2022 Missouri legislative session

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2022 Missouri legislative session
General information
Session start:    January 5, 2022 Session end:    May 13, 2022
Leadership
Senate President Mike Kehoe (R) House Speaker Rob Vescovo (R) Majority Leader Senate: Caleb Rowden (R) House: Dean Plocher (R) Minority Leader Senate: John Rizzo (D) House: Crystal Quade (D)
Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022 Last Election:    November 3, 2020
Previous legislative sessions
2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2022 legislative sessions
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In 2022, the Missouri State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 5, 2022 and adjourn on May 13, 2022.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 24-10 majority in the Senate and a 108-49 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2022 session, Missouri was one of 16 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

Leadership in 2022[edit]

Missouri State Senate[edit]

• Senate president: Mike Kehoe (R)
• Majority leader: Caleb Rowden (R)
• Minority leader: John Rizzo (D)

Missouri House of Representatives[edit]

• Speaker of the House: Rob Vescovo (R)
• Majority leader: Dean Plocher (R)
• Minority leader: Crystal Quade (D)

Partisan control in 2022[edit]

See also: State government trifectas

Missouri was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2022 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

Missouri was also one of 16 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Missouri State Legislature in the 2022 legislative session.

Missouri State Senate[edit]

Missouri House of Representatives[edit]

Regular session[edit]

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2022 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2022. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Standing legislative committees[edit]

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Missouri state government

A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

At the beginning of the 2022 legislative session, there were 69 standing committees in Missouri's state government, including 15 joint legislative committees, 20 state Senate committees, and 34 state House committees.

Joint legislative committees[edit]

• Agriculture Committee
• Joint Committee on Administrative Rules
• Joint Committee on Capitol Security
• Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect
• Joint Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Awareness
• Joint Committee on Education
• Joint Committee on Government Accountability
• Joint Committee on Legislative Research
• Joint Committee on Public Assistance
• Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement
• Joint Committee on Solid Waste Management District Operations Committee
• Joint Committee on Tax Policy
• Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight
• Joint Committee on the Justice System
• Joint Committee on the Life Sciences

Senate committees[edit]

• Administration Committee
• Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee
• Appropriations Committee
• Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee
• Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee
• Gubernatorial Appointments Committee
• Health and Pensions Committee
• Insurance and Banking Committee
• Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
• Local Government and Elections Committee
• Professional Registration Committee
• Progress and Development Committee
• Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions & Ethics Committee
• Senate Economic Development Committee
• Senate Education Committee
• Senate General Laws Committee
• Senate Ways and Means Committee
• Seniors, Families, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee
• Small Business and Industry Committee
• Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee

House committees[edit]

• Administration and Accounts Committee
• Administrative Oversight Committee
• Agriculture Policy Committee
• Budget Committee
• Children and Families Committee
• Consent and House Procedure Committee
• Conservation and Natural Resources Committee
• Corrections and Public Institutions Committee
• Crime Prevention Committee
• Downsizing State Government Committee
• Elections and Elected Officials Committee
• Elementary and Secondary Education Committee
• Emerging Issues Committee
• Ethics Committee
• Financial Institutions Committee
• Fiscal Review Committee
• Health and Mental Health Policy Committee
• Higher Education Committee
• House Economic Development Committee
• House General Laws Committee
• House Ways and Means Committee
• Insurance Committee
• Judiciary Committee
• Legislative Oversight Committee
• Legislative Review Committee
• Local Government Committee
• Pensions Committee
• Professional Registration and Licensing Committee
• Public Safety Committee
• Rural Community Development Committee
• Transportation Committee
• Utilities Committee
• Veterans Committee
• Workforce Development Committee

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments[edit]

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods in which the Missouri Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article XII of the Missouri Constitution and Laws governing the initiative process in Missouri

The Missouri Constitution can be amended via three different paths—a citizen-initiated process, a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention.

