For Immediate Release: 

May 29, 2024 

Capitol Building, Room 425

Jefferson City, MO 65101

2024 Legislative Session Comes to an End

All good things must come to an end, and the Second Regular Session of the 102nd General Assembly ended on Friday, May 17. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but the General Assembly passed several important measures this year that will benefit Missourians. 

I’m happy to report two of my legislative priorities crossed the finish line. Senate Bill 1070 creates a “Stop Cyberstalking and Harassment Task Force” made up of legislators, law enforcement, prosecutors, victim advocates, and forensic and digital evidence experts to study cyberstalking and harassment. A public safety omnibus bill including SB 1070 passed overwhelmingly on the last day of session and was sent to the governor. The goal of this legislation is to find solutions to prevent these crimes, recommend best practices for safety through education and ensure victims are protected. 

Senate Bill 820, “Valentine’s Law,” honors the late Antonio Valentine, a St. Louis County police officer who was killed in the line of duty when his police vehicle was hit head on by a stolen car. I worked closely with the St. Louis County police and a colleague from the other side of the aisle to get this bipartisan bill passed and make it a felony to flee from police during an attempted vehicle stop. Fleeing from the police at high speeds puts everyone in danger, and I am happy and proud to see this common sense legislation move forward and make the roads safer for everyone.

One of the biggest accomplishments this session was the passage of Senate Bill 748, extending Missouri’s federal reimbursement allowance (FRA) law through 2029, continuing federal Medicaid reimbursements to Missouri hospitals, ambulances and other essential medical services. The FRA is a major funding source for the state and passing this important legislation was critical to both maintaining Missouri’s health care system and passing a fiscal year 2025 budget. 

Each legislative session, the Missouri General Assembly is tasked with drafting and passing a balanced state operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year. We got off to a late start on the budget, but still sent a $51.7 billion budget to the governor’s desk that was hundreds of millions of dollars short of what he’d requested for Missouri’s health and social services programs. Though we met our constitutional deadline with just hours to spare and approved a balanced budget that will benefit Missourians, I suspect we may be back in the Capitol in the fall for an extra session to make sure state agencies have enough money. Aside from that, possibly the only legislative activity remaining for 2024 is the annual veto session on Sept. 11.  

Thanks largely to the determination of the minority party to protect majority rule in Missouri, Senate Joint Resolution 74, initiative petition reform, did not cross the finish line this year. A historic 50-plus-hour filibuster over what I believe was misleading and unnecessary language called “ballot candy” kept the legislation from moving forward in the final days of session. Since 1907, the initiative petition process in Missouri has allowed voters to directly participate in democracy. By gathering a set number of signatures in six congressional districts and receiving a simple majority of statewide votes, Missouri voters have been able to effectively bypass the Legislature, pass new policies and change the state’s constitution. If SJR 74 would have passed, it would have made it harder for Missouri voters to change the state constitution through citizen-led petitions by requiring both a statewide majority of votes and a majority in five of the state’s eight congressional districts to approve constitutional amendments. I join many of my Senate colleagues who don’t believe we should be making it harder for citizens to have their voices heard at the ballot box. I am really proud to have stood up and defended the initiative petition process that has worked for so long in the state of Missouri. 

If you’d like to see all legislation passed this year, you can find descriptions and full bill text at senate.mo.gov. Click on the “Legislation” tab and scroll down on the left side to “Truly Agreed Bills.” For more information about my legislative actions, you can visit my official Senate web page at senate.mo.gov/McCreery.  

Unclaimed Property

According to the Missouri Treasurer, 1 in 10 Missourians has unclaimed property. Visit https://treasurer.mo.gov/UnclaimedProperty/en/ to see if you have property to claim.

Keep in Touch

Please keep in touch during the interim. We are here to serve you year-round and always appreciate hearing from you. If there is anything I or my amazing staff, Hannah Dolan and Emily O’ Laughlin, can assist you with, please call us at 573-751-9762 or email me at tracy.mccreery@senate.mo.gov.