2025 Political Climate: As a term limit state, Missouri will see significant changes in January 2025 as many key leaders in the House and Senate will exit. Further, Missouri elected a new Governor in November, Mike Kehoe (R), who will be sworn into office on January 13th. Governor-Elect Kehoe is currently serving as our Lieutenant Governor and was formerly a state Senator from central Missouri and served as the Senate Majority Floor Leader from 2015-2018.
The legislature will be very different in January as we will see new leadership in both legislative chambers as the current Speaker of the House and current President of the Senate have both termed out of office. For 2025, Rep. Jon Patterson (R-Lee’s Summit) will take the gavel as Speaker of the House. Patterson is elevated from his current leadership post as the House Majority Floor Leader and is a medical doctor. Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin (R-Shelbina) will become the Senate President Pro-Tem, she currently holds the position of Senate Majority Floor Leader. O’Laughlin is a retired small business owner who ran a family trucking business for many years before her recent sale of the business to her son.
2025 Legislative Session Preview: The constant disagreements in the Missouri Senate in 2024 led to one of the least productive legislative sessions in modern history. In 2024, only 46 reached the Governor’s desk and 18 of them were appropriations bills. This is expected to change under the new House and Senate leadership.
We expect the House and Senate leadership to find ways to work together with the help of Governor-Elect Mike Kehoe. Many expect the House, Senate and Governor to work together and push forward major caucus priorities such as energy policy, health care, criminal justice, education reforms, income tax cuts, and several others to which the legislature has been unable to address over the past two sessions.
Likely Priorities of the Republican Majority Caucuses include:
- Tax Reform – Phasing out of the Missouri’s Income Tax
- Law Enforcement – State takeover of the St. Louis Police Department
- Abortion Restrictions – Modifications to the recently passed Amendment 3
- Initiative Petition Reform – Modifying requirements for amending the constitution by citizen initiative
- Education – Addressing issues with St. Louis Public Schools and school district student achievement assessments
- Non-Partisan Court Plan – Create new process in addition to the current plan for a new slate of candidates to be presented to the Governor if the first slate is rejected
- Energy – Enabling utilities to finance and construct new generation facilities
- Labor – Modifying statutes related to paid sick leave as adopted by Proposition A
- Healthcare – Pharmacy issues and rural health care access
- State Budget – Continuing to fund public education as state revenues decline
Issues of Interest to HBA of Central MO may include:
- Property Tax Reforms
- Statutory Limitations on Local Energy Codes
- Workers Compensation Changes
- Home Owner Association Covenants
2025 Dates of Interest
January 8, 2025 – First day of the Legislative Session
January 13, 2025 – Inauguration Day
January 20, 2025 – No Session, MLK Jr. Observance
March 17-21, 2025 – No Session, Spring Break
April 21, 2025 – No Session, Easter Break
May 9, 2025 – Missouri Budget Must be Passed
May 16, 2025 – Last day of Legislative session