He chaired numerous committees, including the Education Committee and Appropriations Committee while a member of the House. Currently, he is Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and a member of the Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence, Commerce and Environment and State Budget Control Committees.

He has sponsored many bills of statewide importance, including the 1996 Telecommunications Act, 1994 Campaign Finance Reform Bill (SB 650), the 1990 Omnibus Solid Waste Bill (SB 530), the hazardous waste law, the Omnibus Mental Health Code, Public Education Funding Formula, first revision of the Guardianship Code since 1821, as well as other legislation in the fields of education, social services, environmental protection and public health, and governmental management. In his first term in the House, in 1963, he sucessfully sponsored the legislation establishing the University of Missouri at St. Louis.