Jon Patterson

The resolution now heads to the Missouri Senate. If it passes the legislature, it must receive voter approval to go into effect.

For more than five years there have been legislative efforts, ultimately unsuccessful, to expand legal gambling through video lottery games and sports wagering.

In addition to passing the budget, a Missouri House committee is slated to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that overturns parts of Amendment 3, which enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution.

The law, which would penalize police for enforcing federal gun laws, was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2023.

Legislation related to taxes and rolling back voter-approved ballot issues could be on the docket for the second half of the session.

With lawmakers set to take next week off, they leave having already accomplished one major priority.

Missourians approved Proposition A, which raised the minimum wage and mandated paid sick leave, with 57% of the vote.

Speaker Jon Patterson said he expects the House to consider legislation clarifying divorce law as well as bills related to child care.

One bill being discussed in the Senate would include life imprisonment without parole as a punishment for immigration violations and would allow Missourians to collect $1,000 bounties for reporting people who are in the country without legal status.

Schisms between GOP leadership and more conservative members have been an ongoing storyline in recent legislative history.