Lawmakers Conclude Productive First Half of Session

As the 2023 session reached its midpoint lawmakers headed into their brief break from legislative action with a long list of accomplishments. 

With eight weeks left in session, there is still a lot of work to do - Missouri State Representative Josh Hurlbert

House Speaker Dean Plocher praised his colleagues for the work they did in the first half of the legislative session. He said, “We began the session with an ambitious agenda focused on building a more prosperous Missouri with opportunities for all. Our members have made good on that promise by working diligently and deliberatively to advance commonsense reforms and solutions that will ensure a quality education for our children, grow our economy, and keep our streets safe. I’m proud of the work we’ve done and ready to work with the Senate and Governor Parson to make sure these proposals make their way into law.”

Before beginning the one-week break, 30 House Bills were sent to the Senate including one piece of legislation truly agreed to by both chambers and signed into law by the governor. Lawmakers will have until Friday, May 12 to have their legislative priorities approved by both the House and Senate and sent to the governor’s desk. 

Some of the priority bills approved during the first half of the legislative session include:

Curbing Violent Crime - HB 301 is a wide-ranging public safety bill that includes a key provision that would allow the governor to appoint a special prosecutor in areas of the state with an excessive homicide rate, most notably St. Louis.

Supporting Law Enforcement - HBs 702, 53, 213, 216, 306 & 359 will take the politics out of policing by placing the St. Louis Police Department under the control of a state-appointed board of commissioners, which will stabilize the department so it can perform the basic job of law enforcement in addition to mandating more officers and increasing officer salaries.

Improving Police Officer Pay - HBs 640 & 729 will help the Kansas City Police Department attract and retain the very best law enforcement personnel by allowing the department to offer better pay to officers and the chief of police. 

Encouraging Entrepreneurship - HB 268 establishes the "Regulatory Sandbox Act" to allow innovators, entrepreneurs, and individuals who are trying to bring new services and products to the market a way to do that outside of the current regulatory framework.

Protecting Missouri Farmland - HBs 903, 465, 430 & 499 is a critical national security bill that would protect fair competition and limit foreign ownership of Missouri farmland by defined enemies of the United States of America. Nations on the “Restrictive Country” list in the bill are defined as China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela.

Missouri State Representative Josh Hurlbert said, “With eight weeks left in session, there is still a lot of work to do, including work to be done on the Governor’s $51 billion budget recommendation. I am looking forward to the final sprint!”

KPGZ News - Jim Dickerson contributed to this report