JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House Republican Caucus on Jan. 12 announced a new sub-caucus Policy Development Caucus (PDC) which will evaluate and discuss House Bills proposed by its members and help recommend which bills should be legislative priorities for the House Republican Caucus.

“With a supermajority, it is sometimes challenging to get consensus on which bills should be a priority for our caucus,” according to House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-St. Louis, in a press release. “The PDC is a 30-member microcosm of our caucus that accurately reflects the views and opinions of all our caucus members, and we believe they can assist the majority leadership team in developing caucus priorities that advance our conservative principles and solve Missouri’s problems.”

The number of legislative proposals submitted by members continues to increase yearly. A total of 787 House Bills were prefiled for the 2024 legislative session, breaking the previous record of 776 set in 2020. In the first two weeks of the 2024 session, Plocher referred a record 203 bills to committees.

“The PDC will be a great asset to our leadership team in helping us to identify and prioritize the best proposals our caucus should consider,” said Majority Floor Leader Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit. “Having a working group offer advice and recommendations on the priorities will make our big caucus policy meetings much more productive and improve our effectiveness in turning those proposals into law.”

Rep. Mike Henderson will lead the caucus, and the vice chair is Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin. The PDC is comprised of 30 members of the House Republican Caucus and meets weekly to consider actual bills that Republican Caucus members have filed. 

“House Republicans are serious about passing good legislation that solves Missouri’s problems, but having a deep policy discussion with a supermajority of members in a timely manner can be cumbersome,” said Henderson, R-Bonne Terre, added. “The PDC will play a positive role in identifying caucus priorities that advance our conservative principles and keep our members informed and pulling in the same direction.”

The PDC is a sub-caucus of the Republican Majority House Caucus, and their meetings are limited to the majority members and are closed to lobbyists and special interests.