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SR 546

SR 546 - This Senate resolution modifies Senate Rule 50 so that the referral of a bill to a committee by the President Pro Tem of the Senate shall be to a committee designated by the sponsor of the bill. This resolution is identical to SR 85 (2025). JIM ERTLE

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Mike Moon

Allows Missouri Senate bill sponsors to choose their bill's committee assignment instead of the President Pro Tem, shifting procedural power from leadership to individual legislators.

Referred S Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee
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Bill Summary · SR 546

Legislative bill overview

SR 546 modifies Missouri Senate Rule 50 to allow bill sponsors to designate which committee receives their legislation, rather than leaving that decision to the President Pro Tem. This shifts committee assignment authority from leadership to individual legislators based on sponsorship.

Why is this important

Committee assignment significantly influences a bill's fate—favorable committees may advance legislation while others may let it languish. This rule change redistributes procedural power within the chamber and could affect which bills receive serious consideration and floor votes.

Potential points of contention

  • Leadership control vs. sponsor autonomy: Removes the President Pro Tem's traditional gatekeeping power over committee routing, which leadership may use to manage the legislative agenda
  • Strategic manipulation: Sponsors could route bills to ideologically aligned committees to bypass scrutiny or stack the deck, rather than having assignments reflect institutional balance
  • Operational consistency: May create inefficient committee workloads if controversial bills cluster in particular committees, disrupting normal legislative workflow and expertise-based assignments

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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