93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Missouri lawmakers will return to Jefferson City one week from today for the start of Missouri’s 2024 legislative session.
Under the state Constitution, lawmakers start their session on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January, which is January 3 this year. GOP Governor Mike Parson will deliver his final State of the State address on Wednesday January 24 at 3 pm. He’ll outline his legislative priorities and his budget recommendations. One of the governor’s top priorities in 2023 was state employee pay. Cole County’s approximately 14,000 state employees received a 8.7 percent pay raise in February, under a bipartisan plan proposed by the governor. The governor will address a joint session of the Legislature, where he’ll be flanked by Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe (R) and House Speaker Dean Plocher (R-Des Peres).
State Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (R-Jefferson City), who chairs the Missouri Senate General Laws Committee, says state lawmakers have also set aside millions of dollars to fund improvements to the Missouri Capitol’s aging interior. Senator Bernskoetter would like to see the governor address that during the State of the State.
Republicans will have supermajorities in both chambers again in 2024: they hold a 24-10 supermajority in the Missouri Senate and a 111-51 supermajority in the House.
