When Missouri Senate leaders turned to a rarely-used procedural maneuver Wednesday to cut off debate and force a vote to ban abortion and repeal a paid-sick leave law , they essentially ended the legislative session two days early.

They also sealed the fate of a litany of bills.

It was the 5th year in a row the Senate was unable to make it to the 6 p.m. Friday constitutional deadline for the session to adjourn. Even the House decided to adjourn early, announcing that it would work on bills Thursday then head home for the year.

It marks the first time the House has not worked on the legislative session’s final day since a fixed adjournment date was set in 1952.

House Speaker Jon Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, said despite the Wednesday meltdown, the Senate actually functioned much better than any year since he joined the legislature.

“With the Senate, you just have to keep your expectations in check,” he said. “But I’m actually very happy with the way things went. You can’t always end the way you want.”

After years of the Senate’s discord being caused by internal GOP squabbles, Republican leaders celebrated soon after the early adjournment Wednesday by touting party unity and a host of big-ticket accomplishments.

They pointed to legislation sent to the governor enacting state control of the St. Louis police, exempting capital gains from the income tax and pumping $50 million into a private school voucher program, among others.

“This session proved what’s possible when Republicans lead together,” said Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, a Shelbina Republican.

But after a mostly placid legislative session, which O’Laughlin noted last week was marked by solid cooperation with Senate Democrats , the decision to cut off debate in order to roll back two voter-approved initiatives could have long-lasting consequences.

“It’s sad. We tried. We tried to negotiate all session on these issues,” said Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, an Affton Democrat, later adding: “You think things are going back to business as usual. I’ve heard a long time, ‘well, nobody has ever made us pay.’ You’ll find out now.”

Republicans cut off debate using a procedural maneuver known as “calling the previous question,” or PQ.

Used regularly in the Missouri House, it is used rarely in the Senate because the chamber has a tradition of unlimited debate and negotiations over difficult issues. Wednesday was the first time since 2020 when a PQ was invoked and the first time since 2017 when it was used during a regular session.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe spent the session’s final days trying to avoid a PQ and win support for his plan to help finance stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals.

Kehoe formally rolled out his plan Tuesday morning to cover up to half of the cost of a new stadium for the Royals and a refurbished Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs.

It easily cleared the House, but when it landed in the Senate, it ran into a wall of resistance.

Looking for a path forward on stadium funding, Kehoe began pushing for a compromise that could lead to a vote on his plan along with paid sick leave and abortion.

Democrats agreed to end their filibuster and allow Republicans to repeal the paid sick leave law — which voters approved in November and went into effect May 1 — as long the minimum wage would continue to be indexed to inflation.

They also were willing to let Republicans put an abortion ban constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot if they agreed to remove a provision purporting to ban gender-affirming care for minors, something that is already illegal in Missouri.

A repeal of Missouri’s abortion ban was approved by voters in November, and Planned Parenthood clinics have restarted surgical abortions for those up to 12 weeks gestation at clinics in Kansas City, Columbia and St. Louis.

“We put everything out there on negotiations, we were willing to do everything,” said state Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat. “It came down to making sure that we were being honest with voters when it came to amendments that were being placed on the ballot. And to us, it is non negotiable to lie to voters.”

In the end, Republican leadership decided to deploy the PQ and force a vote.

O’Laughlin defended the move in a post on social media, declaring that while she respects her colleagues on both sides of the aisle and is willing to “work endlessly” to reach compromise, “sometimes it simply is not something we can achieve.”

“Those who support conservative measures and vote us into office expect us to stand our ground on issues which reflect their bedrock beliefs,” she said. “That is what we did and I am proud of all my colleagues for taking a stand for what we consider right.”

Democrats contend Republican leadership was not interested in finding a compromise.

“Republicans did not step up and provide leadership,” said state Sen. Stephen Webber, a Columbia Democrat.

The governor vowed Tuesday to call the General Assembly back into session later this year if the stadium funding plan didn’t pass. Missouri is competing to keep the teams with Kansas, which last year expanded a tax incentive program in the hopes of convincing one or both teams to relocate.

The leases for both teams’ Jackson County stadiums run through the end of the 2030 season.

Senators have also floated the idea of a special session to consider a $500 million construction package the House refused to pass that would have funded projects for health care, education and law enforcement across the state.

“You could possibly have a special session,” said state Sen. Nick Schroer, a Defiance Republican. “But what’s that going to look like? I hope my colleagues on both sides can continue moving forward. We showed that we could work together on the majority of these issues this year, both sides making concessions, and that’s how it should be. Unfortunately we hit a brick wall, but I’m hoping for the best once we do come back, whether it’s in a special or in January.”

But on Wednesday, as the legislative session was collapsing under the weight of the Senate PQ, Democrats promised a much more confrontational approach.

“Moving forward, we’re going to operate with an assumption that Republicans don’t respect their fellow senators, they don’t respect the voters, they don’t respect the process and they don’t respect the institution,” Webber said. “We didn’t pick this fight, but we’re not scared.”

This story was originally published by the Missouri Independent.