It's unlikely Missourians will see lower property taxes this year after state lawmakers failed to pass any reform before the end of their annual session earlier this month, but legislators expect to try again next year.
Republicans in the Senate made property tax relief a priority since the start of the session in January, and the chamber passed legislation to insulate different types of property subclasses, such as residential, from tax hikes if assessments on another type of property, such as commercial, increase.
But that bill, in addition to others such as an "A" through "F" system for grading schools, died in the House on the last day of the legislative session.
Both House and Senate Democrats said the property tax package didn't make it to Gov. Mike Kehoe's desk because House Republicans failed to reach consensus on how much relief to provide.
House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said she believed the majority party didn't have an appetite for more tax reform after approving a plan to phase out the income tax in favor of expanding sales taxes.
But Missourians are more focused on property taxes, Aune said.
"A lot of us are going to spend the next six months knocking on doors in our districts, talking to voters about what they want," Aune said. "And I guarantee you that this will be another cycle of us hearing from folks that they want property tax relief."
Sen. Joe Nicola, R-Independence, said he was surprised that eliminating the income tax became the priority because members of both the House and Senate spent the months between sessions last year discussing property tax reform.
"I felt like this was one that a lot of people had consensus on. A lot of people on both sides of the aisle felt that there needed to be property tax relief," Nicola said. "What did we push through? We pushed through this income tax phase-out scheme."
"That was done very quickly, and that was not our priority going in," Nicola added.
Rep. Brian Seitz, R-Branson, said property tax relief will likely come up again next year because cutting taxes will still be a priority.
Young people are looking for places with lower taxes, such as Florida, Texas and Tennessee, Seitz said.
"They get to keep more of their own money, so they're fleeing the state," Seitz said. "That bleeding needs to stop. So, we're going to focus on the reduction of taxes in the next legislative session."
Transgender legislation doesn't pass
A number of other bills saw varying levels of success in the legislature this year but failed to make it across the finish line.
One sponsored by Seitz would have removed the expiration date from the state's current ban on transgender athletes in all competitions through the collegiate level.
It passed the House in February but was not heard in a Senate committee until April and never made it to the floor.
Similarly, a bill sponsored by Rep. Melissa Schmidt, R-Elridge, to indefinitely extend the ban on gender-affirming care for minors successfully passed a Senate committee but was never heard by the full chamber.
"I think in that body, there's often horse-trading going on. 'We may not look at this legislation if you will allow us to move forward on some other form of legislation,'" Seitz said. "I think that may have happened with those two bills."
Still, Seitz said he sees both bills passing the General Assembly with public support next year because the sunsets are set to expire in 2027.
"I think we're seeing across the United States that's not something that American citizens would support, nor would we support that in Missouri," Seitz said. "Let kids be kids and then once they're 18 years old, they can make decisions about how they want to live their lives."
A standstill for AI regulations
Several lawmakers in both chambers sponsored legislation to create guardrails around artificial intelligence, especially for minors, but no effort passed.
One bill, sponsored by Rep. Wendy Hausman, R-St. Peters, would have targeted people for sharing intimate deepfakes of anyone under 18 or of adults who did not consent.
Although her legislation was approved by members of the House, it died in the Senate because Hausman said lobbyists were concerned about how it would affect the video gaming industry.
"Next year is a whole new ballgame," Hausman said. "It was an election year, let's face it, and so many people are (more) worried about their next election than actually getting good legislation across. That's kind of where I felt that bill died."
Although the Senate didn't take up Hausman's bill, it did pass legislation sponsored by Nicola to declare that AI is a nonsentient entity that cannot own property, be recognized as a person or spouse or serve as a manager or director of a company.
"One of my main concerns is AI beginning to replace jobs, and we're already seeing it happen," Nicola said. "I want to be able to protect at least the licensed and certified professionals — teachers, doctors, lawyers, CPAs, etc. — from losing their job due to AI."
The legislation failed a House committee in the last week of session because of big tech lobbyists, Nicola said, but whether he files the bill next year will be based on the federal government's choices.
"The Googles and the Microsofts and Meta, if we have 50 different legislations for 50 different states, that's going to be very cumbersome for them to navigate," Nicola said.
"I'm kind of waiting and seeing what the Congress is doing, what the president's doing, but I certainly don't like the direction they have been going — and that's doing nothing."
Another AI bill that failed to pass, sponsored by Sen. Patty Lewis, D-Kansas City, would have prevented developers from representing AI as a service that can provide therapy.
Other bills that didn't pass
The House voted in February to eliminate safety inspections for vehicles and allow new car owners to purchase license plate tags that last five years, instead of the current maximum of two.
Neither piece of legislation made it past committee in the Senate, however. The bill sponsors could not be reached for comment about why their legislation did not have a path forward this year and whether they would try again next year.
Another bill that passed the House and failed to make progress in the Senate would have legalized fully autonomous vehicles in Missouri.
Waymo, which operates the largest fleet of self-driving cars in the country, has set its sights on St. Louis. Rep. Brandon Phelps, R-Warrensburg, said it's important for the state to signal openness to innovation.
"It's a good option for the state to show that we are moving forward. We invite new people and new business to the state," Phelps said, adding that the safety of autonomous vehicles would also be a boon for Missouri.
Phelps said he believed the Missouri Teamsters killed his legislation because the union feared jobs would be lost, but he will file it again next year.
"These autonomous vehicles, they don't drive drunk, they don't drive sleepy or tired behind the wheel," Phelps said. "They don't have road rage, they don't speed, they don't drive while they're texting, and it's a proven technology."
The Senate also snubbed a piece of its own legislation, sponsored by Sen. Mike Henderson, R-Desloge, that would have regulated kratom in Missouri by limiting its sale to people 21 and older, requiring disclaimers on labels and prohibiting products from mimicking candy or appealing to children.
Henderson said the legislation was his top priority because an addictive compound derived from kratom, called 7-OH, is freely available across Missouri. But some Democrats didn't support any regulations, Henderson said.
"I wasn't willing to be the guy that put some frameworks in place legalizing 7-OH, because you know, basically I see it as gas station heroin," Henderson said.
With two years left in his term, Henderson said he intends to file the same bill again until a compromise can be reached.
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