Missouri Senate gives preliminary approval to expanded repeal of multiple sunset clauses in Senate Bill 10

Missouri senators gave preliminary approval Monday to an expanded version of Senate Bill 10 that would remove a number of statutory sunset provisions across state law. The bill, sponsored by Senator Lincoln Huff of Springfield, returned to the Senate floor Monday afternoon in what the sponsor and colleagues described as a roughly 105-page package that grew from an earlier, narrower proposal.

The proposal originally focused on repealing a sunset that affected cities’ and counties’ authority to use the design-build construction method for public buildings. The text on the floor was amended and enlarged to include additional sunset provisions, according to the presentation on the chamber floor.

Senator Steven Weber of Columbia sought to add a sunset to one provision during the floor discussion, saying the change would not alter the current status quo but would remove a statute that he said has been identified by the United States Supreme Court as unconstitutional. The transcript does not provide the exact language of Weber’s proposed amendment or identify the specific Supreme Court ruling he referenced.

Senators gave the measure preliminary approval Monday night. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally or names of the motion’s mover and seconder. According to the floor remarks reported in the transcript, an additional affirmative vote would be required to send the measure to the Missouri House of Representatives for consideration.

What the bill will now mean in practice, which sunset provisions remain and any legal or implementation consequences, were not specified in the floor comments recorded in the transcript. The transcript likewise does not record whether the expanded package includes an effective date, a fiscal note, or which state agencies would be tasked with implementation.

Next steps described on the floor: if the Senate advances the bill through its remaining steps, it would be transmitted to the Missouri House for parallel consideration. The transcript ends with a report from the state capital by Dean Morgan.

Reporting from the state capital, I’m Dean Morgan.