Here's what bills did (and didn't) pass during Missouri's 2024 legislative session

As the dust settles on the 2024 legislative session, many of the bills passed by the Missouri General Assembly await Gov. Mike Parson’s final consideration.

Parson, who is currently on a trade mission in Italy until June 4, has the ability to veto all or part of any appropriations bills funding government operations, but can only fully veto all other bills. If he chooses not to sign them or take no action, it passes the legislation by default.

A few bills have already been signed by Parson, such as two of the 18 state budget bills, including a supplemental appropriations bill to fund Missouri troops at the Texas border, a bill expanding the MOBUCK$ low-interest loan program, legislation blocking abortion providers or affiliates from receiving Medicaid funds, and a bill blocking a controversial landfill in Kansas City.

He also signed an omnibus education bill that would expand the MOScholars program statewide, raise teacher pay and establish charter schools in the state, among other things. On the same day, he signed a bill making additional changes to state education programs, which addressed what some critics felt were faults on the omnibus education bill.

What bills does Parson have yet to sign or veto?

There were a total of 46 bills passed this legislative session, 18 of those being appropriations bills to fund the $51.7 billion state budget, although some lawmakers are predicting the need for a special session to provide more funding for state departments. So far, Parson still has 23 policy related bills and 16 state budget bills to review.

Among those are two Senate joint resolutions that will require further approval from voters to be enacted. One of these provisions will ask voters if they wish to ban ranked choice voting, and another asks if voters want to allow the administration of justice to “include the levying of costs and fees to support salaries and benefits for sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, and circuit attorneys.”

Legislation sponsored by Senate Appropriations Chair Lincoln Hough to renew a key healthcare tax that provides $4.5 billion in state funds also passed, but not without a lengthy filibuster from the Missouri Freedom Caucus. Many lawmakers bemoaned the fact that approving must-pass bills such as this is used as a bargaining chip to negotiate the passage of other legislation.

Another bill awaiting a decision by Parson would expand the powers of the state auditor's office, allowing Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick and his team the ability to follow up on whistleblower tips about fraud with an investigation.

Last year, lawmakers passed a bill establishing a property tax exemption for seniors that left many counties with questions about how to implement it. This year, legislation from state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer was passed, which seeks to address some of the concerns. Lawmakers acknowledged that this fix wasn’t perfect either, but it was a step in the right direction towards implementing a uniform tax exemption statewide.

An omnibus public safety bill successfully navigated its way through both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly. This legislation, also sponsored by Sen. Luetkemeyer, establishes “Blair’s Law,” which would ban celebratory gunfire, and “Max’s Law,” which increases the punishment for hurting or killing a law enforcement animal, among other items included in the bill.

House Rep. Dave Griffith sponsored a bill that passed aimed at preventing veteran suicide. State Rep. Ed Lewis sponsored legislation aimed at regulating the land application of industrial wastewater, an issue that has been the topic of much public concern in Southwest Missouri.

State Sen. Curtis Trent saw three of his bills passed this session, one of which establishes the "Missouri Rural Access to Capital Act" that provides a tax credit for certain business investments in rural areas of the state. Another bill contains multiple provisions related to financial institutions, and his final bill regulates the issuance of eviction moratoriums.

Another bill passed this session hopes to increase access to prescription drug discounts for those who are uninsured or have low incomes by stopping pharmaceutical companies from restricting 340B drugs.

A bill sponsored by state Sen. Rusty Black and handled by state Rep. Melanie Stinnett in the House would require that any "prescribed pediatric extended care facility" be licensed by the Department of Health and Senior Services.

What failed to pass this legislative session?

The 2024 legislative session was both the longest legislative session due to the ordering of this year's calendar, but also the least productive in terms of non-appropriations bills passed. Republican infighting halted progress in the Missouri Senate on several occasions, resulting in no legislation being passed in that chamber during the final week of session.

Senate Democrats led a 51-hour filibuster to stop legislation aimed at raising the threshold to pass citizen-led constitutional amendments through the initiative petition process. That bill ultimately died when the Missouri House refused to remove the “ballot candy” and the Missouri Senate refused to take up the bill again without those provisions removed.

Although Gov. Parson said that increasing access to affordable child care was a top priority in his State of the State speech, legislators were unable to follow through. A bill from state Rep. Brenda Shields gained some traction in establishing child-care tax credits, but it was unable to make it through the Missouri Senate.

More: Four initiative petitions submit signatures, await verification for 2024 ballot access

For many years, Missouri legislators have sought to ban the sale of state agricultural land to foreign nations. Parson issued an executive order banning these sales near military institutions before the session started. At the time, Parson called it a placeholder, in case the legislature was unable to get anything done about it again this year.

It seems he was right in those suspicions, because no bills directly prohibiting this practice were passed this session. Additionally, efforts to force state pension funds and public endowments to divest from countries deemed as foreign adversaries were also unsuccessful.

One bill nearly made it across the finish line, but was prevented from being debated on the House floor due to a procedural technicality. Legislation from state Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder would have raised the age of marriage, prohibiting children from engaging into legal unions that they could not legally exit until they became adults.

Lawmakers also tried to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids, such as delta-8, but were unsuccessful in getting that bill completed before the session ended. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services sent out a notice last month that consumers should avoid these products.

A bill from Sen. Hough would have allowed other universities, including Missouri State University, to offer research doctorates and certain professional degrees. Currently only the University of Missouri is able to offer these degrees, and it will remain that way for another year since his bill failed to pass this session.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: These Missouri bills passed in 2024 await Gov. Mike Parson's signature