Missouri lawmakers have just five more days to complete any unfinished business before the session ends on Friday.
While the legislature mostly met its constitutional deadline of passing a budget last week, major priorities remain for the Republican-led chambers.
Here are four issues to look for in the last week of the 2025 session:
Overturning Missouri’s new abortion rights
Republicans are looking to overturn a voter-approved initiative that lifted the state’s ban on abortions.
Missourians approved Amendment 3 in November with 51.6% of the vote. The amendment enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution and overturned the state’s near-total abortion ban that went into effect in June 2022.
The prior ban outlawed nearly all abortions in Missouri with no exceptions for rape or incest. It allowed abortions only in cases of medical emergencies.
Republicans in the Missouri House this session passed a resolution that would once again prohibit most abortions in Missouri if passed by voters.
The amendment includes exceptions for rape, incest, fetal anomalies and medical emergencies. In cases of rape and incest, abortions would have to be performed before the 12-week mark of pregnancy.
It also would place in the constitution a ban on transgender youth accessing gender-affirming health care. Such a ban is already within state statute.
The House passed the proposed amendment in mid-April.
After the House passed the resolution, Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit, brought up his concerns for the 12-week cutoff, suggesting it may not be enough time.
While the resolution has cleared a Senate committee, it has yet to be debated on the floor.
Senate Democrats are likely to stand up against the bill. Speaking in early May, Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, said she also has an issue with the 12-week limit for instances of rape or incest.
“There's this artificial deadline in HJR 73 that would say everything has to be taken care of in 12 weeks. So, I would also like to have a conversation like Dr. Patterson said about how we can best support survivors of sexual assault and incest,” McCreery said.
Rolling back voter-approved sick leave
Right before the legislature went on its spring break in mid-March, the House passed a bill that would roll back some voter-approved provisions on paid sick leave and minimum wage increases.
Residents approved Proposition A in November with 57.6% of the vote.
Proposition A both raised the minimum wage to an eventual $15 an hour in 2026 and allowed workers to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
The law also tied minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index, meaning minimum wage increases will be tied to the CPI beginning in 2027.
On Jan. 1 of this year, the minimum wage rose to $13.75 an hour. It will rise again to $15 an hour in 2026.
The paid sick leave portion of the law went into effect on May 1.
However, the legislation approved by the House removes both the CPI tie in future years and the paid sick leave portion.
Because Proposition A is a statute change, lawmakers can change the policy without input from voters.
So far, the Senate has debated the Proposition A changes twice with Democrats filibustering both times and stalling action. With days remaining, it is likely there will be a strong push from Republicans to get it across the finish line.
Speaking in early May, Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, said they need to reach a decision on Proposition A.
“Our side of the aisle has great concern for the burden that this would place on businesses. And if we're going to promote economic growth and jobs, we need to really be cognizant of that,” O’Laughlin said.
Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, D-Affton, has expressed frustration over agreeing to a deal on Proposition A with Republicans.
He said in early May the two sides were still having conversations.
“I would like to see us come to some sort of conclusion. Because the law is now in effect, people are earning sick time and anything we do at this point, they'd be taken away from people,” Beck said.
Patterson said addressing Proposition A is a priority for him before the session ends.
“Because it affects anybody with a job. And we think it's a business-killing measure, and if we don't get it addressed, I think you'll end up hurting the people that Prop A was trying to help,” Patterson said.
If the Senate makes any changes to the legislation and it passes the chamber, it would have to go back to the House for another vote before it goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe.
Medicaid reimbursement
While House Republicans wait on the Senate to address Proposition A and Amendment 3, there are Senate bills that await House action.
In February, the Senate passed legislation that would eliminate sunsets on certain laws. Sunsets act as expiration dates when, if the sunset isn’t repealed or extended, the law is no longer in effect.
The legislation in question repeals the expiration dates on more than 25 laws.
Six of those involve the Federal Reimbursement Allowance, which is a tax that funds roughly one-third of the state’s Medicaid program.
The allowance is a tax on health care providers like hospitals, ambulance districts and nursing homes. That tax is reimbursed by the federal government on a greater scale.
The passage of the allowance has been a tough lift in the Senate the last couple of times it’s been up for renewal.
Lawmakers had to go to a special session in 2021 to reauthorize the FRA.
The consternation then stemmed from some Republican lawmakers wanting it to contain anti-abortion language. The tax passed without that language.
The act was once again up for renewal last session. That time some Republican senators held up the FRA for more than 40 hours because they wanted the Senate to first pass a resolution that, if approved by voters, would have made it harder to amend Missouri’s constitution.
Ultimately the Senate passed the Federal Reimbursement Act without passing that amendment.
If this new bill were to pass the legislature this session, the FRA would no longer need to be continuously extended.
Transgender health restrictions
The same bill would enact permanent restrictions against transgender Missourians.
In 2023, the legislature passed a bill later signed into law that bars transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming health care such as hormone treatments and puberty blockers.
Gender-affirming care includes medical and mental health treatments as well as social support.
The practice is supported by multiple medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association. Doctors say it’s rare for minors to undergo any form of transition-related surgery before age 18.
The law also bars transgender athletes through the collegiate level from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identities.
The Missouri State High School Activities Association already has guidelines on sports participation for transgender athletes.
The NCAA in February announced changes to its policy on transgender athletes, no longer allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports. The change was in response to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.
The original legislation had a sunset date of Aug. 28, 2027, meaning those provisions would have no longer been state law after then. If the new bill were to pass, those laws would become permanent.
The sunset was originally a compromise between Senate Democrats and Republicans to pass the legislation. Some Republicans did not want the sunset and have advocated for its removal since.
