"The Voice of Missouri Business®" Weekly Report - February 9-13, 2026

By Matthew Smith and Ray McCarty

February 13, 2026 - – It was another busy week in the Missouri Legislature for pro-business legislation. Here is a recap highlighting our efforts on behalf of Missouri employers this week.

Income tax bill passes Senate (AIM supports)

SB 994 (Sen. Henderson), a bill that ensures taxpayers will not be liable for penalties or interest on an income tax balance due if such taxpayer is denied part or all of an approved tax credit due to lack of available funds, passed the Senate this week and has been first read in the House. The next step is for the bill to be referred to a House committee.

Workers' Compensation - Work must be primary reason for medical treatment (AIM supports)

We previously reported AIM testified for Rep. Christ’s HB 2375, which strengthens Missouri’s workers compensation by requiring the injured employee to prove the injury and the need for treatment were due to work. In some cases, employees receive workers compensation for preexisting diseases that were not caused by an injury at the workplace. This bill fixes this issue, along with making needed changes to the appeal process and requiring the inclusion of any insurance benefit a worker obtained when determining how much will be paid by worker compensation insurance. HB 2375 was approved by the House and sent to the Senate this week.

Reversing the 2005 Workers' Compensation amendments (AIM opposes)

In the Senate General Laws committee, SB 865 (Sen. Beck) was heard, which would essentially repeal the AIM-sponsored overhaul of the workers' compensation system that was passed in 2005. This bill would remove the prevailing factor language, which would make the workers' compensation system in Missouri ripe for abuse. Currently, to receive workers compensation benefits, a worker must prove the injury occurred at a workplace and work must be the prevailing factor in the need for the medical treatment. If this were to be repealed, bad actors would be able to claim their injury was work related, even though their injury occurred outside of work. Associated Industries of Missouri was created over one hundred years ago to write the first workers' compensation law in Missouri, and we take pride in our defense of employers within this system. The point of workers’ compensation is for employers to avoid litigation by paying a tax to fund the system and to ensure that injured workers are made whole in the case of an injury at work. This bill would hurt this system and AIM strongly opposes the bill. We will continue to fight and ensure that the workers’ compensation system is fair to employers and prevents bad actors from taking advantage of this system.

Accountability for Administrative Law Judges (AIM supports)

The Senate Judiciary Committee this week passed SB 996 (Sen. David Gregory) which brings accountability and transparency to Administrative Law Judges (ALJs). ALJs are responsible for deciding workers compensation cases and settling disputes that may arise during these claims. Currently, it is very difficult to remove a judge that is not performing their duties or is acting inappropriately. SB 996 will provide needed updates on the removal of judges and will help streamline the process of their removal while also providing transparency by mandated regular audits of their performance. 

Capital investment incentive (AIM supports)

In the House Economic Development committee, HB 2654 (Rep. Knight) was heard, which provides a tax credit for a business that makes at least a $50 million capital investment within our state. 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.

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

The House Commerce Committee this week heard HB 1707 (Rep. Coleman). 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.

Providing relief to Missouri working families (AIM supports)

We also testified in support of HB 2409 (Rep. Shields) in the House Economic Development Committee, which provides tax credits for childcare. 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.

Legal reform (AIM supports)

We testified on two bills, HB 2927 (Rep. Parker) and SB 1120 (Sen. Trent), which provide needed litigation code updates. These bills 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.

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.