Almost daily, you hear about the virtues or evil of the many bills moving through the legislature. What most Missourians don’t realize is there is only one thing that the Missouri Constitution requires the General Assembly to do every year:

Pass a balanced budget.

Not only do legislators need to agree on how to spend your tax money, but they need to have it wrapped up a week before the General Assembly adjourns. This year, the budget must be passed by Friday, May 6.

It’s not a secret that this has been one of the most contentious sessions perhaps ever. With the final gavel dropping on May 13, the days before the final week is usually devoted almost exclusively to finishing the budget. That means that meaningful tax, tort, labor, and regulatory reform bills that have not reached the finish line, get pushed back to the hectic final week.

With the Senate having a propensity for filibustering at the drop of a hat, these last days have been particularly frustrating for those that wish to see meaningful business-friendly bills pass and go to the governor.