The U.S. 63 and I-70 connector in Columbia will see two new direct connection ramps, two new bridges, and four new roundabouts as well as a third lane in each direction of the twenty mile stretch between Columbia and Kingdom City. The project is expected to take three years to complete.

The makeup of the Missouri Senate will be changing as Governor Mike Parson recently appointed Senator Greg Razer (D-Kansas City) to the State Tax Commission. As of the writing of this report, Razer was awaiting confirmation of his selection by the full Senate, which many see as a simple formality. Razer was currently running for reelection for the 7^th senate district and has announced his endorsement of local businessman Pat Contreras to run for his seat.

Speaker of the House Dean Plocher has avoided any media inquiries since the months-long ethics investigation into his possible wrongdoings has ended. Recently, Ethics Committee chair Hannah Kelly put forth her report recommending that Plocher be reprimanded by the House. Although the report detailed how Plocher pressured staff to enter into a computer program contract, sought reimbursement to his personal account on expenses that had been covered by his campaign, had fired several staff members over the last year, and had attempted to obstruct the ethics investigation, only two members of the committee voted to move ahead with the report.  With the failure of the bipartisan committee to issue any sort of report or discipline on the matter, it appears the committee’s work has come to an end.

The end of the legislative session is in sight, as the final gavel will fall on Friday, May 17 at 6:00 pm. During the final weeks, legislators must still approve the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, as well as the renewal of a federal reimbursement allowance providing over $4.5 billion in funding for hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, and ambulance services to be reimbursed through the state’s Medicaid program. If any controversy arises on those important issues, there may not be time available for work on many additional bills, if any.

As of the writing of this newsletter, members of the General Assembly are back in their home districts for the annual legislative spring break. Typically, this would signal the halfway point in the legislative session, but we have already passed that mark as there will only be eight weeks of session remaining when legislators return to Jefferson City on March 25. As we mentioned in last month’s column, not a single piece of legislation has passed and been sent to the Governor for his signature. That fact has not changed as movement of bills in the Senate continues at a snail’s pace.

House Budget Chairman Cody Smith has released his version of the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget, making numerous changes to the spending plan put forth by Governor Mike Parson. Smith’s FY25 proposal cuts $2 billion from Parson’s plan, leaving the overall state budget sitting at $50.7 billion. One of the newsworthy items in the version outlined by Smith is an earmark of $727.5 million for major reconstruction projects on Interstate 44. It is anticipated that House members will debate the spending plan on the House Floor the week following the legislative spring break. From there, the Senate will have their turn in making modifications to the proposal. The state constitution mandates the budget must be finalized by May 10.

Embattled House Speaker Dean Plocher recently appeared before the House Ethics Committee, as the months-long probe into his actions continues. The committee is rumored to be looking into several potentially damaging allegations against Plocher, including filing expense reports seeking reimbursement for travel already paid for by his campaign; firing staff members who acted as whistleblowers; and urging House staff to enter into a contract with an out of state private contractor for services already performed by in-house staff. Plocher testified before the committee along with two of his attorneys in a closed session of the committee. By House Rules, Ethics Committee proceedings are confidential, and will not be made public until a final report is released by the committee.

The latest push in the General Assembly to assist potential employees to enter the workforce centers around providing adequate childcare for workers with children. Recently, the Senate Governmental Accountability Committee heard testimony on legislation that would establish tax credits for employers who make contributions for their employees’ childcare expenses and would also set up a tax credit framework for parents who pay for childcare and childcare providers. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce has been leading the push for passage of the bill, along with numerous trade and retail associations and organizations. Additionally, the legislation is a priority for Governor Mike Parson and has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

Filing for elected office remains open through March 26 for statewide offices, all 163 House seats, and 17 of the 34 Senate seats. We will keep you appraised of any news on that front, along with other political happenings that impact ASA and the construction industry.

Although the 2024 legislative session is well underway, not a single piece of legislation has found its way to the Governor’s desk. As we have written about before, Senate Republicans have continued their infighting, with the end result being very little floor action on legislative issues. However, in an unusual turn, the Senate passed its first piece of legislation, SJR74 which would modify the initiative petition (IP) process.  Passage of this legislation was the result of a multi-day standoff.

