"The Voice of Missouri Business®" Weekly Report - February 16-20, 2026

By Matthew Smith and Ray McCarty

February 20, 2026 - – It was another busy week in the Missouri Legislature for pro-business legislation. Here is a recap highlighting some of our efforts on behalf of Missouri employers this week.

Funding to Support State Administration of Air Pollution Laws (AIM supports)

We previously told you about AIM's approach to providing funding to support the Air Pollution Control Program in the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. SB 953 (Bean) was passed by the Missouri Senate this week! The bill was perfected after somewhat lengthy debate on Tuesday and was passed to the House on a 25-8 vote. We thank Sen. Jason Bean for his strong leadership in sponsoring and passing this bill through the Senate. The bill will now move to the House where it will be referred to a House committee once the House starts working on Senate bills. If it does not pass this session, large fee increases will be necessary to support state level administration of the air pollution program.

Video slot machine gambling expansion (AIM opposes)

Despite ongoing investigations by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, a jury in federal court finding devices are illegal in a lawsuit brought by members of AIM that operate legal amusement devices, and the launch of cases against operators of these machines by Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, the Missouri House this week passed the video lottery bill sponsored by Rep. Bill Hardwick. Read more about the bill in our earlier story HERE. Associated Industries of Missouri and other business organizations were united against this bill. AIM pointed out in our legislative alert that the legislature has no power to expand gambling as provided in the bill due to Missouri constitutional limitations. The bill will now move to the Senate where we have a better chance of stopping the bill. Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O'Laughlin opposes the bill, posting on her Facebook account:

"How do we weaken the state? By enabling things that first and foremost weaken the family structure. Gambling is one of those things. Sports betting and the epidemic of young men addicted to gambling is something you should google to fully understand. The lottery (also gambling) was implemented and was going to fund education. Supposedly. What actually happens is the money goes to education and the original money gets rerouted. Now we have a proliferation of gambling machines in every gas station, strip mall and other vacant buildings and these machines are illegal. Rural Missouri especially has them everywhere; windows papered over because you don’t want to actually have to see what is going on. Legitimate businesses who are struggling have caught on and now THEY have one in their stores."

"The idea now is let’s just legalize them and make them regulated AND WE CAN USE THE TAX MONEY FOR SUCH THINGS AS EDUCATION AND VETERANS. One of the things I learned long ago was something wrong cannot be turned into something right. Something which negatively affects society will become like a cancer that slowly eats away at the health of our citizens. This is one of those things and I don’t care how much tax money is gathered. The federal courts have issued a decision that the machines are illegal. Why are we not just clearing them out?"

We couldn't agree more. We will continue to oppose this legislation and thank those Representatives and Senators who do the right thing to stop this illegal activity.

Legal reform (AIM supports)

This week was a busy one for tort reform legislation that would make Missouri a friendlier place for industries to conduct business. In the House Commerce Committee, they heard two bills that would lower the statute of limitations for personal liability. This included HB 2182 (Rep. Mackey) which would lower the statute of limitations from 5 years to 2 years, and HB 1619 (Rep. Billington) which would lower it from 5 years to 3 years.

Many businesses are subject to frivolous lawsuits that are filed years after the alleged incident occurred. Examples include slip and fall accidents, where a bad actor will sue a business for an alleged injury that occurred on their premise 4 years and 11 months prior. This makes it difficult for businesses to defend themselves, given so much time has passed and they cannot collect evidence to prove their innocence. This is just one example of why this legislation is needed. Lowering the statute of limitations is a high priority for AIM and we appreciate the sponsors for their leadership on this issue.

Also heard in the Commerce Committee was HB 2714 (Rep. Diehl), which changes the law on comparative fault. Currently, a defendant can be held financially liable for damages even if it is proven that the plaintiff was at fault for the incident. HB 2714 says if the plaintiff is proven to be at fault for 50% or more of the incident, then they are barred from recovering any damages. This bill would cut down on frivolous lawsuits and ensure that those who where at fault for an incident are not treated as victims in court.

