The Missouri legislature finished its work on Friday without the contention or dramatic standoffs that have highlighted the final weeks of session in recent years.
But with lawmakers returning home, the fate of some key GOP agenda items will be up to voters – including Gov. Mike Kehoe's plan to expand Missouri's sales taxes to get rid of the state income tax.
Lawmakers spent Friday passing a number of significant, but mainly uncontroversial, bills. They included wide-ranging public safety legislation that features an automatic expungement program, a bill moving St. Charles County school board elections to November, a ballot item affirming that most of the state's sheriffs will remain elected, an increase in the speed limit on rural highways from 70 mph to 75, and an additional proposal sent to voters creating a "sovereign wealth fund" to one day eliminate all taxes. The legislature passed 100 bills this session compared to 67 last year.
Earlier in the week, the legislature passed an economic development bill aimed at converting the AT&T tower in downtown St. Louis into residences. Lawmakers also passed bills dealing with health care, elections, age verification for pornography websites and providing rights to "a child born alive during or after an abortion or attempted abortion."
Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O'Laughlin, R-Shelbina, said in her final speech to senators that close relationships between colleagues can go a long way.
"Compromise is kind of a dirty word it seems like out in the public," O'Laughlin said. "It's what you have to do. It's the reality of life."
Some of the bills that didn't end up passing before the end of session included education legislation that would have attached an A through F grade to schools – as well as measures aimed at easing the property tax burden on Missourians. Lawmakers also declined to resurrect a measure that the state Supreme Court scuttled that makes it more difficult for judges to revise ballot summary language.
On Thursday, Kehoe said that he already signed an executive order for a grading scale for schools and would continue to pursue the idea in the future.
"I still believe it's appropriate for our parents to understand what grade the district is receiving that their kids are going to school at," Kehoe said. "And we'll continue to pursue that work with the legislature as we have to in the future."
The property tax legislation that passed the Senate earlier in the session included requiring the individual assessment of different property tax subclasses. Siloing the subclasses so increases in the assessed value of one type of property, like residential or commercial, do not affect others may allow taxpayers to benefit from lower tax rates.
"It's unfortunate, and I hope that the next year or the year after, perhaps a change in things on the other side of this building will have an effect on that," said Rep. Tim Taylor, R-Bunceton.
Senate Democrats blamed the failure of the property tax legislation on the House – contending they were willing to compromise to get something across the finish line. Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Clay County, said "our commitment was to pass a comprehensive property tax reform package that was moderate in terms of the impact on the taxing jurisdictions."
"The bottom line is, folks, the Republicans in the House moved the goal post over and over and over again," Nurrenbern said.
A largely tranquil week
With the possible exception of the "Born Alive" legislation, most of the final week of session featured little fireworks and some bipartisanship. This was the first time since 2023 that both chambers adjourned on the Friday deadline instead of earlier because of disputes.
That's in sharp contrast to 2025, when Republicans forcibly cut off debate on a ballot measure to overturn a 2024 abortion rights amendment and legislation repealing voter-approved paid sick leave. Other recent final weeks showcased factionalism within the Missouri Republican Caucus or sharp disagreements between the House and Senate.
"Not every disagreement needs to become a public battle. Some of the most important work happens quietly in private conversations," said Senate Majority Leader Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville. "People choose patience over pride in relationships that we're having."
The rancor from 2025 prompted a Senate slowdown at the beginning of the session. But Democratic Senate leaders say they were able to move forward after they made it more difficult to forcibly cut off debate with what's known as a previous question motion.
"I think all of us came in here as a group with a commitment to rebuilding the Senate," said Sen. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia.
Voters will decide
Missourians will vote on ballot items the legislature sent them on the near-total abortion ban, a measure making it harder to pass some constitutional amendments and Kehoe's proposal to expand sales taxes to eliminate the state's income tax.
"Instead of making life more affordable, Republicans' disastrous plan would make life more expensive than it already is for working Missourians in a classic case of robbing from the poor and giving to the rich by eliminating the income tax," said House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City. "Few, if any, of us have heard from a single constituent wanting to eliminate the income tax, and they sure haven't asked for higher sales taxes."
Kehoe said on Thursday that he expected voters to respond favorably to his plan.
"I believe it will be successful," Kehoe said. "I want to say that I think Missourians generally will agree to wanting to be able to keep more of their money."
End of an era
While lawmakers will return to the Capitol for a veto session in September, Friday was effectively the final substantive day for the top leaders in the House and Senate.
House Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee's Summit, is leaving due to term limits – though he is hoping to stay in the General Assembly by running for a hotly contested Senate seat. House Majority Leader Alex Riley, R-Springfield, is expected to become speaker next year.
Both O'Laughlin and Luetkemeyer are leaving the chamber due to term limits, and their successors in Senate leadership are unknown at the moment.
O'Laughlin in particular used her farewell speech to reflect on her transformation from a member of the Conservative Caucus that bedeviled GOP Senate leadership to the leader of the entire chamber.
"I've made a lot of friends, but I've also made a few enemies. And I just got a note from one who said, 'Goodbye and good riddance. You can go back to driving a school bus,'" said O'Laughlin, who did not identify the texter. "As I say, you have to have a sense of humor, kind of a thick skin, which I absolutely do have.
"So I think that's why I've made it this far," she added.
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