Republicans are seeking to make the process of changing statute or the constitution via an initiative petition process more difficult, especially in light of current efforts to overturn the state’s abortion ban. Democrats say that changing the process interferes with the ability of citizens to have a voice in modifying the laws of the state. SJR74 now makes its way to the House we expect changes will be made.  This issue will continue to dominate discussions in Jefferson City until the end of session.

House members have been working steadily through numerous priorities as session progresses, as they have already sent nearly a dozen bills to the Senate for their consideration. A recent issue on the House floor caused tempers to flare, as HB1659, a measure which changes provisions in various aspects of criminal law, was approved by the body. The bill was up for debate in the House immediately after members had returned to Jefferson City after having attended the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl celebration, where gunfire left one person dead, and 23 others injured. Many legislators used the opportunity to recount their experiences during the shooting, with Democrats calling for stricter gun laws to be inserted in the crime bill as it moved forward. Heated debate followed, as Democrats and Republicans sparred over 2^nd amendment issues. The bill eventually passed by a vote of 120-26. House Democrats then held a press conference calling for stricter gun laws, with Minority Leader Crystal Quade saying that she will be filing a proposed constitutional amendment to allow cities to write local gun laws that are stricter than state laws and allow cities to regulate concealed weapons. We are certain to see gun debates occur in both chambers throughout the legislative session.

Some House members have also continued their effort to fundamentally change the way MoDOT operates in the state. Numerous bills have been heard in the House Transportation Accountability Committee, including some that would dissolve the Highway and Transportation Commission, make the Director of MoDOT a cabinet position appointed by the Governor, and have all funds expended from the State Road Fund subject to legislative approval. The passage of such a bill would remove the current structure of MoDOT from the state constitution, a system which has been in place since 1921, and which was designed to keep politics out of distribution of funds. Although we don’t expect any of the proposals to gain traction, the bills certainly have caused much discussion.

Important dates ahead include the opening of candidate filing for elected office on February 27, with the period remaining open until March 26. The halfway point of the legislative session is also closing in on us, as the legislative spring break – considered the halfway point of session – runs from March 18-22.

We will continue to keep you updated through our weekly email updates regarding the political happenings in Jefferson City and around the state that impact ASA and the construction industry.
Nikki Strong, Strong Consulting Group.

The 2024 legislative session is underway as lawmakers gathered in Jefferson City at noon on January 3 for the opening day ceremonies. The prediction of a dysfunctional year in the Senate by most Capitol observers seems to be coming true, at least during the first few weeks.

At issue again, and in a repeat from previous years, is in-party fighting between far-right conservative Republicans and “regular” Republicans. The far-right faction, who had previously called themselves the Conservative Caucus, have rebranded themselves into the Missouri Freedom Caucus and appear to be a sub-group of the Washington, D.C. based House Freedom Caucus. While the session started with Freedom Caucus members stating they wanted to move forward with important legislation, that came to a sudden halt on January 18, when they mounted a nine-hour filibuster to block a slate of gubernatorial appointments that needed Senate confirmation. At issue was their complaint that Initiative Petition (IP) reform hasn’t moved through the process quickly enough. The discussion on the Senate floor quickly turned into hours of angry debate and name calling. As of the writing of this newsletter, there has been no resolution to the standoff and the Freedom Caucus has promised to continue blocking all of Governor Parson’s appointments until they get their way.

The in-fighting has not slowed members of the General Assembly from filing record numbers of bills. To date, nearly 1,800 bills and resolutions have been filed by House and Senate members. While numerous bills will be heard in the committee process, we will see how floor debate shapes the progress and how many of these bills actually get across the finish line.

