The Week of March 2, 2026 |
On the Floor This week, the following bills were discussed on the Senate floor:
The Senate third read and passed the following bills:
My colleagues and I worked tirelessly through the night to amend SB 888 and try to reach a compromise with the bill’s supporters. While the bill passed, I am not pleased with the way this legislation was handled, and I thought the process was rushed. Simply put, I believe this bill is bad public policy and ultimately will not help rehabilitate and help those in the juvenile justice system.
Bills and Committees Senator May’s Legislation: This week, I was proud to present Senate Bill 943 to the Senate Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee. This legislation would help our communities with the issue of nuisance actions related to property violating city codes or ordinances, or that is structurally unsafe, by fining the owner for the violations.
Judiciary Committee: The committee heard four bills this week. Senate Bill 1015 would establish procedures for authorizing or continuing an individual’s assisted outpatient treatment. This bill was also passed by the committee the same day. Senate Bill 1587 would increase the number of associate circuit judges in Franklin County in the 20th Judicial District from three associate judges to four associate judges. House Bill 2641 would modify the definition of “industrial hemp” and establishes the “Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act,” to specify that all hemp-derived cannabinoid products must be included in the definition of “marijuana” in the Missouri Constitution for the purpose of licensing and sale of these products.
Commerce Committee: The committee heard Senate Bill 1116 this week. It would establish the “Missouri Nuclear Energy Advancement Act,” to allow the construction and operation of nuclear energy generation facilities in the state. The bill requires the facility to be properly licensed, and the state’s emergency preparedness for nuclear energy generation to be sufficient per the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency.
Appropriations Committee: The following departments and offices shared their funding requests for the fiscal year 2027 state operating budget in this week’s hearing:
Other News Committee advances plan to hike sales taxes On Wednesday, March 4, the House Commerce Committee voted 7-3 on straight party lines to advance the governor’s tax plan. The advancing bill could, by some estimates, impose a massive sales tax hike on all goods and services, which would significantly increase the tax burden on most Missourians. The majority caucus members on the committee all supported the measure while the minority caucus members steadfastly opposed.
The full House of Representatives is expected to debate the measure, House Joint Resolutions 173 & 174, sometime next week before the General Assembly adjourns for its annual spring recess on March 12. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is sponsoring the measure.
House Joint Resolutions 173 & 174 would nullify existing state constitutional prohibitions against levying sales taxes on services or real estate transactions, and broaden the authorization of lawmakers “to impose taxes on transactions involving any goods and services.” The legislation also would exempt sales tax expansions from being subject to provisions of the Hancock Amendment that limits growth in state revenue and prohibits lawmakers from imposing major tax increases without voter approval.
In addition, the proposal would override existing constitutional restrictions to allow – for the first time – a sales tax on fuel in addition to the existing 29.5 cent per gallon fuel excise tax. While the fuel tax revenue is constitutionally earmarked for road and bridge projects, proceeds from any new sales tax on fuel could be used for general purposes.
The revenue generated by the governor’s plan would be used to eliminate the state’s individual income tax, which currently provides about two-thirds of the state’s General Revenue funding. Opponents say the move would only shift the tax burden from affluent Missourians to lower- and middle-income taxpayers, who would see an net increase in overall tax burden.
The current ballot language included in the measure fails to mention it would nullify the existing constitutional prohibitions against taxing services or real estate transactions, and overrule the Hancock Amendment’s restrictions on revenue growth or increasing taxes without voter approval.
If it clears both legislative chambers, HJR 173 & 174 would automatically go on the Nov. 3 statewide ballot for voter ratification. However, the governor could exercise his constitutional authority to set the vote for the Aug. 4 primary.
Betting giants already tripled their MO campaign investment After two months of legalized sports gambling in Missouri, the two largest players in industry have already collected nearly triple the amount they invested in the ballot campaign to convince voters to authorize it. They have yet to pay a dime in gambling taxes, the Missouri Independent reported on Feb. 27.
According to the latest monthly report by the Missouri Gaming Commission, 73% of $928 million wagered in Missouri during December and January was handled by online sports books FanDuel and DraftKings, which together collected 77% of the profits from those bets. However, because of the generous deductions written into the constitutional amendment that authorizes sports gambling, neither company has paid taxes on the wagers.
The two companies were among the major funders of the constitutional amendment legalizing sports gambling, which Missouri voters approved in November 2024 by a narrow margin, with the measure winning by just 2,961 votes out of more than 2.95 million cast.
Because gambling companies are allowed to deduct their federal taxes and the value of promotional credits and merchandise offered as incentives to customers from their state tax liability, the state has collected just $659,196 in total tax revenue from sports wagering during the two months it has been available. Since companies are allowed to carry over negative balances from month to month, it increases the possibility that companies will continue to owe little to nothing in state taxes.
House grants final passage to supplementary budget bill On March 5, the Missouri House of Representatives voted 137-13 to grant final approval to a $3 billion supplementary spending bill for the 2026 fiscal year, which runs through June 30. The supplemental bill adds to the nearly $52 billion in state government spending authority already approved for the current fiscal year.
Since the Senate approved it two days earlier on a vote of 24-6, House Bill 2014 now goes to the governor to be signed into law. It is the first bill of the 2026 session to win final passage.
The new spending authority in the supplemental budget includes $518.8 million in general revenue, $1.87 billion in federal money and $670.3 million from other funds. Big ticket appropriations in the bill include additional spending authority for state road and bridge projects and the state’s Medicaid program.
One item the Senate deleted from the governor’s supplementary spending proposal was nearly $1 million the attorney general had requested to purchase new furniture for a satellite office in St. Louis County. The Senate also trimmed most of a $150,000 request to send state tourism officials to Washington, D.C., this summer for the nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations. Those officials will now have to make do with $25,000.
After rewrite, House sends property tax overhaul to Senate After scraping the first version and starting over, the Missouri House of Representatives voted 133-13, with two members voting “present,” on March 5 to advance to the Senate a major overhaul of state laws governing property taxes.
The House granted initial approval to a much more expansive version of the measure, House Bill 2780, on Feb.11 following limited debate, which prompted strong objections from members of the minority caucus who said several provisions hadn’t been adequately reviewed for potential negative impacts. The majority caucus ultimately agreed the bill was flawed, and a week later the House voted to send it back to the House Special Committee on Property Tax Reform for substantial revisions.
The committee stripped out the more controversial and problematic provisions, while still leaving several substantial reforms in place. One key provision remaining in the bill requires local taxing jurisdictions to treat different classes of property – residential, commercial and agricultural – separately when rolling back property tax rates following biennial reassessments. Current practice is to roll back rates as a group, which means a disproportionate spike in values in one classification can produce a tax cut for owners of property in the other two, thus shifting the tax burden to owners of property in the first.
Bill would require jury, not judge, to impose death penalty
The Missouri House of Representatives voted 140-7 to advance legislation prohibiting Missouri judges from unilaterally imposing the death penalty in capital murder cases when the jury has deadlocked over the appropriate sentence. The bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
Missouri is one of just two states – Indiana is the other – that still allow a judge-imposed death sentence. Under House Bill 2747, the judge would be required to sentence the defendant to life imprisonment without possibility of parole in the event the jury couldn’t agree on punishment.
House Bill 2747 also would establish an automatic process for closing records pertaining to a “clean-slate eligible offense,” which is an offense not excluded from eligibility for expungement.
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Thank you for your interest in the legislative process. I look forward to hearing from you on the issues that are important to you this legislative session. If there is anything my office can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 573-751-3599. |