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Read. Follow. Verify.Missouri Senate Bill 996 modifies administrative law judge rules, attorney change procedures, and workers' compensation surcharges
Last action · May 15, 2026: Informal Calendar S Bills for PerfectionSponsor: David Gregory
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What This Bill Would Do
SB 996 alters workers' compensation procedures by permitting claimants to change attorneys via a signed written agreement filed with the Commission, establishing a mandatory retirement age of 70 for s, and updating ALJ retention review schedules to every four years beginning August 28, 2026. The measure also exempts ALJs from the , sets new removal and suspension procedures through the Administrative Hearing Commission, adjusts chief ALJ salary premiums, and modifies the rounding rule for workers' compensation surcharges.
The legislation alters job security, evaluation timelines, and removal processes for s while changing how claimants update legal representation and how administrative surcharges are calculated.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Administrative law judges
Subject to a mandatory retirement age of 70, a shorter four-year retention vote cycle, new disciplinary and removal processes, and fixed statutory compensation rates.
Claimants in workers' compensation cases
Permitted to update attorney representation and fee arrangements through a signed written agreement filed with the Commission.
Division of Workers' Compensation
Granted authority to hold remote electronic hearings and required to adjust surcharge rounding calculations.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often will administrative law judges face retention votes under the bill?
What is the new retirement age for administrative law judges?
How are workers' compensation tax and surcharge rates to be rounded?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently on floor. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Passed.
Procedural history
10 actions- May 15, 2026SenateInformal Calendar S Bills for Perfection
- Apr 8, 2026SenateSS S offered (Gregory-15)--(4963S.05F)
- Apr 8, 2026SenateBill Placed on Informal Calendar
- Mar 31, 2026SenateBill Placed on Informal Calendar
- Mar 25, 2026SenateReported from S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Feb 11, 2026SenateCommitteeVoted Do Pass S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
Show 4 earlier actions
- Feb 4, 2026SenateHearing Conducted S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Jan 8, 2026SenateFloorSecond Read and Referred S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Jan 7, 2026SenateIntroducedS First Read
- Dec 1, 2025SenatePrefiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. The text on record is the 4963S.02I - Introduced version. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.senate.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance55How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy30Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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