Legislative Report
July 13, 2026
Glenn Koenen
For the Bicentennial the Ford Administration issued a special quarter. Under
Washington’s profile it had two dates – 1776 – 1976. On the back it had a colonial
drummer. For the 250th the Trump Administration’s quarter features a full face
dour Washington. On the back stands a colonial soldier with rifle.
Federal Items:
Sanity is overrated.
Each day Donald Trump contradicts his previous positions, piles scorn on allies while praising enemies and invents new ways to enforce his control on government and American life. This is now normal.
Congress continues to let Trump be Trump. Despite feeble attempts to lightly criticize the President (such as a non-binding resolution on the Iran War supported by Republicans and Democrats) the House of Representatives and the Senate avoid brining to a vote any item which upsets Donald Trump. Note how the House Speaker sent Congress home early for the July 4th break rather than risk consideration of several proposals Trump opposes.
Meanwhile, the Senate struggles to function due to Trump’s demand that the anti-voter SAVE Act (creating new restrictions on voting in all 50 states) be passed – even wanting that measure attached to the defense appropriation bill! For now he’s holding the bi-partisan housing bill hostage to SAVE.
The Senate faces another problem: the super slim GOP majority means many proposals can’t be brought up for a vote if any Republicans oppose the idea. (Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell’s absence due to a health crisis makes this bad situation worse.)
By stretching his administrative powers, Trump has found ways to add more chaos to the government. He removed civil service protection for thousands of senior federal staff. Procedures for enforcing environmental rules have disappeared. At a time when immigration courts are jammed he’s fired hundreds of immigration judges. His HHS Secretary (Kennedy) is allowing known allergens to be added to the Generally Recognized As Safe [GRAS] list of food ingredients that need not be listed on the nutrition labels.
And, Trump’s minions have significantly weakened enforcement of federal gun laws:
“The Trump Administration is scrapping more than three dozen firearms regulations, abandoning crackdowns on illegal sales, restoring gun rights to some people with mental illness and loosening oversight of private weapons transactions.” New York Times 7/7/26
The Supreme Court is helping gun owners too. For example, they recently ruled that the state of Hawaii can’t let businesses ban guns on their property.
The court also came within a whisker of repealing the generally accepted meaning of the 14th Amendment. The court did allow Trump to fire most members of bipartisan and non-partisan boards and commissions, including the body dealing with elections (where Trump fired the Democrats).
State Items:
Missouri does not have a revenue problem, Missouri has a spending problem.
Gov. Mike Kehoe
The state’s Fiscal Year 2026 ended on June 30, 2026. At the close of business that day net General Revenue collections were 2.87% below the same day a year earlier. The state’s budget had expected General Revenue to grow by 4.5%, so, the actual amount missed projections by more than 7%!
Even after line item vetoes and spending restraints ordered by the governor, it is likely that expenditures will have to be reduced even more in coming months.
The budget did not fully fund the GOP’s meager school Foundation Formula. The budget added money to the MO Scholars tuition payments to private schools.
The budget reduces funds for non-profits helping urban teens. The budget added money to promote Missouri products overseas.
The budget trims support for kids with special challenges. The budget increases funding for the governor’s plane.
The majority party has begun planning for legislative action to be triggered by the passage of Amendment 5 – the proposal to eliminate the income tax and reduce property taxes. The group think is that the Kehoe administration will use Amendment 5 not just to end the income tax but to also devastate many critical state programs by limiting their money.
Among the expected priorities…
1. Ending expanded Medicaid for working Missourians.
2. Reducing Medicaid reimbursement rates to health care providers.
3. Creating a new, much cheaper funding mechanism for public education at all levels.
4. Retrenching government oversight of business activities.
The state faces around $150 to $200 million in new General Revenue costs for operating food stamps under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some states are openly talking of ending food stamps rather than absorbing the cost. Killing SNAP in Missouri would take about $1.4 billion out of grocery store cash registers each year.
The OBBBA will also cost Missouri money for operating Medicaid – perhaps $2 billion a year!
Oh yes, Affordable Care Act health plan enrollment dropped about 25% in the past year, the loss tied to major (in some cases 200%) premium increases.
So, even without Amendment 5 passing this state faces extreme cash flow issues.
The governor did sign bills increasing DWI enforcement and allowing pregnant women to continue with divorce proceedings.
Alas, he also signed the bill permitting Missouri Rangers – background checked non-law enforcement people – to carry guns in schools.
Several years ago a bi-partisan group developed a plan for renovating the state Capitol, including solving ADA issues and major wiring and water damage problems. Again this year, funds for the building are being diverted to fill budget shortfalls