Missouri House of Representatives

Missouri House Chief Clerk Dana Miller filed a lawsuit in May accusing Plocher and his chief of staff, Rod Jetton, of harassment and intimidation.

A Democrat on the committee says the move is election year posturing.

Missouri House Majority Leader Jon Patterson called the Kansas legislation a "wakeup call" and anticipates lawmakers will craft a response to keep the two teams.

The Greene County Clerk was the GOP nominee for secretary of state in 2012, losing a close race to Democrat Jason Kander.

Pharmacy manufacturers, who are playing defense on similar bills across the country, want Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to veto the legislation because the discounted prescriptions are often sold to patients at full retail price.

This year’s Missouri General Assembly session was defined by fighting among factions in the Republican Party amid campaigns for other offices ahead of the November general election. It resulted in a recent low for passing legislation. Most laws are still waiting a signature or veto from Gov. Mike Parson.

Session ended on Friday with recriminations from within the GOP supermajority — and measured optimism from Democrats that they could gain seats this year.

Though the measure banning child marriage passed a House committee this week, GOP leaders said it was too late to place the bill on the calendar for debate before the session ends.

In a rare instance of triumph for Missouri Democrats, an effort to raise the bar to amend the state constitution — a central GOP priority — was defeated.

If voters pass the resolution, it would bar local governments from adopting ranked-choice voting models. St. Louis municipal elections would not be affected.