The Week of April 27, 2026 |
On the Floor This week, the following bills were discussed on the Senate floor:
The Senate granted first round approval to Senate Bill 1012, which would establish the AI Non-Sentience and Responsibility Act, including that an artificial intelligence system cannot be granted legal personhood and cannot serve as the head of a company.
The Senate third read and passed the following bills this week:
The following bills were truly agreed to and finally passed this week and will be sent to the governor’s desk for his consideration:
Bills and Committees Judiciary Committee: The committee heard House Bill 2848 would establish the offense of masked intimidation. A person commits this offense if the person intentionally harasses, intimidates or threatens any other person while hiding or concealing their face with a mask, hood or any other article or device for the purpose of concealing their identity and with the intent to place another person in reasonable fear for their physical safety.
Appropriations Committee: The committee heard four appropriations bills this week:
Other News Bipartisan majority in the House rejects purported parental rights expansion On April 30, the Missouri House of Representatives handed a bipartisan defeat to legislation purporting to expand parental rights that many lawmakers found flawed and fraught with unintended consequences. The bill was rejected on a vote of 70-60, with eight lawmakers voting “present.” A minimum of 82 votes is constitutionally required to win House passage.
While during debate lawmakers expressed support for House Bill 2426’s general intent of strengthening parental rights, they found the details of the legislation wanting. Some provisions raised concerns about shielding abusive parents from punishment and undermining protections for abused children. Others sparked debate about undermining the ability of local schools to educate children by empowering individual parents to micromanage what all children are taught.
A requirement that public school districts make all of their financial data available in minute detail online raised worries that it would impose substantial costs on local schools to create and maintain those databases. Such public financial information is already available to anyone who wants it through an open records request.
Another problematic provision said “a governmental authority shall not encourage or coerce a child to withhold information from the child’s parent.” However, this created a broad exception authorizing law enforcement personnel to coerce children into not disclosing things to their parents, without limiting such coercion to a compelling law enforcement purpose.
Lawmakers create appeals process for high school sports
On April the Missouri House of Representatives voted 92-39, with three lawmakers voting “present,” to send legislation to the governor creating a new state commission to hear appeals of decisions made by the Missouri State High School Activities Association, the private governing authority for most school sports and other extracurricular activities. The Senate approved the bill weeks earlier on a vote of 20-8.
As originally proposed, Senate Bill 863 sought an outright state takeover MSHSAA and was one of the top legislative priorities the governor set forth during his annual State of the State Address in January. Since it was never clear exactly how the state had the constitutional authority to seize control of a private, not-for-profit organization, the Senate opted to avoid that legal question and instead create an appeals panel that exists outside of MSHSAA.
The new Interscholastic Athletic Oversight Commission would consist of five members appointed by the governor and serve as the final adjudicator of appeals after MSHSAA’s internal appeals process is exhausted. The panel would be housed under the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Both public and private schools belong to MSHSAA, which is governed by board of directors elected by its members. The organization would maintain its independence under SB 863.
Senate panel advances push to limit classroom screen time The Senate Education Committee voted 4-1 on April 28 in favor of legislation requiring individual Missouri school districts and charter schools to adopt local policies limiting screen time and the use of technology in kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms. The bill, which the House of Representatives approved a month ago on a vote of 143-10, now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
As originally proposed, House Bill 2230 sought to require schools to restrict in-class screen time to 45 minutes a day. However, a House committee eliminated the hard daily cap in favor of letting local schools set their own policies.
The move to limit screen time comes amid concerns among educators that overreliance on technology in schools could be detrimental to students’ long-term retention of what they’ve learned. House Bill 2230 also directs the state Literacy Advisory Council to develop standards for reintroducing cursive writing instruction into public school curriculum.
House approves shifting to permanent Daylight Saving Time The Missouri House of Representatives voted 107-31 on April 28 to advance legislation that would eventually allow the state to shift to permanent year-round Daylight Saving Time, forgoing the need for Missourians to adjust their clocks by an hour twice a year.
The switch to permanent DST, however, would be dependent on congressional approval and neighboring states also agreeing to make the change. During debate over the bill, lawmakers expressed general agreement with doing away with biennial time shifts. However, some advocated for instead making Standard Time permanent since research has shown it carries health benefits as it more naturally aligns with people’s internal clocks.
House Bill 1758 now advances to the Senate. Its chances of winning final passage appear unlikely, however, since the bill may not be a priority for senators during the last two weeks of the 2026 legislative session, which ends May 15.
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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. |