As the Missouri General Assembly prepares for the 2024 legislative session, House members are revealing their legislative agendas for the upcoming year. While the official commencement of the legislative session is in January, December 1st marks the true beginning for many legislators, who are allowed on that date to start filing bills for the forthcoming session. On this first day 343 bills were prefiled.
Bills that are prefiled are officially introduced on the first day of the session, January 3. Members have the ability to introduce bills until March 1.
Historically, the first day of prefiling witnesses a substantial influx of bills. For the 2023 legislative session, House members submitted 336 bills on the inaugural day, contributing to a cumulative total of 578 bills during the entire pre-filing period. Comparatively, for the 2022 session, legislators initiated the pre-filing process with 372 bills on the first day en route to total of 770 bills, deviating from the 688 bills filed for the 2021 legislative session and the record-breaking 776 bills for the 2020 session.
For the 2024 session, legislators will propose bills covering a diverse range of topics, aiming to enhance the state’s policies to better serve the needs of all residents. Some say the pre-filing process sets the tone for session. It’s when lawmakers can make their priorities known before the session begins. While that is true, it doesn’t mean those bills have a better chance of making it into law. As the statistics show, pre-filed bills are on virtually the same ground as those filed later on in the process. There is no significant practical advantage to having a low bill number, but House members still strive to be the first to file their bills. Bills are typically referred to legislative committees in numerical order, which potentially gives prefiled measures a better chance of being heard in committee.
One change that members will be subject to in the 2024 legislative session is a new provision added in the House rules during the 2023 legislative session. This new provision, outlined in House Rule 39, restricts members from submitting more than 20 bills without obtaining prior approval from the Speaker of the House. Officially implemented on July 1, 2023, this marks the first legislative session wherein members must adhere to the newly imposed cap on the number of bills they can file.
To stay informed about pre-filed bills in the House, please visit the official website of the Missouri House of Representatives at house.mo.gov and click on the “Pre-filed Bills” link. The upcoming legislative session’s first day is scheduled for January 3, 2024.
