Summary
The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are subject to term limits. Senators are limited to two four-year terms and representatives to four two-year terms, a total of 8 years for members of both houses.
The General Assembly meets at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.
Source: Wikipedia
OnAir Post: MO General Assembly
News
Rep. Doug Richey was selected as the new chair of the Joint Committee on Education by its members Wednesday, pledging to look at higher education while continuing other conversations about Missouri schools.
The committee will continue investigating critical race theory (CRT), virtual education, and the Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program (MOCAP) under Richey’s leadership — topics that have driven much of the committee’s conversations in recent months.
Richey, who also serves as an adjunct professor, said he would also like to see members discuss ways to bolster the state’s colleges and universities.
“I think we’ll be looking at the higher education level as well — how we can bolster the reputation of colleges and universities against this landscape of options students have outside of Missouri,” Richey told The Missouri Times. “We want to enhance that reputation, and we’ll be having conversations in the performance-based funding mechanisms space as well.”
Richey has sat on the joint committee for a little more than a year: He was appointed by then-Speaker Elijah Haahr to replace an outgoing member last summer and was selected as its vice-chair shortly thereafter. He served as second in command to Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, who in turn was selected as his vice-chair for the year.
Hannibal Courier-Post, – August 30, 2021
The Missouri General Assembly had a highly productive legislative session and now the bulk of the bills passed by lawmakers and signed by the governor are set to become law on August 28. The bills that are now set to become law address some of the state’s most pressing issues such as the protection of children and vulnerable Missourians, as well as support for veterans and law enforcement.
In total, the Missouri House and Senate approved 69 pieces of legislation during the 2021 legislative session. That number is up from the 2020 legislative session when the General Assembly gave final approval to 51 bills, but down from 2019 when 92 bills made it across the legislative finish line. Forty pieces of legislation originating in the House received final legislative approval. Eighteen of the bills are appropriations bills that make up the state operating budget. The Senate saw 29 of its bills cross the finish line before session ended on May 14.
Of the bills he received, Gov. Parson vetoed three House Bills, and one Senate Bill. He also made line-item vetoes in 12 of the 18 appropriations bills. The legislature will return on September 15 for its annual Veto Session. During Veto Session, legislators have a final opportunity to enact their ideas into law despite the governor’s objections. In both chambers, a two-thirds vote is required to override a veto. In the House that amounts to 109 votes. Twenty-three votes are needed in the Senate to successfully complete an override motion.
To view a complete list of bills going into law by effective date, please visit: https://house.mo.gov/newbillreport.aspx?year=2021&code=R&select=evergroupcode:1&sortoptions=effectivedate
Missouri Independent, – June 2, 2021
Questions persist about how the program will function as lawmakers await whether Gov. Mike Parson will sign or veto the legislation
Missouri is on the cusp of creating a program that directs donations funded by tax credits to help parents offset the cost of sending their kids to private school.
Lawmakers laid out the parameters of the program, like who qualifies and where they must reside. But weeks after school choice advocates scored their historic legislative victory, questions persist about how the program will actually work if the bill is signed by Gov. Mike Parson.
Has Missouri hit the transportation funding threshold that triggers the program’s start? Can eligible students use funds to transfer to public schools outside of their district? And how soon will the nonprofits be finalized, rules for applying be set and the program be up and running?
About
Source: Wikipedia
Qualifications
Members of the House of Representatives must be 24 years of age to be elected. Representatives also must be a qualified Missouri voter for two years, and a resident of the county or district of their constituency for one year. Senators must be 30 years of age, a qualified Missouri voter for three years, and similar to House qualifications, must be a resident of their senatorial constituency for one year prior to their election.
Sessions and quorum
According to Article III, Section 20 of the Missouri Constitution, the General Assembly must convene on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January following the state general election. It adjourns on May 30, with no consideration of bills after 6:00 p.m. on the first Friday following the second Monday in May. No appropriation bill may be considered after 6:00 p.m. on the first Friday after the first Monday in May. If the Governor returns a bill with his objections after adjournment sine die, the General Assembly is automatically reconvened on the first Wednesday following the second Monday in September for a period not to exceed ten days to consider vetoed bills.
