I think we can all agree on one thing: the teenage workforce is important not only to the teens but to Missouri. We need to work toward creating an environment where every young person who wants to work has the opportunity.
As of January 1, 2026, Missouri's minimum wage will be $15 per hour. But when it comes to raising the minimum wage for teenagers, we need to slow down. We have to look at the real-world consequences of raising their starting wages. Good intentions don’t always lead to good results.
In this case, raising wages for teens could actually hurt the very young people we're trying to help.
That's why I filed SB 1325. It allows the minimum wage for adults to increase, while keeping the minimum wage for minors at $12.30 or the federal prevailing wage, whichever is higher.
Teen jobs are different
For many young people, a part-time job is their first step into the workforce. These are entry-level positions that require training, supervision, and patience from employers.
Teens aren't being hired because they already have years of experience. They're being hired so they can gain it.
When the cost of hiring an entry-level worker goes up too high, employers don’t just absorb the cost. They adjust. And we're already seeing that happen.
In the Kansas City area, some businesses are cutting their teenage workforce by 25 percent or more. When tough decisions have to be made, teen workers are often the first to lose hours or lose jobs altogether. That means fewer opportunities for young people to learn responsibility, build skills, and earn their own money.
The long-term impact matters
A higher hourly wage doesn't help a teenager who can't find a job. Work experience teaches things a classroom can't. Pricing teens out of the workforce today creates bigger problems tomorrow.
It's also important to keep Missouri in perspective. Our state's minimum wage is already about $4.30 higher than many other Midwestern states. At $12.30 an hour, Missouri teens are already earning more than teens in surrounding states and only $2.70 less than adults would earn at a $15 minimum wage. That's a reasonable balance for entry-level work.
Here are current minimum wage rates for 16 mid-western states:
$7.25 - Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin, North Dakota
$11.00 - Arkansas
$11.13 - Minnesota
$11.50 - South Dakota
$12.48 - Michigan
$13.50 - Nebraska
$15.00 - Illinois
$12.30 per hour is a fair starting wage for a 16 or 17 year old. As they gain experience and skills, employers can reward them with pay increases, with the $15 per hour mandate starting at age 18.
Most Missouri Businesses Already Pay $15 or More
While specific data on the percentage of businesses is unavailable, estimates on the workforce in Missouri indicate that approximately 75% of workers in Missouri are already paying $15 per hour or more. This suggests that the majority of businesses pay above the minimum threshold to remain competitive and retain employees.
Nothing in this legislation stops an employer from paying a teen more if they choose to. It simply gives businesses the flexibility to decide how to run their operations and how to reward hard work.
Protecting teen jobs today protects Missouri's workforce tomorrow. We can raise wages for adults while still making sure young people have a foot in the door.
This approach is practical, balanced, and focused on long-term success.
Why SB 919 Matters
Missouri families are being squeezed out of their homes, and it’s not because they’ve suddenly done something wrong. It’s because the system that governs property assessments and taxes has drifted away from fairness, transparency, and common sense.
Across our state — not just in Jackson County, but in rural, suburban, and urban communities alike — homeowners are opening their tax bills and seeing shocking increases. Although there is a Senior Tax Credit Program, many seniors on fixed incomes are still uninformed of its benefits and how to participate. Young families trying to stay rooted in their neighborhoods, as well as working Missourians who have lived in their homes for decades are all feeling the same pressure: rising property taxes that threaten their ability to buy and keep a home.
The Missouri State Tax Commission has issued memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to more than 80 counties, directing them to raise home assessments to meet a required threshold of 90–110% of market value. As a result, many counties are now implementing drastic assessment increases — often with little warning, limited explanation, and no meaningful safeguard for taxpayers.
Property Rights are Key to Liberty.
I believe strongly in property rights. Your home is not just an asset on a spreadsheet — it’s where you raise your children, care for aging parents, build community, and put down roots. Government policy should help people stay in their homes, not tax them out of them.
SB 919 is a comprehensive, taxpayer-focused response to the property tax crisis Missouri is facing right now. The bill does four important things to restore fairness, accountability, and predictability to the system.
1. 5% Cap on Real Property Tax Liability Every 2 Years
SB 919 expands and strengthens property tax relief statewide.
Instead of limiting tax credits to certain counties, this bill ensures all Missouri counties provide a property tax credit that caps annual increases in real property tax liability at whichever is lower of:
- 5% every 2 years, or
- Consumer Price Index (rate of inflation)
For properties that are officially determined to be undervalued, a temporary cap of 15% every 2 years would apply until valuations are brought back into compliance. Once that happens, the lower cap applies again.
This approach recognizes the need for valuation corrections while still protecting property owners from sudden, destabilizing tax spikes.
2. Protecting Property Owners from Unexpected Reclassification
SB 919 prevents assessors from reclassifying real property without first conducting an in-person consultation with the property owner. Too often, property owners don’t find out their property has been reclassified until they receive their bill.
Under this bill, assessors must make a documented, good-faith effort to contact the owner before a reclassification can occur. This ensures transparency, communication, and basic due process — principles every taxpayer deserves.
3. Stopping Excessive Assessment Increases on Homes
Current law allows residential property assessments to increase by more than 15% if an assessor conducts a physical inspection. Under my legislation, the assessed valuation of residential real property may not increase by more than 15% — period. No exceptions.
Property owners would maintain the right to request a physical inspection of their property, but without fear that doing so could lead to a higher assessment.
4. Requiring Fair and Consistent Valuation Standards
SB 919 brings clarity and accountability to how the State Tax Commission equalizes property values across counties.
The Missouri Constitution requires the Commission to determine whether property is valued above or below true market value. Currently, the STC uses a threshold of 90-110% of true market value. That threshold is set by the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), not Missouri statute.
