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Members of the Missouri House celebrate the end of the 2025 legislative session with the traditional paper toss on May 15 (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications).

For the first time in years, the legislative session wasn性视界传媒檛 defined by Republican infighting.听

The GOP supermajority managed to mend fences and get along most of the year. And even though both the House and Senate left town early last week 性视界传媒� an historically rare occurrence that is quickly becoming the norm 性视界传媒� they still managed to send 49 bills to the governor性视界传媒檚 desk, put two proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot and pass a $53 billion state budget.听

It wasn性视界传媒檛 until the final week when the wheels came off, though this time the culprit was squabbles with Democrats.听

Republicans to cut off debate and pass bills seeking to repeal two voter-approved initiatives protecting abortion rights and increasing access to paid sick leave. The move effectively ended the session two days early and killed a litany of unrelated bills in the process.听

So who were the big winners and losers of the legislative session?聽

WINNERS

Mike Kehoe

Not everything went Mike Kehoe性视界传媒檚 way during his first legislative session as governor.听

One of his got spiked in the Senate, and he pushed his stadium funding plan so late in the session it will in a long-shot bid to pass it and prevent the Royals and Chiefs from moving to Kansas.听

But he got most of the big-ticket items he called for when he laid out his agenda in his , highlighted by a capital gains tax cut, state control of St. Louis police and a $50 million private school voucher program.

He also earned rave reviews from state lawmakers, who marveled at a governor actually leaving his office to work personally with the legislature.听

性视界传媒淲e made it a priority to walk the halls, not just to meet with lawmakers, but to build relationships, have real discourse and understand what mattered most to the people they represent, because progress starts with relationships and open conversations,性视界传媒� Kehoe told reporters Friday.

The state性视界传媒檚 budget may never be as rosy again, with federal funding in limbo and state revenues not keeping up with projections. And with tough fights over stadium funding in the near term and a mid-term election on the horizon, Kehoe性视界传媒檚 honeymoon with the legislature could be short lived.听

Whether his first year as governor will be Kehoe性视界传媒檚 high-water mark is anybody性视界传媒檚 guess. But he undoubtedly just finished one of the best legislative sessions any governor has had in years.听

Dirk Deaton

The pattern of crafting a state budget has become familiar over the years.听

The House works for months to get its budget plan in place, then the Senate basically rewrites everything before it gets sent to the governor.听

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.听

This year, House Budget Chairman Dirk Deaton certainly had to swallow a lot of spending he didn性视界传媒檛 like. But he held firm and won passage of the governor性视界传媒檚 that the Senate wanted to eliminate.听

Then, just hours before the constitutional deadline to finish work on the budget, and after the Senate had already gone home for the week, Deaton orchestrated the 性视界传媒� sinking projects for health care, education and law enforcement across the state and creating a bipartisan backlash that helped derail the governor性视界传媒檚 stadium funding plan.听

The long-term consequences of Deaton性视界传媒檚 move on the House性视界传媒檚 relationship with the Senate still aren性视界传媒檛 clear. But it solidified his reputation as a budget hawk willing to take extraordinary steps to keep state spending in check.听

Senate Democrats

The session certainly didn性视界传媒檛 end the way Senate Democrats would have liked.听

Efforts to protect two voter-approved initiatives 性视界传媒� an abortion rights constitutional amendment and a paid sick leave law 性视界传媒斅爓ent up in flames when Republicans went nuclear and shut down debate to force repeal bills to a vote.听

The 10 Democrats in the 34-member Senate had already spent months watching a suddenly unified GOP supermajority eliminate taxes on capital gains, take control of the St. Louis police, ease regulations on utilities and implement new hurdles in the initiative petition process.听

Yet despite the inglorious ending and parade of GOP wins, Democrats were successful at ensuring no high-profile bill cleared the Senate this year without at least a few Democratic priorities tacked on.听

The capital gains tax cut also expanded a property tax credit for the elderly and disabled that has been a longstanding Democratic priority. And it included sales tax exemptions for diapers and feminine hygiene products.听

Democrats won additions to the St. Louis police bill banning the shackling of pregnant prisoners, establishing a fund for exonerated prisoners to receive restitution and limiting what jails and prisons can charge inmates for phone calls.

A bill allowing Missouri Farm Bureau to sell health plans also requires all health plans to cover extended supplies of birth control and expands access to testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

Next year性视界传媒檚 legislative session may not be as fruitful for either party (see below). And it性视界传媒檚 doubtful Democrats will look back at 2025 fondly. But the small-ball approach of making bills they hate a little less terrible scored the party some unexpected wins this year.听

Utility corporations

For the first time in nearly 50 years, Missouri性视界传媒檚 major electric utilities will be able to include the in the rates customers pay for service.

Written specifically to encourage the construction of new natural gas-based generation, the new law could also be used to help finance a . The law banning rates that include costs for construction work in progress was approved by voters in 1976 in response to the costs of the Callaway Energy Center, a 1,200 megawatt reactor near Fulton.

The utility companies employed 性视界传媒渟quadrons性视界传媒� of lobbyists to pass the bill, complained state Rep. Don Mayhew, a Republican from Crocker. But they stitched together bipartisan majorities in both the Missouri House and Senate, getting votes from 20 Democrats and 76 Republicans in the lower chamber as it was sent to Kehoe, who signed it.

Just days later, Evergy, a major power supplier in western Missouri, announced plans to construct a near Maryville.

