Skip to Main Content

Missouri Government: Laws

Your gateway to state government information..

Missouri Law and Legislative Source Guide

General Assembly House and Senate Bills
  1995-present

House and Senate bills in full text with indexes.

Search provides bill text, bill summaries, amendments, fiscal notes, calendars, committee reports and courtesy resolutions.
 

1981-1999

 

MU's Special Collections department holds microfilmed bills from the 81st General Assembly 1st session (1981), through the 90th General Assembly 1st session (1999.) Bill summaries and calendars are in print format under call number GA.Ho11/2. Fiscal notes are under call number GA.Ho11/3.

Indexing available:
  1960-1980

 

House - MU ANNEX J87.M8 D4
Senate - MU ANNEX J87.M8 D28

Indexing available:

  • Printed bill indexes by subject, sponsor and number, 1967-1980, published by Missouri Committee on Legislative Research.
  • Printed bill indexes in the Missouri Chamber of Commerce Legislative Report Service. Click for 1973-1980
  • Check legislative journals. At the back of each volume, or perhaps published separately, there may be an index to bills by subject.
1895-current  State Historical Society of Missouri
General Assembly House and Senate Journals

 

Legislative journals document votes on bills, committee actions, action taken on motions, and governor's addresses to the General Assembly.  Journals are arranged by date. There might be a subject index at the back, or published separately. Historical note: appendixes to early journals (1840s-1953) included annual and biennial reports from selected state agencies.
 

Internet

1996-2018

Journals
 

Microform

1986-1996

83rd-88th General Assembly journals kept in Government Documents
  Print 1842-1985 House Journals - MU ELLIS J 87 .M8
  Print 1838-1985 Senate Journals - MU ELLIS J 87 .M8b
Print & Microform 1805-current State Historical Society of Missouri
Missouri Revised Statutes (title varies)   Link to current web version

 

 The single, cumulated source for all Missouri laws in effect as of a given year.  Updated with annual supplements.

 

Online

 Current

Missouri Revised Statues

 

Online

2000-2008

Missouri Revised Statutes Search Laws of Missouri database searchable by keyword but does not allow Boolean searching.

 

Print

2000

MU ELLIS REFERENCE    KFM7830 2000 .A252

 

 Print 1994, 1986, 1978, 1969 MU ELLIS KFM7830 [date] .A2 
Print 1959, 1949, 1939, 1929,  1919, 1909 MU ELLIS 
(Click on year to get call number)
Print 1899, 1889, 1879, 1870, 1866, 1855, 1845, 1835, 1825 MU ELLIS Special Collections
(Click on year to get call number)
Session Laws of Missouri

 

These annual volumes each contain only the laws passed during individual sessions of the General Assembly.  Laws, referendum bills, vetoed bills, proposed constitutional amendments, and concurrent resolutions are included.  There is a cumulated index to Missouri laws from 1804-1868.
  Print 2000-2010 MU DOCS REFERENCE K .M692

 

Print

1825-up to last 

MU ELLIS K .M692

 

Microprint

1814-1816

MERLIN link
Code of State Regulations Full text for current edition * MERLIN

 

Arranged by "titles" corresponding to state agencies, the code compiles rules and regulations for operations of the state government.   The Code is updated twice monthly by the Missouri Register.

 
Governor's Executive Orders Full text for 1984-present

 

 

Orders are arranged by year then numerically. 
  Print 1921-1986 (incomplete) MU ELLIS     JK5430 .A33
Missouri Constitution link to web version

 

 

Missouri has operated under four constitutions: 1820, 1865, 1875 and 1945.  It is continually revised and amended.  Find past versions printed  in editions of the Missouri Revised Statutes.
Missouri Roster Full text for current edition* MERLIN
  This source is useful for its contact information for state and county officials and departmental divisions.  Like the Blue Book (Official Manual), it also describes departments, shows election results, and provides town statistics.   
Voting Records

 

Voting records for U.S. senators and representatives from Missouri are readily available through Project Vote-Smart.   You can use this website to find a legislator's voting record by subject.

Unfortunately, voting records for legislators in the Missouri state House and Senate are not arranged either by legislator or by subject in the Missouri legislative journals.  Rather, the journals are arranged chronologically.  To see how a legislator voted, first you must identify a bill that interests you. Next, determine the date that the bill came to a vote. Finally, locate that date in the legislative journals and browse until you find the roll call vote.