Pre-Filing Begins for 2019 Legislative Session
The First Regular Session of the 100th Missouri General Assembly will officially begin on Wednesday, Jan. 9. In addition to enjoying the holidays and the last few weeks at home in their districts, Missouri lawmakers will be hard at work preparing for the upcoming session. Part of that preparation includes the pre-filing of legislation, a process that marks the session’s unofficial start.
Under Senate rules, each pre-filed bill is assigned a number and made publicly available beginning Dec. 1. The pre-filing period lasts throughout the month of December and into early January, giving senators the opportunity to file legislation before the General Assembly officially convenes.
Pre-filing is an important feature of our state government, as it allows lawmakers additional time to carefully consider their top priorities for each legislative session. In the end, this helps make our legislative work more efficient, as the Senate and House of Representatives can go into a session with a general outline of the type of work they hope to pursue.
The Senate and House of Representatives will make the full text of every bill filed during the 2019 legislative session publicly available on their respective websites: senate.mo.gov and house.mo.gov. Each site tracks the progress of legislation, displaying where each proposal stands at any point in time. These tracking systems are excellent resources for concerned citizens interested in the workings of state government.
As always, please feel free to call, email or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.