Initiative[edit]

See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

In Missouri, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is based on the number of votes cast for governor in the state's most recent gubernatorial election. In two-thirds of Missouri's congressional districts, proponents must collect signatures equal to 8% of the gubernatorial vote for initiated constitutional amendments. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.

Legislature[edit]

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Missouri General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 82 votes in the Missouri House of Representatives and 18 votes in the Missouri State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention[edit]

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According to Section 3a of Article XII of the Missouri Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 20 years starting in 1942. Missouri is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.

The table below shows the last and next constitutional convention question election years:

Historical context:

• A total of 85 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Missouri from 1996 to 2020.
• From 1996 to 2020, the number of measures on statewide ballots during even-numbered years ranged from three to 10.
• Between 1996 and 2020, an average of seven measures appeared on the ballot in Missouri during even-numbered election years.
• Between 1996 and 2020, about 64 percent (54 of 85) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots were approved, and about 36 percent (31 of 85) were defeated.

2023 measures:

See also: Missouri 2023 ballot measures

Certified:

The following measures were certified for the ballot.

No measures to list

2022 measures:

Below is a list of measures that were referred to the 2022 ballot by the legislature.

See also: Missouri 2022 ballot measures

Certified:

The following measures were certified for the ballot.

• Missouri Amendment 4, Allow Legislature to Require a City to Increase Funding without State Reimbursement for a Police Force Established by State Board Amendment (2022)

Historical partisan control[edit]

The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Missouri.

Historical Senate control[edit]

Between 1992 and 2020, the Missouri State Senate was controlled for periods of time by both the Democratic and Republican parties. The table below shows the partisan history of the Missouri State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

From 1992 to 1998, the Democratic Party held majorities, the largest being from 1992 to 1994 when Democrats had a seven-member majority. The Democrats majority in the state Senate decreased between 1992 and 2000. In 2001, Republicans established a majority in the chamber after Republicans won special elections in January of that year. Before the special elections in 2001, the chamber was tied at 17-17 with chamber leadership split between the two major parties.^[2]

Republicans increased their majority in elections between 2002 and 2020. Republicans held their largest majority following the 2010 elections with an 18-seat advantage. From 2008 to 2020, Senate Republicans held a supermajority that allowed the chamber to override gubernatorial vetoes. The Republican gains from 2010 to 2014 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

Historical House control[edit]

Between 1992 and 2020, the Missouri House of Representatives was controlled for periods of time by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Democrats controlled the state House from 1992 to 2000 and Republicans controlled it from 2002 to 2020. The table below shows the partisan history of the Missouri House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

From 1992 to 2000, House Democrats held majorities in the chamber, the largest being from 1992 to 1994 when Democrats had a 38-member majority. House Democrats maintained their majority between 1994 and 2000 with little change in the chamber's partisan balance.

Republicans took control of the chamber in 2002 with a 17-seat advantage. The Republican majority has increased since 2002. Republicans held their largest majority following the 2014 elections with a 71-seat advantage. House Republicans gained a supermajority in 2012, which allowed them to override gubernatorial vetoes. The Republican gains from 2010 to 2016 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats altogether.

See also[edit]

Elections	Missouri State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Missouri State Senate elections, 2022 Missouri House of Representatives elections, 2022	Missouri State Legislature Missouri House of Representatives Missouri State Senate Governor of Missouri Missouri Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2022 State legislative special elections, 2022 State legislative elections, 2020 State legislative elections, 2018	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures The State Legislative Decade

External links[edit]

• Search Google News for this topic
• Missouri State Legislature homepage

Footnotes[edit]

v • e State legislatures Legislatures Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S) 2024 State legislative elections (2024) • State legislative special elections (2024) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2024 Session Dates 2023 State legislative elections (2023) • State legislative special elections (2023) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2023 Session Dates Historical elections 2022 •  2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000 Features of state legislatures How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections State senates Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected State houses Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected Leadership positions President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House