This bill creates Missouri statute that dictates the threshold be lowered to 75% - 100% of true market value. I don't believe anyone should be paying taxes on anything over 100%.
This ensures consistency statewide and prevents extreme valuation swings that harm local communities and household budgets.
Keeping Missourians in Their Homes
The problem of Increasing real property taxes is no longer isolated to Jackson County. It is happening across Missouri, and it demands a statewide solution.
SB 919 is about continuing to fund local government while providing fairness & predictability to taxpayers. Most importantly, it’s about keeping people in their homes rather than taxing people out of them.
I will continue to stand up for property owners, fight for transparency in government, and work to ensure that Missouri’s tax system reflects our shared values of fairness, stability, and respect for the people who call this state home.
Let’s face it — Artificial Intelligence is just that: artificial.
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping our lives, and nowhere are the risks more serious than in our elections and in the lives of our children. From AI-generated political messages designed to manipulate voters, to the misuse of children’s images to create exploitative or harmful content, these technologies are being deployed faster than the law can respond.
As your state senator, my first responsibility is to protect Missourians — especially families and the integrity of our democratic process.
I also believe deeply in state sovereignty and local control, which is why I am troubled by recent efforts at the federal level to prevent states from acting where Washington has failed. Missouri should not be left defenseless while powerful technology outpaces accountability.
Here are clear, public examples of the harms unregulated AI has caused — the kind of real-world damage that demands action.
AI & Election Integrity
Artificial intelligence isn’t just a tool for convenience — it’s rapidly becoming a powerful weapon in shaping political opinion and influencing elections, often without voters’ awareness.
AI generated robocalls mimicking public officials' voices have already appeared in the United States. In January 2024, thousands of New Hampshire voters received phone calls using an AI-generated voice resembling President Joe Biden, falsely urging them not to participate in the state’s presidential primary — a tactic widely condemned as voter suppression and election interference. Criminal charges and federal fines have been pursued in connection with these false calls under laws prohibiting impersonation and deceptive practices.
Further research shows that AI chatbots can significantly alter voter opinions with only a short interaction. A 2025 study from Cornell University found that conversational AI can shift voter support in either direction by producing large amounts of persuasive claims, some of which are incomplete, biased, or misleading — meaning generative AI could be harnessed to sway political views on a massive scale.
These incidents underscore how accessible AI tools have become and how easily they can be deployed to circulate misleading political content — potentially suppressing turnout, distorting public perception and affecting outcomes of elections along with horribly damaging the character and reputations of innocent candidates.
The ability to fabricate credible-sounding statements and realistic video at scale poses a growing threat to our elections — and Missouri should not wait for federal action.
Exploitation of Children
One of the most alarming and underreported harms of unregulated AI is the exploitation of children’s images.
AI is trained on enormous datasets scraped from the internet that include identifiable photos of children - often without consent. These datasets empower generative models to create convincing AI-generated images or videos of minors that never existed or depict them in harmful or exploitative scenarios. Researchers warn that even personal photos parents post online can be reused in training sets and later manipulated without permission, creating risks of deepfake abuse and child exploitation
Law enforcement has documented real cases where generative AI tools were used to create child sexual abuse material — in one instance, a medical professional received a decades-long prison sentence for generating and distributing AI-produced sexual images of minors. Moreover, AI is being used by private individuals — including teenagers — to sexualize images of peers, causing profound emotional trauma, reputational damage, and long-lasting harm to young people’s lives.
These are not hypothetical risks; they are occurring today in real communities, and they show that unchecked AI use can put children directly in harm's path.
Other Harms of Unregulated AI
AI doesn’t only threaten political integrity and children’s welfare. It has real life risks that have already caused harm or have great potential to harm if left unchecked:
- Data privacy issues
- Intellectual property infringement
- Job loss
- Lack of transparency
- Unsafe decision-making by law enforcement, doctors, etc.
These are real harms and real people have already experienced many due to the lack of adequate oversight of AI.
My Response: SB 1012
To confront these threats, I am proud to sponsor Senate Bill 1012. SB 1012 creates new state provisions relating to artificially generated content, especially where it intersects with elections and exploitation.
Key components of SB 1012 include:
- Election Transparency. Political ads, communications, and public messaging content created or modified using AI must clearly disclose that they contain AI-generated elements, with violations.
- Criminal Penalties for Harmful Deepfakes: The bill establishes criminal offenses for creating or threatening to publicly disclose deepfakes of individuals under 18 with penalties ranging from class E to class B felonies depending on severity.
SB 1012 is common sense legislation that protects elections and safeguards children while respecting innovation and political expression.
Why a Federal Clampdown on States Is No Solution
On December 11, 2025 the President signed an executive order attempting to centralize AI policy and restrict states from creating regulations of their own. Critics — including many state leaders — argue this overreaches and could prevent states from protecting their residents while Congress fails to act.
Executive orders are not legislation and cannot preempt state law absent specific congressional authorization. States have long exercised authority over consumer protection, child welfare, elections, and safety — areas where AI is already creating novel harms. Preempting state authority at this critical moment risks leaving citizens exposed and communities unprotected.
States must be able to act when technology outpaces federal law. Missouri will not shrug off that responsibility.
Welcome Innovation With Common Sense
We should welcome technology that improves lives. But welcome does not mean blind trust. The stories above are proof that when companies and governments move faster than common-sense protections, ordinary people are the ones who get hurt. I respect the principle of federal leadership, but not when it weakens the ability of states to defend their citizens.
If Washington insists on trying to preempt state action, we should not abandon our duty to protect our communities. I will keep fighting for common-sense rules that keep families safe, preserve our freedoms, and hold those who profit from technology accountable when their systems harm people.
Missouri can - and must - do better.