Filing for elected office in the August primary election begins on February 27. While many questions remain about who will be on the ballot, a handful of candidates have already announced their intentions. Especially noteworthy is the fact that several members of the Missouri Senate will be running for higher office. Senator Holly Rehder has launched her campaign for Lt. Governor, while Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman has announced she will be running for the 3^rd Congressional District to replace retiring Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer. Also in the mix is Senate President Pro-Tem Caleb Rowden and Senator Denny Hosking who are both running for Secretary of State. The fact that numerous Senators are seeking higher office will certainly add to the drama in the chamber as session unfolds.

In other legislative news, the House Committee on Transportation Accountability met earlier in session to get a general update from MoDOT officials on all thing’s transportation related. Committee members learned that the first bid in the series of projects to improve Interstate 70 will be awarded on February 14^th. The $340 million project will focus on the much needed replacement of the 63/70 interchange in Columbia.

The Governor gave his state of the state address on January 24 outlining his budget priorities.  Now the House and Senate budget leaders will meet to determine the scope of the Governor’s recommendations and how they will revise or follow through with his request for the FY25 state budget. The Governor and legislative leaders are preparing for relatively flat revenue growth during the next fiscal year, as they are predicting an uptick in collections of only 0.2 percent. The spending plan must be approved by May 10. The low revenue growth number will cause a slowdown of the spending on new decision items we have seen the past couple years.

We will continue to keep you updated with political happenings in Jefferson City and around the state that impact ASA and the construction industry.  If you aren’t receiving your weekly ASA Legislative Update via e-mail, please contact [email protected] to be added to the list.  Thank you Nikki Strong, Strong Consulting Group.

The 2024 Legislative Session begins at 12 noon on Wednesday, January 3 and will run through Friday, May 17 at 6:00 p.m.  On December 1, legislators began the annual ritual of pre-filing legislation.  The pre-filed bills gave a telling look at the legislative priorities of our state representatives and senators.  This year marked a near-record number of bills pre-filed, where well over 1,000 bills and resolutions were filed within the first week and throughout the month.  This was a huge increase over the amount filed in the same period last year, where 769 legislative initiatives were filed.  Legislators may continue to file bills until March 1.

As session gets under way, it marks the beginning of the end for two highly respected members of the Missouri Senate. Karla Eslinger, of the 33^rd district, which covers six counties in southern Missouri, has accepted an appointment from the State Board of Education to be Missouri’s next Commissioner of Education. Eslinger will finish the upcoming legislative session, and then take the lead at her new position as current Commissioner Marge Vandeven plans to retire at the end of June. Eslinger holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis and served in various capacities in public education before her service in the Senate. State Representative Brad Hudson (R-Stone and Christian Counties) had already announced plans to challenge Eslinger in next years’ primary election. At this juncture, he appears to be the only Republican candidate for the position.

Senator Elaine Gannan also recently announced her plans to forgo a second term as she will not seek reelection in 2024. Gannon currently serves in the 3^rd Senatorial District which includes Crawford, Ste. Genevieve, St. Francios, Washington and southern Jefferson Counties.  Gannon issued a press release stating that her Senate service has limited the time she is able to spend with her family, especially her grandchildren.  At this juncture, it appears this race will have a crowded primary of three Republican candidates have announced their interest in running for this open seat, including current state representatives Michael Henderson and Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway.

In a recent hearing of a House appropriations subcommittee, Department of Transportation director Patrick McKenna told committee members that the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has the authority to make expenditures regardless of the opinion and directives of the General Assembly. McKenna was referring to an October court ruling where Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker ruled in favor of the commission after they filed suit when the Office of Administration refused to implement a pay increase for MoDOT employees. The pay plan was approved by the commission, but was never approved by the legislature, thus setting up a battleground over which branch of government controls MoDOT spending. Walker was slated to hear arguments on December 18 on a motion by the Attorney General’s office to reconsider his decision. Regardless of the decision made by Walker, one would assume the losing side will appeal the ruling. It appears the battle over who controls the purse strings of the road and bridge fund is far from over.

The far-right branch of Missouri Senate Republicans – formerly called the Conservative Caucus – has rebranded themselves into the Missouri Freedom Caucus. A number of former Conservative Caucus members recently issued a release with their updated name and several new members, including some House members. Included in the group are Senators Koenig, Hoskins, Brattin, Carter, Eigel, and Schroer. House members included Representatives Keathley, Boyd, and Sparks. It remains to be seen if the newly named group will be obstructionists as they were in past sessions, but they have already launched social media attacks at Senate leadership.

