Caleb Rowden

The bill now goes to the Missouri Senate, which has already passed its own bill on the same topic. It’s unclear if the Senate will consider the House bill. Senate leadership said Thursday they would prefer the House pass the Senate version.

The bills now move to the House. Meanwhile, legalizing sports betting is stalled in the Senate.

Both bills now go to the Missouri House, where leadership says they are a priority.

The bill bars acquisition of farmland from five countries — China, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela — deemed by the state as enemies of the United States. It also limits how much land other countries would be able to own.

The legislation would raise the share of votes needed to pass a proposed change to the Missouri Constitution from a simple majority to 60%.

In addition to added transparency requirements, the bill bans the teaching of some diversity-centered topics. Senate Democrats believe the language would be interpreted too broadly.

Both the Senate president pro tem and Senate minority leader agree that Missouri needs to pay state workers more. Whether they go with exactly Gov. Mike Parson’s proposed plan is yet to be determined.

Missouri Republicans, especially in the Senate, spent much of the past two years fighting with each other but now are hoping to band together to pass major priorities such as making it harder to pass ballot petition initiatives.

State lawmakers see this session as a greater opportunity to pass some of their priorities.

State Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin will be responsible for deciding which bills get Senate floor time — and bridging divisions within her caucus.