The Governor may convene the General Assembly in special session for a maximum of 60 calendar days at any time. Only subjects recommended by the Governor in his call or a special message may be considered. The President Pro Tem and the Speaker may convene a 30-day special session upon petition of three-fourths of the members of each chamber.
Neither the House nor Senate, without the consent of the other chamber, adjourn for more than ten days at any one time, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses may be sitting.
As a part-time legislature, compensation is low with the General Assembly, and most senators and representatives hold jobs outside their legislative duties. Lawmakers are paid $31,351 per legislative year.
See also
- Missouri State Capitol
- Missouri House of Representatives
- Missouri Senate
- Missouri Constitutional Convention of 1861–1863
References
- “The Legislative Process In Missouri”. House of Representatives. Retrieved December 23,2020.
External links
- Official General Assembly Website
- Missouri Senate Website
- Missouri House of Representatives Website
- Publications by or about Missouri General Assembly at Internet Archive.
Wikipedia
The government of the U.S. state of Missouri is organized into the state government and local government, including county government, and city and municipal government.
While the state was originally a part of the Democratic-dominated "Solid South," the state transitioned into a national bellwether at the start of the 20th century. Its position in the Midwest allowed for the state to become competitive for Republicans much earlier than many of its neighbors. After voting Republican twice in its entire history up to that point, it became a near-perfect bellwether and voted for the national winner all but once from 1904 to 2004.[1] However, the state has not voted Democratic since 1996.[2] In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama became the first Democrat to ever win the presidency without winning the state. The state's rightward drift became apparent since, as in 2012, it voted for the losing candidate in consecutive elections for the first time since 1900. Republicans captured the state legislature and majority of House seats in the 2000s for the first time since the 1940s. Meanwhile, Democrats lost their last statewide office in the 2022 elections.
State government
Constitution
The fourth and last Constitution of Missouri, the state constitution, was adopted in 1945. It provides for three branches of government: The legislative, executive, and judicial.
Legislative branch
The legislative branch consists of the state legislature, which is the Missouri General Assembly; it is bicameral & comprises a 163-member House of Representatives (the lower house) and a 34-member Senate. Members of both houses are subject to term limits: Senators are limited to two four-year terms, and representatives to four two-year terms; a limit of 8 years for members of both houses.[3][4][5] The state constitution provides that "The general assembly shall meet on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January following each general election. ..The general assembly shall reconvene on the first Wednesday after the first Monday of January after adjournment at midnight on May thirtieth of the preceding year." As a part-time legislature, compensation is low, and most senators and representatives hold jobs outside their legislative duties. State legislators are paid $31,351 per legislative year. The General Assembly meets at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.
Executive branch
The executive branch is laid out in Article IV of the state constitution. It is headed by the governor of Missouri. The governor is charged with executing the laws of the state. The governor is elected a four-year term and can serve two terms and must be at least 30 years of age, a Missouri resident for at least 10 years, and a U.S. citizen for at least 15 years before holding office. He can also appoint members of the Cabinet of Missouri. There is also the Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, required to have the same qualifications as the governor, who is an ex officio president of the state Senate. The lieutenant governor is allowed to debate any and all questions before the Senate as a whole and may cast the deciding ballot in case of a tie. Additionally, the lieutenant governor assumes the office of governor in case of the governor's death, resignation, or incapacitation. Missouri voters also elect the heads of several executive departments: the Missouri Attorney General, Missouri Secretary of State, State Treasurer of Missouri, and the State Auditor of Missouri. The requirements for holding these offices are the same as those for the governor, but only the State Treasurer has term limits similar to the governor.
Judicial branch
The judicial branch (the state courts) is established by Article IV of the Missouri Constitution. The state supreme court is the Supreme Court of Missouri - it is the highest court. The Missouri Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court. It is split into three districts: Western (based in Kansas City), Eastern (based in St. Louis), and Southern (based in Springfield). The state trial courts of general jurisdiction are the 45 Missouri Circuit Courts and Associate Circuit Courts within each Circuit Court.
