Greetings Friends of the 151st District!
First, I want to start off by thanking you for electing me to take on this very important role for the 151st District. As your State Representative, I promise to do everything in my power to help accommodate the district and the citizens that live in the 151 district. If you need any state support, please reach out to my office. No issue is too small for us to handle. If I can not handle it, then I will direct you to someone who can help you with your issue. Our office does receive quite a few federal calls and I would love to help you with those issues but we do not have contacts on the federal level. What I can do, is provide you with a phone number to your Congressman or Senator if you need that number.
The First day of session was amazing. I was lucky to get to have my family by my side as I was being sworn in. This is a day that I will never forget. I remember when I was first approached to run for state representative of the 151st district. I remember speaking to my wife about this opportunity and she has been my support from that first day. We did not know what we were getting ourselves into, but I am so glad we jumped into this position. If you see me out an about in the district, be sure to stop me and say hi!
A Look Back at 2024 and a Look Ahead to 2025
As 2024 comes to a close, it’s hard to believe the year has passed in what seems like the blink of an eye. As we enter this new year, this time offers an opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months and the triumphs and tribulations that came along with them. It also prompts us to look ahead to this year and all the promise and potential the future holds.
Every year has its challenges, and 2024 was no exception. Yet time and again, Missourians rose to the occasion. Missouri’s economy continues to demonstrate resilience, with steady growth and strong revenue projections that support the state budget. The state maintained its AAA credit rating, paid down debts, and kept more than $1 billion in reserves for future needs. Unemployment stabilized at 3.7%, and employment rose by 2.4%, placing Missouri among the nation’s leaders in job growth.
Legislatively, 2024 was marked by significant achievements, particularly for young Missourians. The General Assembly approved a $51.7 billion budget—a $1.3 billion decrease from the previous fiscal year—that prioritized critical infrastructure projects, including improvements to some of our major roadways. The budget also addressed rural road enhancements, broadband expansion, border security, education, and support programs for veterans and first responders. K-12 education was fully funded, career and technical education saw new investments, and state employees, along with higher education faculty, received pay raises.
Education reform was another key focus. Lawmakers passed a major bill expanding tax-credit programs for private school tuition and charter school initiatives. Efforts to raise teacher pay underscored a commitment to providing every child in Missouri access to quality education and to supporting the educators who make it possible.
Missouri also advanced measures to protect life, including legislation barring Medicaid reimbursements for abortion clinics. Renewing the Federal Reimbursement Allowance ensured critical funding for hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes, and ambulance services essential to the Medicaid program. Additional legislation promoted public safety, safeguarded property rights, and bolstered rural economic development and job growth.
As Missouri turns the page to 2025, the legislature is set to return to work on January 8. The House and Senate will begin their work with a focus on a number of important issues during the 2025 session including the state operating budget, protections for the unborn, reducing tax burdens, election integrity, school accountability, government transparency, and protections against overly burdensome mandates.
2024 was a year that saw both highs and lows, but once again affirmed the strong spirit and perseverance of Missourians. As the legislature returns to work in 2025, lawmakers will once again look to provide commonsense solutions that will continue to make Missouri an ideal place to live, work, and raise a family.
103rd General Assembly Officially Underway
New and returning lawmakers made their way to the Missouri Capitol this week to begin their service in the Missouri House of Representatives. On Wednesday, January 8, all 163 members of the House gathered in the House Chamber to take the oath of office and officially begin the First Session of the 103rd General Assembly.
The day began at noon in the House with outgoing Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft calling the chamber to order as he temporarily presided over the proceedings. Ashcroft delivered a short address, reminding members of the great honor they have received in being chosen to represent and serve the people of Missouri, and of their profound duty to create greater opportunities for the next generation.
“Remember that the people of your district are counting on you,” Ashcroft told the body. “You are their representative. You are the person they know they can call, that they can reach out. They know that they have a voice because of you…You don’t serve for yourself. No good elected official serves for themselves. You were elected because the people of your jurisdiction wanted you.”
After Ashcroft’s address, members were administered the oath of office by the Honorable Mary Russell, Judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri. House members then elected State Representative Ann Kelley to serve as the temporary Speaker to oversee House proceedings. With Kelley presiding, the members of the House selected State Representative Jon Patterson to serve as Speaker of the House for the next two years.
House members also elected State Representative Chad Perkins to serve as Speaker Pro Tem of the House, and electing Joseph Engler to serve as the Chief Clerk of the House before wrapping up session with a reading of the United States Bill of Rights and adopting various resolutions that will allow the body to function during the 103rd General Assembly.
