Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed 36 bills into state law late Monday afternoon.
One of the bills now set to become law contains a multitude of election policies, including new limitations to seeking continuous campaign donations.
Missouri candidates will no longer be able to collect automatic campaign donations without the explicit permission of the donor.
Under the legislation, affirmation cannot include failing to uncheck a prechecked box authorizing the continuing donation.
Rep. Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis County, said this past session that he filed the legislation after reading about a Nebraska man who unknowingly contributed $1,050 to former state Sen. Bill Eigel's campaign for St. Charles County executive.
Eigel told St. Louis Public Radio that critics of this strategy are trying to make it harder for candidates to establish a donor network.
Additionally, the bill restores voting rights to many people who are either on probation or parole.
Current law prohibits people from voting until they are finally discharged from probation or parole after conviction for a felony.
The new bill changes that statute and instead bars only people from voting while on parole or probation after conviction for specific crimes, including murder and child endangerment.
One section of the bill that received pushback from some lawmakers is a limitation on electioneering.
The new provision allows election authorities to move some electioneering to 50 feet away from the entrance of a polling place. Authorities would have to publicly place a notice at least six weeks before an election to make that change.
However, candidates will still be able to be within 25 feet of the entrance to engage with voters.
The law allows candidates to use campaign funds for childcare costs.
Kehoe signed another bill related to elections, this one specifically for St. Charles County.
That bill requires school districts that largely exist within the county to hold their school board elections in November.
In addition to moving the elections, the legislation requires all terms on the school board to be four years.
At the time of filing, candidates would be able to designate their party affiliation and allow for that affiliation to appear besides their name on the ballot.
The law also moves all proposals that would levy a new tax or renew or increase existing tax levies in a St. Charles County school district to the November election.
Kehoe also signed:
- Legislation raising the speed limit on rural highways and interstates to 75 mph.
- A bill allowing vendors to round a sale to the closest five cents for cash transactions. Supporters of the law say it's necessary because the U.S. Mint officially stopped producing pennies in Nov. 2025.
- The creation of a new Purple Alert System within the department of public safety. The system will aid in identifying and locating missing people with developmental disabilities whose disappearance poses a threat to themselves.
Kehoe signed an additional eight pieces of legislation into law earlier on Monday, including a downtown development bill.
Copyright 2026 St. Louis Public Radio