We previously told you about SB 881 (Sen. Trent) which prohibits foreign principal or agents from funding litigation in the State of Missouri. This week, in the Legislative Review committee, the House version, HB 3205 (Rep. Casteel), was heard.  This version limits the prohibition to foreign adversaries (The People’s Republic of China, The Russian Federation etc.) and to entities deemed a terrorist organization by the United States Department of State. The litigation system in Missouri is bad enough without the capability of foreign entities to fund lawsuits. We should ensure that only citizens of the United States are able to participate in our litigation process.

We also told you we testified in support of two bills, HB 2927 (Rep. Parker) and SB 1120 (Sen. Trent), which seek to close a loophole exploited by plaintiffs' attorneys after we passed legislation allowing insurance companies sufficient time to review settlement demands in 2017. Following passage of that law setting forth common sense requirements for time-limited demands for settlement, plaintiffs' attorneys found a loophole: sending the insurer settlement demands without a time limit. According to attorneys for insurers at the hearing, the plaintiff attorneys wait 30 days after sending the settlement demand and then sue for amounts far above policy limits by claiming the insurer acted in bad faith by failing to settle the claim. This is simply another example of plaintiff attorneys taking advantage of laws that need clarification, and these bills would solve this issue. SB 1120 was approved this week by the Senate General Laws Committee on a 4-2 party line vote (with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing). HB 2927 was also passed by the House Commerce Committee on a 9-1 vote this week.

Capital investment incentive (AIM supports)

In the House Economic Development committee, HB 2654 (Rep. Knight), which provides a tax credit for a business that makes at least a $50 million capital investment within our state, was approved by the House Economic Development Committee on a unanimous 15-0 vote. Currently, the Missouri Works Program works by providing credits based on the number of jobs created. This bill would provide a different option for industries to use when making capital investments that may not result in an increased number of jobs. The bill will be referred to a rules committee for further consideration.

Providing relief to Missouri working families (AIM supports)

HB 2409 (Rep. Shields) was also approved by the House Economic Development Committee on a unanimous 14-0 vote. This bill contains a package of incentives to support expanded childcare opportunities. This includes a tax credit for parents and employers providing contributions for childcare. Childcare has become a large burden on Missouri families who have children and want to return to the workforce. We support this because if a mother or a father wants to return to the workforce to provide for their families, childcare should not get in the way. This will help ensure Missouri workers have the flexibility to return to work and help our state grow. The bill was referred to the House Rules - Legislative Committee. After that committee approves the bill, it will be eligible for floor debate by the full House of Representatives.

Clarifying sales tax treatment of credit card fees (AIM supports)

The House Commerce Committee this week approved HB 1707 (Rep. Coleman) with a unanimous 10-0 vote. The bill modifies the definition of “gross receipts” to clearly exclude separately stated credit card transaction fees. Although current law excludes such fees from sales taxation in Missouri, the Missouri Department of Revenue has attempted to tax the fees in business audits. AIM objected to a recent regulation change initiated by the Department of Revenue to accomplish their goal of taxing the fees and the rule was never implemented. This bill would clarify language to ensure such fees are clearly exempt from sales and use taxes. The bill was referred to the House Rules - Administrative Committee for further consideration.

Bills encouraging small modular nuclear power generation (AIM supports)

AIM testified in support of two bills that are intended to encourage the development of small modular reactors (SMR) for power generation. The bills allow an exception to a voter-approved prohibition against including the costs of a power generation project in rates until the project is actually placed in service for nuclear generation facilities generating 600mw or less. We have strong consumer protections included in the bill that require the utility company to refund amounts included in rates with interest if the Public Service Commission finds imprudent expenditures or if the project is not place online within a reasonable amount of time (as determined by the Commission). Both bills were heard in committee this week: HB 1626 (Rep. Haley) and HB 2122 (Rep. Black).

Incentives for producing critical materials and pharmaceuticals in Missouri (AIM supports)

SB 1553 (Sen. Kurtis Gregory), the Missouri Defense and Energy Independence Act, was heard in the Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee this week. AIM supports the incentive to spur more domestic production of critical minerals and chemicals and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of these chemicals. One witness, Douglas Jost of the Jost Chemical Company, testified in support of the bill, noting the current sources of many critical chemicals used in defense and medicine are in other countries that are not friends of the United States. We will update you as this bill progresses.

We intend to provide these legislative updates to you on a weekly basis on Fridays as we track the progress of these and other bills affecting Missouri businesses.