Members now await their committee assignments so they can begin work on the legislation that will be considered during the 2025 session. The next order of business for the House is to discuss and adopt the official House Rules that will govern the proceedings of the House.
If any of you want details on legislation we pass, please email me a request to Steve.Jordan@house.mo.gov. If you ever have, any questions or concerns feel free to call me at 573-751-1494.
Congressman Smith Capitol Report
One big, beautiful bill
January 10, 2025
As Chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, I’ve been working very closely with President Trump on a tax bill that will deliver relief to American workers, families, farmers, and small businesses.
On December 31, 2025, the 2017 Trump tax cuts – one of the biggest achievements of President Trump’s first term – will expire. If Congress fails to extend them, every American at every income level will get hit with higher taxes. Uncle Sam will take more money out of workers’ paychecks. Families will be forced to sell off farms that have been passed down through generations because the Death Tax exemption will be slashed in half. And small businesses will have to lay off workers or shut their doors for good because their taxes will double. Main street businesses will end up paying a top tax rate of 43.4% – 20 points higher than what businesses pay in Communist China. In addition to stopping these massive tax increases, we also need to add the new policies President Trump has called for, like eliminating taxes on tips and giving tax relief to Social Security recipients.
Time is of the essence. For four long years, working-class families have struggled to get by thanks to President Joe Biden’s failed economic agenda. Extending the Trump tax cuts as soon as possible will provide the certainty small businesses need to plan for the future, deliver much-needed relief to working-class families, and create the strongest economy the world has ever seen. Right now, main street businesses, manufacturers, and family farmers are making decisions based on what sort of tax and economic environment they think might be coming. With massive tax increases looming over the horizon, they need certainty so they can invest, grow, and hire today.
More American energy means more American jobs. That’s why it’s vital to include pro-growth energy policies in this big, beautiful bill. It means more drilling, better infrastructure, and getting rid of burdensome regulations. By unleashing American energy, we’ll lower utility bills for families who are struggling to put food on their tables and clothes on their backs. Lower gas prices will make it more affordable for Missouri farmers and ranchers to transport their agriculture products. And by spending less to keep the lights on and run machinery, small businesses that make things like floor tiles, car parts, and aluminum cans will have more resources to hire additional workers or upgrade their equipment. The pro-growth tax and energy policy in this big, beautiful bill will provide the foundation we need to make America’s economy the envy of the world.
The American people are sick and tired of paying the price for the Left’s open-border agenda, which is allowing terrorists, gang members, and drugs to pour over our southern border. By including President Trump’s tough immigration policies in this big, beautiful bill, we can quickly bring an end to the worst border crisis in decades. We cannot waste any time putting in place the policies we need to make our communities safe and border secure again – just like it was under the first Trump administration.
Passing one big, beautiful bill is the best way to ensure as much as possible of President Trump’s agenda is enacted. In one fell swoop, we can secure the border, unleash American energy, and deliver tax relief to workers, families, farmers, and small businesses. These are the policies the American people are demanding. Now it’s up to Congress to deliver.
Pictured is Representative-Elect Steve Jordan, who is filing his first bill as the State Representative for the 151st District.
Representative- Elect Jordan has filed House Bill 78 which is about Air Conservation.
There has been a lot of calls about chem trails in the southeast area and Representative-Elect Jordan has heard your concerns and wants to help the constituents.
This is House Bill No. 78 of the 103rd General Assembly.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 643, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be 2 known as section 643.680, to read as follows:
643.680. 1. The intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of
-
2 chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this
-
3 state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or
-
4 the intensity of the sunlight is prohibited.
-
5 2. The air conservation commission of the state of Missouri established under
-
6 section 643.040 shall establish standards and guidelines for the enforcement of this
-
7 section.
-
8 3. The department of natural resources may promulgate all necessary rules and
-
9 regulations for the administration of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that
-
10 term is defined in section 536.010, that is created under the authority delegated in this
-
11 section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the
-
12 provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter
-
13 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly
-
14 pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul
-
15 a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority
-
16 and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2025, shall be invalid and void.
Steve Jordan has won the race for the Missouri State Representative District 151 over Donnie Lynn Hovis, Jr. This office was held by Herman Morse who chose not to run and will retire at the end of the year.
Jordan will take the helm on January 1, 2025.
Jordan was former Stoddard County Commissioner District 1, former co-owner and vice president of Heavy Duty Trux, LTD, and fomer elected board member of Pike Township Road District in Stoddard County.
He currently resides in Advance in Stoddard County, MO.