Seven judges sit on the Supreme Court of Missouri, which meets in the state capital, Jefferson City. Unlike the life tenure appointments of federal judges (including the Supreme Court of the United States), state supreme court judges hold the judicial bench for 12 years, as do judges of the Court of Appeals. Circuit Court judges have terms of six years and Associate Circuit Court judges have terms of four years. There are no term limits for judges, though there is a mandatory retirement age of 70 years.
Missouri pioneered a unique way of selecting judges for its state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in an effort to remove some of the partisan politics from the selection process. Article V, Section 25(a) of the Missouri Constitution specifies a process, known as the Missouri Plan, to appoint judges to the state Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and circuit and probate courts in the independent City of St. Louis, Jackson County (Kansas City), and any other circuit court where a majority of voters choose to adopt nonpartisan appointment (currently St. Louis County, Clay County, (St Charles County, Missouri) and Platte County). When a position becomes available in one of the above courts, a nonpartisan judicial nominating commission reviews applications, interviews candidates, and submits three nominees to the Governor. The Governor then appoints one of the three nominees to fill the vacant position. Finally, in the first general election one year or more after the appointment, the judge must be retained by the voters in a retention election before serving a full term. Judges for all other courts are elected directly by the voters.
County and city government
Counties with more than 85,000 people may elect their own charters, smaller ones must use the standard charter dictated by the state.
Missouri allows cities to adopt their own charter should they chose to do so; it was the first state in the union to do so. Regardless of the freedom given to city governments, most municipalities choose to organize their local government around a mayor and a city council. Council members are typically elected in either citywide or district elections.
Political parties
| Year | Republican / Whig | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 1,751,986 | 58.33% | 1,200,599 | 39.97% | 51,086 | 1.70% |
| 2020 | 1,718,736 | 56.71% | 1,253,014 | 41.34% | 58,998 | 1.95% |
| 2016 | 1,594,511 | 56.38% | 1,071,068 | 37.87% | 162,687 | 5.75% |
| 2012 | 1,482,440 | 53.64% | 1,223,796 | 44.28% | 57,453 | 2.08% |
| 2008 | 1,445,814 | 49.36% | 1,441,911 | 49.23% | 41,386 | 1.41% |
| 2004 | 1,455,713 | 53.30% | 1,259,171 | 46.10% | 16,480 | 0.60% |
| 2000 | 1,189,924 | 50.42% | 1,111,138 | 47.08% | 58,830 | 2.49% |
| 1996 | 890,016 | 41.24% | 1,025,935 | 47.54% | 242,114 | 11.22% |
| 1992 | 811,159 | 33.92% | 1,053,873 | 44.07% | 526,533 | 22.02% |
| 1988 | 1,084,953 | 51.83% | 1,001,619 | 47.85% | 6,656 | 0.32% |
| 1984 | 1,274,188 | 60.02% | 848,583 | 39.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 1,074,181 | 51.16% | 931,182 | 44.35% | 94,461 | 4.50% |
| 1976 | 927,443 | 47.47% | 998,387 | 51.10% | 27,770 | 1.42% |
| 1972 | 1,154,058 | 62.29% | 698,531 | 37.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 811,932 | 44.87% | 791,444 | 43.74% | 206,126 | 11.39% |
| 1964 | 653,535 | 35.95% | 1,164,344 | 64.05% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 962,221 | 49.74% | 972,201 | 50.26% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 914,289 | 49.89% | 918,273 | 50.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 959,429 | 50.71% | 929,830 | 49.14% | 2,803 | 0.15% |
| 1948 | 655,039 | 41.49% | 917,315 | 58.11% | 6,274 | 0.40% |
| 1944 | 761,524 | 48.43% | 807,804 | 51.37% | 3,146 | 0.20% |
| 1940 | 871,009 | 47.50% | 958,476 | 52.27% | 4,244 | 0.23% |
| 1936 | 697,891 | 38.16% | 1,111,043 | 60.76% | 19,701 | 1.08% |
| 1932 | 564,713 | 35.08% | 1,025,406 | 63.69% | 19,775 | 1.23% |
| 1928 | 834,080 | 55.58% | 662,562 | 44.15% | 4,079 | 0.27% |