We will begin sending weekly legislative updates to ASA members shortly after the legislative session begins on January 3.  These weekly updates will continue until the legislative session ends in mid-May.  As a reminder, weekly legislative updates including information regarding the general activities of the legislature and also include updates on legislation that directly impacts ASA members during the week.  We will continue to keep you informed as the legislative session progresses.

The drama surrounding Speaker of the House Dean Plocher has continued throughout the month of November as the House Ethics Committee held two hearings that reportedly focused on Plocher’s actions which we reported on last month. At issue are whether Plocher pressured staff to implement a costly IT program, the firing of his long-time chief of staff, and his requests for personal reimbursement for travel expenses, even though the expenses were paid for by his campaign and not him personally.

The issue of travel reimbursement caused the most uproar with Plocher’s fellow Republicans, as several House and Senate members issued statements calling for him to resign. The matter was discussed in early November at the House winter caucus meetings, where many members were critical of Plocher’s actions and implied that he should resign, but no one actually made the call to formally seek his resignation. Most Capitol observers believe the issue is mostly over unless additional information comes to light.

Other actions by Plocher caught the attention of the media this month, as he named his new chief of staff. Former Speaker of the House Rod Jetton was tapped by Plocher to replace recently fired staffer Kenny Ross who had served under four different speakers. Jetton was once a rising star in Republican politics, serving as a state representative from Bollinger County and leading the House as speaker for four years. He also orchestrated numerous republican victories in House races around the state, which helped the GOP gain supermajority status in the lower chamber. However, after he left office, he was investigated for bribery and conspiracy over fallout from large political contributions, but no charges were ever filed. In a separate incident, he pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge after being accused of drugging and assaulting a woman during a sexual encounter.

Senate Republicans recently held their pre-session caucus meetings at Beg Cedar Lodge south of Branson. The meetings give senators the opportunity to discuss their priorities for the upcoming session and hopefully set an agenda to avoid the in-party fighting that has plagued the senate in recent years. The disagreements have been between “Conservative Caucus” senate members and the remaining more moderate Republicans. However, most of the conservative members were not in attendance, so it remains to be seen if the gridlock will continue.

In other news, Governor Mike Parson recently announced the appointment of Ginger Gooch as the newest member of the Missouri Supreme Court. Gooch was currently a judge on the Southern District Court of Appeals and was a private practice attorney for many years before her appointment to the appeals court. The appointment of Gooch means the makeup of the court will be majority female, and it also gives southwest Missouri representation on the court as she resides in Springfield. Parson had stated recently that he felt that the southwest part of the state was underrepresented on the court.

Finally, House and Senate members are currently busy drafting their legislative priorities for the next legislative session, as prefiling of bills begins on December 1. Session begins at noon on January 3, 2024

It’s been a fairly quiet month in Jefferson City as legislators are spending their time in their home districts preparing their legislative agenda for the upcoming session that begins in January, while some are gearing up to run for higher office.

There have been a few newsworthy items coming from the House of Representatives, where a dust-up occurred recently over a proposed contract for some IT related services in the lower chamber. At issue is a software program used by House members to manage constituent information services. In a report released by The Missouri Independent, which is a news organization covering state government, fingers were pointed at House Speaker Dean Plocher who had apparently pushed for the legislature to possibly contract the constituent services program with a private company. The current system used by House members is an in-house program developed by the House IT staff and has been used by members for many years. After reviewing the option to outsource the program, a decision was reached by a legislative committee to continue using the in-house program, but not before staff members made statements that they had “growing concerns of unethical and perhaps unlawful conduct” by Plocher in his desire to outsource the services. The issue drew the attention of law enforcement, as an FBI agent attended the committee hearing when the issue was brought up for discussion. No charges have been brought against Plocher who issued a statement saying that “No one has asked, received, nor will receive, any special treatment in regard to software contracts or any contracts while I am speaker.” Plocher has announced his intention to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2024 and is being challenged by Senator Holly Rehder in what will be a hotly contested Republican primary.

