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2020 Missouri legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
Missouri: The Missouri State Legislature suspended Senate activity effective March 12, 2020. Both chambers reconvened April 7, 2020, through April 8, 2020, before suspending activity again. The legislature adjourned on May 15, 2020.
Missouri General Assembly

Seal of Missouri.svg.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   2 terms (8 years) in Senate, 4 terms (8 years) in House
Session start:   January 8, 2020
Website:   Official General Assembly Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
Mike Kehoe (R)
House Speaker:  Elijah Haahr (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Caleb Rowden (R)
House: Rob Vescovo (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Gina Walsh (D)
House: Crystal Quade (D)
Structure
Members:  34 (Senate), 163 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art III, Missouri Constitution
Salary:   $35,915/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Redistricting:  Missouri Legislation Commissions have control
Meeting place:
Missouri Capitol.jpg

In 2020, the Missouri State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 8 and adjourn on May 15.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Missouri State Legislature suspended Senate activity effective March 12, 2020. Both chambers reconvened April 7, 2020, through April 8, 2020, before suspending activity again. The legislature adjourned on May 15, 2020.[1][2][3][4][5]

Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2019. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 24-10 supermajority in the Senate and a 116-47 supermajority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a veto-proof supermajority in the Missouri state House and state Senate.
  • Missouri was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Missouri’s governor was Republican Mike Parson.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    Missouri was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2020 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 22 state legislatures where one party 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 2020 legislative session.

    Missouri State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 8
         Republican Party 23
         Vacancies 3
    Total 34

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Missouri State Senate was controlled for long 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 2018. 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.

    Missouri State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 20[6] 19 19 18 17* 14 11 13 11 8 10 9 9 10
    Republicans 13 15 15 16 17 20 23 21 23 26 24 25 25 24
    Other 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

    *Since no party had majority control, leadership of the chamber was split between the two parties.

    From 1992 to 1998, the Democratic Party held relatively small majorities, the largest being from 1992 to 1994 when Democrats had a seven-member majority. The Democrats majority in the state Senate steadily 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.[7]

    After 2001, Senate Republicans slowly increased their majority in elections between 2002 and 2018. Republicans held their largest majority following the 2010 elections with an 18-seat advantage. From 2008 to 2020, Senate Republicans held a supermajority which allowed the chamber to override gubernatorial vetoes. The Republican gains from 2008 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 all together.

    Missouri House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 48
         Republican Party 114
         Vacancies 1
    Total 163

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Missouri House of Representatives was controlled for long periods of time by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Democrats controlled the state House from 1992 to 2000 and Republicans have controlled it since. The table below shows the partisan history of the Missouri House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. 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.

    Missouri House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 100 87 88 86 87 73 66 71 74 57 53 46 46 47
    Republicans 62 76 75 76 76 90 97 92 89 106 110 117 117 116
    Other 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

    From 1992 to 2000, House Democrats held large 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 very little change in the chamber's partisan balance.

    Despite the Democratic majorities in the 1990s, Republicans took control of the chamber in 2002 with a 17-seat advantage. Republicans slowly increased their majority in elections between 2004 and 2018. 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 2008 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 all together.

    Leadership in 2020

    Missouri State Senate

    Missouri House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 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 2020. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    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 2020 legislative session, there were 89 standing committees in Missouri's state government, including 20 joint legislative committees, 22 state Senate committees, and 47 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    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 by 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

    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

    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

    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:

    State Interval Last question on the ballot Next question on the ballot
    Missouri 20 years 2022 2042



    Historical context:

    • A total of 82 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Missouri from 1996 to 2018.
    • From 1996 to 2018, the number of measures on statewide ballots during even-numbered years ranged from three to 10.
    • Between 1996 and 2018, an average of seven measures appeared on the ballot in Missouri during even-numbered election years.
    • Between 1996 and 2018, about 63 percent (52 of 82) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots were approved, and about 37 percent (30 of 82) were defeated.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Missouri.

    Missouri Party Control: 1992-2025
    Eight years of Democratic trifectas  •  Thirteen years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor R D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R
    Senate D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    See also

    Elections Missouri State Government State Legislatures State Politics
    Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
    Missouri State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ KY3, "Coronavirus concerns disrupt work at state capitols, including Missouri," March 12, 2020
    2. ↑ Missouri House of Representatives, "Home page," accessed March 30, 2020
    3. ↑ Missouri State Senate, "Home page," accessed March 30, 2020
    4. ↑ The Kansas City Star, "Despite coronavirus, Missouri lawmakers will reconvene. Anyone heard of videoconferences?" April 3, 2020
    5. ↑ Multistate, "2020 Legislative Session Dates," last updated April 15, 2020
    6. ↑ In 1992, one seat was held by a member from a third party.
    7. ↑ Bethany Republican-Clipper, "Legislators display a spirit of cooperation," October 5, 2016
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