New Missouri laws now in effect

Many new laws passed during the legislative session and signed into law took effect Monday. Here are some of the most notable new laws and how they might affect residents.
Transgender health care (SB49)
The law, signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson in June, prohibits Missouri health care providers from providing puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgeries to minors. Minors prescribed puberty blockers or hormones before Aug. 28 would be able to continue to receive those treatments.
Most adults would still have access to transgender health care under the law, but Medicaid wouldn’t cover it and prisoners’ access to surgeries would be limited.
Physicians who violate the law face having their licenses revoked and being sued by patients. The law makes it easier for former patients to sue, giving them 15 years to go to court and promising at least $500,000 in damages if they succeed.
The law expires in August 2027.
A St. Louis judge last week denied a request for an injunction that would have delayed the implementation of the new law.
Another bill, Senate Bill 39, was also signed into law. That law bans transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams from kindergarten through college. Both public and private schools face losing all state funding for violating the law.
Texting while driving (SB398)
Parson approved a ban on phone use while driving, which covers holding a phone, making calls and reading messages. Using phones for navigation, emergency calls and listening to podcasts or music will be allowed, as well as hands-free phone use. The law takes effect in 2025. Until then, violators will only be given a warning.
In addition to the hands-free portions, the law also affects the way sales taxes will be paid on cars purchased in the state. Under the law, sales taxes will be paid at the point of sale rather than at a DMV.
The change is an effort to cut down on expired temporary tags. It will allow buyers to include sales tax in the monthly payment for a car rather than having to make a single sales tax payment that can be thousands of dollars.
The sales tax portion of the law is still likely a few years from really taking effect. That portion of the law requires a new computer system that was green-lit in 2020. The system is still being completed.
Postpartum medicaid (SB45)
Lower-income new mothers will get a full year of Medicaid health-care coverage in Missouri under legislation signed by Parson. Missouri joins a growing list of Republican-led states that previously balked at Medicaid expansions but are now joining Democratic states in providing 12 months of coverage — instead of the typical 60 days — after women give birth.
Senior tax breaks (SB190)
Missouri’s senior homeowners could be spared from rate hikes on property taxes under a bill signed by Parson. Beginning in September, counties can approve property tax breaks for people age 65 and older. The measure also ends state taxes on Social Security benefits.
Welfare benefits (SB45 and SB106)
Workers who receive raises no longer will be cut off from food stamps and welfare benefits if a program signed by Parson is implemented. The law, which depends on permission from the federal government, would allow reduced aid proportionate to workers’ raises. The idea is that taking away benefits punishes workers for getting promoted, which might encourage people to stay in lower-earning jobs.
In July, Parson signed the following pieces of legislation:
Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 7 – America 250 Missouri Commission
SB 20 – modifies provisions related to retirement
SB 24 – creates new provisions relating to vulnerable persons
SB 28 – modifies provisions relating to access to public records of the Missouri State Highway Patrol
SB 34 – allows Missouri school districts and charter schools to offer elective social studies courses on Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament
SB 35 – modifies provisions relating to child custody and child support enforcement
SB 40 – modifies provisions relating to background check requirements for employment in certain fields
SB 45 – modifies provisions relating to health care
SB 63 – creates new provisions relating to financial institutions
SB 70 – modifies license reciprocity provisions and adopts the Counseling Interstate Compact for professional counselors
SB 75 – modifies provisions relating to retirement systems
SB 94 – establishes tax credits for the production of certain entertainment
SB 101 – enacts provisions relating to property and casualty insurance
SB 103 – modifies judicial proceedings
SB 106 – modifies provisions relating to public health
SB 109 – modifies provisions relating to mining
SB 116 – modifies provisions relating to the disposition of the dead
SB 127 – enacts state designations marked by the Missouri Department of Transportation
SB 138 – modifies and creates new provisions relating to agriculture
SB 139 – enacts provisions relating to state designations
SB 157 – modifies provisions relating to professions requiring licensure
SB 186 – modifies provisions relating to public safety
SB 190 – modifies provisions relating to tax relief for seniors
SB 227 – modifies provisions relating to the culpable mental state necessary for a homicide offense
SB 398 – enacts provisions relating to motor vehicles
House Bill (HB) 115 – modifies provisions relating to licensing of health care professionals
HB 202 – modifies provisions relating to environmental regulation
HB 402 – modifies provisions relating to health care
HB 417 – provides incentives for certain individuals to obtain employment-related skills
HB 447 – modifies the duties of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
HB 802 – authorizes the conveyance of certain state property