| 1924 | 648,486 | 49.58% | 572,753 | 43.79% | 86,719 | 6.63% |
| 1920 | 727,162 | 54.56% | 574,799 | 43.13% | 30,839 | 2.31% |
| 1916 | 369,339 | 46.94% | 398,032 | 50.59% | 19,398 | 2.47% |
| 1912 | 207,821 | 29.75% | 330,746 | 47.35% | 159,999 | 22.90% |
| 1908 | 347,203 | 48.50% | 346,574 | 48.41% | 22,150 | 3.09% |
| 1904 | 321,449 | 49.93% | 296,312 | 46.02% | 26,100 | 4.05% |
| 1900 | 314,092 | 45.94% | 351,922 | 51.48% | 17,642 | 2.58% |
| 1896 | 304,940 | 45.25% | 363,667 | 53.96% | 5,299 | 0.79% |
| 1892 | 227,646 | 42.03% | 268,400 | 49.56% | 45,537 | 8.41% |
| 1888 | 236,252 | 45.31% | 261,943 | 50.24% | 23,165 | 4.44% |
| 1884 | 203,081 | 46.02% | 236,023 | 53.49% | 2,164 | 0.49% |
| 1880 | 153,647 | 38.67% | 208,600 | 52.51% | 35,042 | 8.82% |
| 1876 | 145,027 | 41.36% | 202,086 | 57.64% | 3,497 | 1.00% |
| 1872 | 119,196 | 43.65% | 151,434 | 55.46% | 2,429 | 0.89% |
| 1868 | 86,860 | 56.96% | 65,628 | 43.04% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1864 | 72,750 | 69.72% | 31,596 | 30.28% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1860 | 17,028 | 10.28% | 58,801 | 35.52% | 89,734 | 54.20% |
| 1856 | 0 | 0.00% | 57,964 | 54.43% | 48,522 | 45.57% |
| 1852 | 29,984 | 43.58% | 38,817 | 56.42% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1848 | 32,671 | 44.91% | 40,077 | 55.09% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1844 | 31,200 | 43.02% | 41,322 | 56.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1840 | 22,954 | 43.37% | 29,969 | 56.63% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1836 | 7,337 | 40.02% | 10,995 | 59.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
Like the rest of the nation, the two dominant parties in Missouri are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party (whose state affiliates are the Missouri Democratic Party and the Missouri Republican Party, respectively). The state secretary of state also recognizes the Constitution Party and Libertarian Party as organized parties,[7] although only five Libertarians currently hold elected office in Missouri.[needs update][citation needed]
The Democratic and Republican parties have been responsible for establishing the voting districts, casting votes in the Electoral College, and fielding candidates for the general elections, and helping to determine legislative policy and priorities.
Federal representation
Missouri currently has eight House districts. In the 118th Congress, two of Missouri's seats are held by Democrats and six are held by Republicans:
- Missouri's 1st congressional district represented by Cori Bush (D)
- Missouri's 2nd congressional district represented by Ann Wagner (R)
- Missouri's 3rd congressional district represented by Blaine Luetkemeyer (R)
- Missouri's 4th congressional district represented by Mark Alford (R)
- Missouri's 5th congressional district represented by Emanuel Cleaver (D)
- Missouri's 6th congressional district represented by Sam Graves (R)
- Missouri's 7th congressional district represented by Eric Burlison (R)
- Missouri's 8th congressional district represented by Jason Smith (R)
Missouri's two United States senators are Republicans Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, serving since 2019 and 2023, respectively.
Missouri is part of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the St. Louis-based United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
See also
References
- ^ "Missouri Presidential Election Voting History - 270toWin".
- ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison—Missouri". US Election Atlas. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Missouri House of Representatives - Error".
- ^ "Did You Know - Facts About the Missouri Senate". www.senate.mo.gov. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison—Missouri". US Election Atlas. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ IT, Missouri Secretary of State -. "Established Political Parties". s1.sos.mo.gov. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
