SB 971 – Expanded Student Transfers:
Receiving districts must accept assigned students and cannot discriminate based on address, academics, athletics, disability, race, sex, or lunch status.
This act broadly expands school choice and clarifies funding, transportation, and special education responsibilities.
This bill requires health insurers and pharmacy benefits managers to count the full cost of medications without generic substitutes toward an enrollee’s out-of-pocket maximum. It also prohibits insurers from designing cost-sharing in a way that reduces the enrollee’s contribution when manufacturer assistance programs are available for these drugs. The law applies to most new or renewed plans starting August 28, 2026, but does not apply to union plans covered by federal law. Step therapy is still allowed, and the rules only affect drugs without generic alternatives.
This bill places new limits and requirements on pharmacy audits and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), including restricting how often pharmacies can be audited, capping audit scope, and requiring more transparency in drug pricing and contracts. It also creates a program to support rural pharmacies and requires PBMs to pass through rebates and discounts, aiming to lower costs for patients, while adding regulatory complexity and new compliance requirements for insurers and pharmacy-related entities.
This act provides that employers may pay sub-minimum wage rates of $12.30 per hour to any employee who is a minor.
Allows counties to adopt local “right-to-work” laws by voter approval, meaning:
SB 1585 - This act provides that a labor organization or public body may not place a restriction on the time that a public employee of a school district may join or terminate membership in a labor organization.
This bill establishes a structured collective bargaining process for public employees, requiring timelines for negotiations and mandating mediation and binding arbitration to resolve disputes when agreements cannot be reached.
Reinstates minimum wage cost-of-living increases, restores earned paid sick leave, adds paid bereavement leave for some private employees, and allows enforcement through penalties and employee lawsuits.
Allows any public school student to transfer to another public school district starting in the 2027–28 school year, not just students from unaccredited districts.
Transfers cannot be denied based on academics, disability, race, income, or address.
Expands eligibility and limits regulation of schools participating in Missouri’s scholarship account program.
Expands eligibility and flexibility in the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program by:
This act repeals provisions authorizing the establishment of charter schools in Boone County. This act is identical to SB 88 (2025) and HB 298 (2025).
Requires charter schools and private schools participating in the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program to follow the same procurement rules, wage standards, contracting requirements, accountability systems, and accreditation processes as public school districts. The bill limits uncertified teachers to 10% of instructional staff across school districts, charter schools, and private schools, expands eligibility for innovation waivers, applies Sunshine Law and financial transparency requirements, and standardizes reporting, assessments, and school start dates.
Prohibits lobbyists from being paid to lobby on behalf of foreign adversaries or their affiliates.
Bans lobbyists from receiving any form of compensation (direct, indirect, cash, or in-kind) for lobbying for:
Makes extensive changes to workers’ compensation, including:
Changes how work-related injuries and occupational diseases qualify for workers’ compensation by:
This act essentially narrows compensability, clarifies definitions, and restores pre-2005 legal standards.
Makes major changes to how workers’ compensation cases are handled and how administrative law judges (ALJs) are governed.
This bill focuses on standardization and statewide oversight:
Makes broad updates to how port authorities operate, including:
No explicit labor standards: Does not address prevailing wage, apprenticeships, safety standards, or workforce training requirements.
This act provides that any contractor performing maintenance of mechanical systems or equipment within an industrial facility, as described in the act, shall not be required to obtain a local or state license to perform such work. This act is identical to HB 1247 (2025).
Updates the Missouri Works program by revising wage and payroll definitions, allowing employer-paid health insurance to count toward new payroll, and requiring affidavits with job creation estimates. The bill bases tax credits on taxable wages instead of total payroll, permits flexibility when average wage targets are missed, and adds new criteria for awarding credits, including participation in approved pre-apprenticeship programs and preference for Missouri-based contractors using local workers
Requires completion of a state disparity study on minority- and women-owned businesses by December 31, 2028, and creates a Minority Business Enterprise and Women’s Business Enterprise Oversight Review Committee to study participation, maintain a statewide vendor database, notify businesses of contracting opportunities, set subcontractor notification requirements, and recommend sanctions for noncompliance. Provisions sunset in 2032 unless reauthorized.
Authorizes fully autonomous vehicles to operate on Missouri public roads without a human driver if safety, insurance, registration, and federal compliance requirements are met. The bill sets standards for system failure responses, commercial and on-demand autonomous vehicle operations, exempts driver-dependent equipment requirements, and preempts local governments from restricting or separately regulating autonomous vehicles.
This act provides that each motor vehicle, commercial motor vehicle, recreational motor vehicle, bus, and school bus operated on the roads and highways of this state shall have an appropriately endorsed driver who holds a valid license present with active control of the vehicle at all times.
