Lawmakers finish (first) special state legislative session

Are state lawmakers done with their extra work at the Missouri Capitol this year?

Gov. Parson said Wednesday to expect another special session in October, in part to pay for a statewide witness protection program. That was one of two bills passed during the first special session on violent crime.

“It takes a while sometimes to get things on-boarded, and the governor does have a lot of authority with a lot of programs that he has to be able to get things in place,” Ashland Republican state representative Sara Walsh said on The Mike Ferguson Show. “That probably wouldn’t start until next session anyway in some regards.”

Three measures the governor called for in the special session did not pass, but Walsh says lawmakers may give them a look next year when they have more time.

More from The Associated Press:

Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s proposal to give the Missouri attorney general the power to intervene in St. Louis homicide cases has failed. The GOP-led state House finished work Wednesday without taking action on the bill. Parson had asked lawmakers to pass the bill midway through a special legislative session focused on violent crime. The proposal was widely seen as criticism of St. Louis’ first Black prosecutor, Kim Gardner, who is a Democrat. The measure passed the Senate after a faction of Republicans forced a vote on it. But it didn’t gain traction in the House. Missouri prosecutors opposed the measure, arguing it would undermine local control.