Are you breaking Missouri law? There are so many, it’s hard to tell | Opinion

Did you break the law today? Most Missourians would answer with an emphatic no. Can you be so sure, though? According to the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, which tracks federal and state regulations codified in law, Missouri has more than 94,000 restrictions as of 2023. When combined with federal restrictions, the number skyrockets to 1.2 million.

With prefiling for the 2026 regular session of the Missouri General Assembly set to open next month, legislators will file thousands of bills that would further complicate the legal burdens shouldered by Missourians. The legislature would do more for Missourians by doing less in 2026.

The problem with legislators is that they feel compelled to legislate. The incentive structure in place is the cause. A leading national voice on legislator effectiveness, the Center for Effective Lawmaking, uses set criteria to judge how effective legislators are at their job. The top criteria in that metric are the number of bills introduced and bills that became law. It is simple: The more bills introduced and the further those bills go to becoming law, the more effective the legislator is. No elected official, including those who support small government, wants their constituents to see them as ineffective. So, they legislate — and the legal code grows thicker each year.

However, legislators can reduce restrictions and still be effective. This approach was taken by state Rep. Dirk Deaton, a Seneca Republican, during the 2024 regular session. Rep. Deaton led H.R.B. 1, a sweeping piece of legislation that sought to streamline Missouri’s legal code and ease regulatory restrictions. H.R.B. 1 passed in the House overwhelmingly (139-2) only to die in the state Senate. The bill was not reintroduced in the House in 2025. A similar bill, S.B. 757, was introduced in 2025 by state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, a Jefferson County Republican, but it failed to reach the Senate floor. Legislators should refile S.B. 757 and similar bills in 2026.

A sleepy legislature does not mean a dead legislature. Each year, the appropriation bills that make up the state’s annual budget must be completed. State Rep. Mike Jones, a Kansas City Republican, ushered H.B. 939 across the goal line in the House, stopping local jurisdictions from implementing overburdensome environmental regulations on new housing developments. Some restrictions are necessary. State Sen. Travis Fitzwater, a Holts Summit Republican, and state Rep. Josh Hurlburt, a Smithville Republican, led legislation to the governor’s desk this year to protect underground infrastructure from line strikes during excavation.

Among the 50 states, Missouri is in the middle of the pack, ranked 33 of 50 by the Mercatus Center. California leads the way in restrictiveness, boasting a record 420,000 restrictions codified in law. Idaho comes in what proponents of small government would call the top spot — No. 50 — with just over 31,000 restrictions.

This is where Missouri should aim to be — to fall to the bottom of the regulatory rankings through a concerted effort to reduce burdensome restrictions.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has pointed out that less than 100 years ago, the entire United States Code fit into one volume. By 2018, the USC had approximately 54 volumes and more than 60,000 pages. Now, layer on Missouri state statutes, as well as county and municipal ordinances, and what we have is a legal system so complicated that multibillion-dollar corporations have difficulty navigating it. The average Missourian has no chance.

We never know if we are breaking the law. That is a problem. It is time to set ambitious goals to simplify our legal code before every facet of our lives is under restriction. Do more by doing less, and ensure individual liberty is the guiding force behind Missouri’s legislative process.

Brandon Temple is a legislative affairs expert with the Department of the Air Force. Upon his retirement from active duty in 2026, he and his family will settle in Clay County. The opinions are the author’s alone and in no way represent the opinions of the Department of the Air Force.