Like SB 22 (2025) in that in that it overhauls Missouri’s laws governing ballot summary statements, fiscal note summaries, and initiative petition procedures. Seeks to give the legislature and Secretary of State more control over the content and timing of ballot language. Reflects a legislative effort to influence how statewide ballot measures are presented to voters and to limit judicial intervention, with HB 3146 replacing the same sections of law that SB 22 previously amended.
This bill creates a statewide A–F school grading system and accountability report cards for Missouri public schools by tying ratings to student performance, growth, and outcomes while adding a performance-based funding program for higher-performing schools. Thus emphasizing simplified public-facing metrics that may shape, and potentially oversimplify public perception of school quality.
This bill creates several disadvantages for labor and injured workers by raising the burden of proof required to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. Workers must now show that a workplace accident was the prevailing factor not only in causing the injury, but also the resulting medical condition, disability, and the need for treatment, making claims harder to prove and easier for employers to dispute. By requiring the prevailing factor standard to be met before medical treatment is authorized, injured employees may face delays or denials of care while causation is contested. The bill also allows consideration of other insurance or benefit sources when determining compensation, which could reduce workers’ compensation awards even when injuries are job-related. Additionally, employers are given expanded authority to seek early dismissal of claims on procedural or employment-related grounds, potentially preventing workers from reaching a full hearing on the merits of their case. The repeal of penalties for unpaid temporary or partial awards removes an important enforcement mechanism, weakening incentives for timely payment and increasing financial strain on injured workers during recovery.
The bill moves many general personal injury claims into a strict three-year statute of limitations, whereas previously some of these claims could fall under a broader five-year window. This shortens the time workers must recognize an injury, navigate treatment, deal with insurers, and ultimately file a claim.
Allows fully autonomous vehicles on public roads if safety, insurance, registration, and reporting requirements are met.
Currently, membership dues may be deducted from the compensation of employees that request such deduction. This bill prohibits school districts from deducting or collecting dues, fees, or contributions on behalf of a professional association or political fund. The bill defines "professional association" as a lawful association that is composed of school district employees and exists for the purpose of dealing with school district employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or other terms and conditions of employment. This bill allows school district employees to join or terminate membership in professional associations at any time and prohibits such associations from limiting when an employee may join or terminate their memberships. This bill is similar to HB 3001 (2026).
These bills establish a structured collective bargaining process for public employees, requiring timelines for negotiations and mandating mediation and binding arbitration to resolve disputes when agreements cannot be reached.
This bill lets cities create “innovation districts” where they can use tax breaks, public funding, and fewer regulations to attract development, businesses, and new residents. It directs public dollars and incentives into specific areas, which could boost growth there. However, it could potentially shift resources away from other communities and the long-term impact on state and local budgets.
This bill weakens unions’ financial stability by delaying mandatory dues collection, even though new hires immediately benefit from union representation, contract enforcement, and workplace protections. Over time, applying the provisions in this bill would undermine collective bargaining strength, reduce union resources for grievance handling and safety enforcement, and make it harder for unions to effectively represent workers—especially in high-turnover industries.
Under current law, construction industry employers must provide workers' compensation if they have one or more employees. This bill increases that threshold to five or more employees.
These bills strengthen enforcement against employers who knowingly exploit unauthorized labor, which can improve wage fairness and job standards. Employee misclassification and wage theft in Missouri’s construction industry allow unscrupulous law-breaking contractors to have an unfair advantage over law-abiding contractors who see their market share materially diminished or reduced from such illegal actions.
This bill can be harmful to construction workers because it limits local governments’ ability to require higher building standards, including energy efficiency and safety-related practices that often create more skilled, higher-quality work and better long-term job stability. By discouraging or prohibiting “green” or high-performance construction, the bill may reduce demand for specialized union trades and apprenticeship-trained workers who perform this work. The strict 30-day approval deadline and automatic permit approvals can also pressure inspectors and contractors to rush projects, increasing the risk of unsafe job sites and construction errors that directly affect worker safety. In addition, weakening local control over building standards can drive a race to the bottom on quality, wages, and working conditions, benefiting low-road contractors at the expense of skilled construction workers and responsible employers
Petition circulators cannot be paid based on the number of signatures collected. Affidavits are updated to reflect these rules. Only Missouri registered voters can challenge ballot titles, fiscal notes, or petition certifications. Final adjudication of ballot title/fiscal note challenges must happen at least eight weeks before an election. The Secretary of State and Attorney General must review petitions for compliance with state law and the Missouri Constitution.
Allows taxpayers to deduct union dues from state income taxes, up to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for joint filers, excluding political and lobbying expenses.
This bill requires any county with a charter form of government to publish statutorily-required notices on the internet as well as in a newspaper. The bill also requires the Secretary of State to develop a page on the office's website on which these notices can be accessed by the public.
This proposal strengthens life-safety protections for building occupants and first responders.