Speaker Plocher made the news again in mid-October, as he fired his chief of staff in an abrupt and unexpected move. In a letter to House members, Plocher noted that the office of chief of staff had been “vacated.” Many in the Capitol were surprised by the abrupt ousting of long-time staffer Kenny Ross.  Ross’s experience and institutional knowledge will be hard to replace as he has been a respected House staffer having served under the previous four House speakers.  However, that institutional knowledge now will head to the Senate.  Less than an hour after the announcement Ross had been let go, Senate President Caleb Rowden announced that he had hired Ross to serve as Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Missouri Senate. Plocher has not issued any additional statements regarding Ross.

The controversies outlined above could point to strained relationships between House and Senate Republicans for the upcoming legislative session. Another complicating factor is the number of current elected officials running for higher office. In addition to Plocher and Rehder facing off for Lt. Governor, Senators Caleb Rowden, Denny Hoskins, and Representative Adam Schwadron are all vying for Secretary of State, while a handful of Republican House members are running against each other for several Senate positions. Many Capitol observers believe this will be a recipe for excessive grandstanding on the House and Senate floor and very little productive legislative activity.

In the meantime, we will continue to provide you with political updates from Jefferson City and around the state.  Nikki Strong, Strong Consulting Group

The month of September was a busy month as another veto session is in the books.  Members of the General Assembly gathered in Jefferson City on September 13 for the constitutionally mandated session. Veto session presents House and Senate members the opportunity to attempt overrides of any vetoes issued by the Governor on legislation from the legislative session that ended last May.

As mentioned previously, Governor Mike Parson issued more than 200 line-item vetoes on budget items, which included many infrastructure, construction, and capital improvement projects around the state, with many located in St. Charles County. Parson had informed members of the General Assembly that the vetoes were necessary in order to maintain a balanced budget throughout the current fiscal year, even though the state is sitting on a record budget surplus. With current tax revenues remaining flat, Parson believes cautious spending is in order to prevent budget shortfalls down the road.

House members wasted little time once the session began to successfully override 14 of Parson’s vetoes, promptly sending those overrides to the Senate for their consideration. However, when the Senate gaveled in, Appropriations Chairman Lincoln Hough informed his colleagues that he would not take action on any of the Governor’s vetoes, thus ending the 2023 veto session with no veto overrides.

House Republicans met prior to the start of the veto session to elect their next Speaker of the House. Jonathan Patterson, who is the current Majority Floor leader, was chosen by his peers to lead the chamber beginning with the 2025 legislative session. Patterson, who is a physician from Jackson County, will continue in his role as floor leader during the 2024 session before taking over the role of Speaker in January 2025 as current Speaker Dean Plocher is term limited.

Governor Mike Parson held a flurry of ceremonial bill signings in his Capitol office and throughout the state throughout the month of September, giving supporters and sponsors of various pieces of legislation the opportunity to speak about their bills alongside the Governor. All legislation passed during the 2023 session became law on August 28 – unless the legislation provided for a later effective date.

The makeup of the Missouri Supreme Court has changed as Governor Parson recently appointed Kelly C. Broniec to a seat on the high court. Broniec had been serving as chief judge of the Eastern District of Missouri Court of Appeals. She replaces retiring justice George W. Draper III, who was appointed to the spot in 2011 by then-Governor Jay Nixon. Draper stepped down after he had reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. The appointment of Broniec is historic as it marks the first time the majority of judges on the court are female. Judge Patricia Breckenridge will also announce her retirement soon as she will reach retirement age in October. The Missouri Constitution requires judges to retire by age 70, or they automatically forfeit their pensions.

Next on the Capitol calendar is the Senate Republican caucus in early November, where they will attempt to prioritize their legislative agenda for the next session. Prefiling of bills will begin on December 1. We will continue to keep you updated of any political happenings in Jefferson City and around the state.  Nikki Strong, Strong Consulting Group.