Commerce committee hears bills to limit CPI wage increases and narrow paid sick-leave rules; committee advanced two other bills in executive session

The Missouri House Committee on Commerce opened a public hearing on House Bill 758 and House Bill 958 on Oct. 12, 2025, hearing testimony from the two bill sponsors and business and labor advocates about whether parts of Proposition A should be narrowed or delayed.

Representative Carolyn Caton, sponsor of House Bill 758, told the committee the bill has four components including exempting workers under a specified age from the state minimum-wage increase and removing future automatic CPI-based increases. "Higher wages are a key component to higher inflation," Caton said, arguing that tying automatic increases to the consumer price index would perpetuate a wage/price feedback loop.

Nut graf: The hearing focused on two related aims—whether to create targeted exemptions or implementation delays for small or seasonal employers and younger workers, and whether the ballot measure’s paid-sick-leave and CPI-index provisions should be modified by the legislature. Supporters of the bills said the changes would protect small businesses and preserve jobs; opponents and worker-advocates said narrowing the voter-approved protections would harm low-income workers who rely on steady wage gains and paid leave.

Business witnesses and trade groups pressed the committee for changes to the ballot language. Buddy Law, chief executive officer of the Missouri…