Missouri House Update:
The Missouri House began the week by third reading 8 bills and finished perfecting 23 and third reading 14 additional bills as members pushed a sizeable amount of legislation to the Senate with one week remaining before legislators head out for break.
Among the notable measures was HB 2710, sponsored by Dane Diehl, which was perfected and third read this week by a vote of 96-53. The bill establishes an A–F accountability grading system for schools and advances part of the Governor’s broader education and school choice agenda.
Another major policy development came Wednesday when HJR 174, sponsored by Speaker Jon Patterson, was voted out of committee as a substitute that was merged with Representative Bishop Davidson’s HJR 173. The proposal carries forward Governor Mike Kehoe’s effort to phase out Missouri’s individual income tax.
House Joint Resolution 173 & 174 asks Missouri voters to amend the state constitution to gradually reduce and eventually eliminate the individual income tax as state revenues grow. To offset revenue loss, the proposal would allow lawmakers to broaden the tax base and expand sales and use taxes.
The legislation had stalled for a few weeks as legislators constructing the measure were fine-tuning additional “guardrails” to add to the legislation to address some of the concerns. The bill as amended will require local governments to use any new revenue from sales tax expansion to reduce local property tax and other local tax rates, so there are no local windfalls and there were some additional protections added to ensure k-12 education funding is not adversely affected. It is important to note at this time there are still no “carve outs” in the bill that would exempt agriculture, real estate and health care.
Missouri Senate Update:
The Senate worked late into Wednesday night and early Thursday morning negotiating SB 888, sponsored by Senator Nick Schroer (R-St. Charles), which proposes sweeping changes to Missouri’s juvenile and criminal justice systems.
The legislation would expand when juveniles can be fingerprinted and certified to stand trial as adults, allows counties to jointly establish and fund juvenile detention facilities, and require greater information sharing between juvenile officers and law enforcement agencies. The bill also revises sentencing laws by establishing new minimum percentages of prison sentences that must be served before parole eligibility based on felony classification. It expands the list of “dangerous felonies” that require offenders to serve 85 percent of their sentence, increases penalties for certain sexual and human trafficking offenses, and eliminates conditional release for offenses committed after January 1, 2028.
Budget Update:
There was no movement this week from the full House Budget Committee, but action is expected soon. The budget Chairman is expected to release the House Committee Substitute version of the budget anytime. Markup of the operating budget (which is predicated on the release of the new House Committee Substitute) is anticipated Wednesday or Thursday next week, just before lawmakers leave for spring break.
Meanwhile, the Senate held budget hearings this week from both the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Missouri Department of Social Services as part of the ongoing appropriations process.
Other News:
The Senate took up the supplemental budget, HB 14, approving approximately $3.164 billion to address funding needs in the current fiscal year. The bill was slightly modified, requiring it to be sent back to the House before being Truly Agreed To and Finally Passed, making it the first bill of the session sent to the Governor’s desk.
2026 Dates of Interest:
March 12-22: Legislative Spring Break (No Session)
Monday, April 6: Easter Holiday (No Session)
Friday, May 8: Deadline to Pass a Balanced Budget for FY 2027
Friday, May 15: Last Day of Session
Wednesday, September 16: Veto Session
Reviewed 2026-03-17