LOSERS

The 2026 legislative session

The final day of the legislative session ended when Republicans deployed the 性视界传媒淧Q,性视界传媒� a rule allowing leadership to over the objections of any senators trying to slow things down.听

The maneuver hasn性视界传媒檛 been used by the Senate in five years. Before last week, the Senate had only used it 18 times since 1970.听

Democrats were furious, both because the GOP went nuclear after a session marked by negotiation and compromise and because they did so to roll back laws enacted by the voters just months earlier.听

Knowing Democrats性视界传媒� response to the PQ would be to spend the final days of session using procedural hijinks of their own to muck up the process, Republicans adjourned for the year.

Senate leaders have historically been hesitant to utilize the PQ because it generates lasting bitterness 性视界传媒� and sparks retaliation. And that性视界传媒檚 exactly what Democrats promised as they were leaving town last week.听

The bad blood could spill into a special session next month for the governor性视界传媒檚 stadium funding plan. But just as likely, it could lead to wall-to-wall gridlock when lawmakers return in January.听

性视界传媒淔rom this point forward性视界传媒verything is going to be so hard around here,性视界传媒� said Senate Democratic Leader Doug Beck. 性视界传媒淚t性视界传媒檚 going to be very hard.性视界传媒�

Direct democracy

Missouri voters in 2010 overwhelmingly enacted tougher standards on dog breeders in the hopes of eliminating the state性视界传媒檚 reputation as the puppy-mill capital of America.

A few months later, lawmakers repealed the law and .

In the years since, the legislature repealed a enacted by initiative petition in 2020; refused to implement until the state Supreme Court ordered it to in 2021; and this year repealed a that 58% of voters enacted in November.听

Republicans also put a constitutional amendment banning abortion on the 2026 ballot, months after voters enshrined .听

GOP lawmakers are quick to note that in the same elections that enacted all these policies, voters also put the GOP in control of every statewide office and sent a supermajority of the party to the legislature.听

And they contend voters were duped into supporting the proposals by well-financed campaigns.

性视界传媒淭his is one of those things, of the problem with direct democracy,性视界传媒� state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, said earlier this year. 性视界传媒淭his is exactly what our founders were expressively against when they formed this nation.性视界传媒�

For Democrats and the activists who backed the initiative petitions, the reality is Republicans aren性视界传媒檛 concerned about the will of the people.听

性视界传媒淭hey disrespect the voters,性视界传媒� Beck said. 性视界传媒淭hey don性视界传媒檛 care.性视界传媒�

Bayer

When Bayer purchased St. Louis-based Monsanto in 2018, it inherited an avalanche of litigation alleging the key ingredient in its Roundup weed killer 性视界传媒� glyphosate 性视界传媒� causes cancer.听

The German pharmaceutical and biotechnology group has paid about $10 billion to settle Roundup claims, according to the , and still faces about 67,000 pending cases.听

Roughly 25,000 of those cases are in Missouri, since Bayer性视界传媒檚 U.S. headquarters is in St. Louis. In 2023, a Cole County jury ordered the company to pay $1.56 billion to three plaintiffs, though a judge later reduced that to $622 million.听

The legal and financial peril has inspired the company to push legislation shielding itself from lawsuits alleging Roundup caused cancer. Two states 性视界传媒� North Dakota and Georgia 性视界传媒� have approved shield legislation.听

But the stakes in Missouri are especially high.听

A group tied to Bayer presenting glyphosate as a benign, beneficial chemical essential to modern agriculture that is at risk thanks to frivolous lawsuits.听

Legislative leaders, along with the governor, lined up in support of the shield legislation.听

The bill eked out of the House with barely enough votes to pass before running into a buzzsaw of opposition in the Senate. Leading the charge was the Senate Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative Republicans lawmakers who in recent years have enjoyed the financial backing of Missouri trial attorneys.听

The four-member Freedom Caucus性视界传媒檚 effort to kill the Roundup bill was joined by five other Republican senators after they were claiming resistance to passing the bill was a betrayal of President Donald Trump性视界传媒檚 fight against China.听

The rising opposition sealed the bill性视界传媒檚 fate, and few expect it to fare any better next year.听

David Wasinger

The first-term GOP lieutenant governor didn性视界传媒檛 mince words earlier this month when he decried how the Senate conducted itself while debating the state budget.

It is time for a change, Wasinger declared while presiding over the chamber, and he vowed to take a more active role in proceedings while also .听

性视界传媒淯h性视界传媒� no,性视界传媒� was the response from Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O性视界传媒橪aughlin.听

A lieutenant governor doesn性视界传媒檛 have any of that power. Wasinger was out of line giving a speech in the Senate chambers in the first place, O性视界传媒橪aughlin said, because that is 性视界传媒渁 right reserved for senators.性视界传媒�

Soon after the kerfuffle, Republican state Sen. Jason Bean of Holcomb demanded Senate staff 性视界传媒� both partisan and nonpartisan 性视界传媒� be directed by leadership not to participate in any efforts by Wasinger to influence the rules or process.听

The next week, with Wasinger presiding, senators began making complicated procedural motions that appeared to befuddle the lieutenant governor. In the confusion, he incorrectly called for a vote on a bill too early, and when he tried to walk everything back left the Senate briefly paralyzed as staff worked to sort things out.听

Wasinger presided for a few more minutes before leaving the dais and sending a letter to Senate leaders informing them he would be absent the rest of the week.听

The Independent性视界传媒檚 Rudi Keller contributed to this story.听