Missouri 2026 Regular Session Status: Enacted

SB 916 — Modifies provisions relating to sovereign immunity

Last action — Signed by Governor

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 01, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Mike Kehoe (Republican) on July 13, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 50% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

This bill changes sovereign immunity laws for the Missouri Department of Transportation and its contractors.

The bill modifies sovereign immunity for the Missouri Department of Transportation, allowing for liability in certain negligence cases. It establishes a statutory cause of action for damages relating to the Department’s projects, while also defining how liability insurance can be purchased for political subdivisions.

What this means for you
  • Workers: This bill may affect workers involved in transportation projects by altering liability standards related to workplace injuries.
  • Families: Families could benefit from increased accountability for safety standards in transportation projects.
  • Small Business: Small businesses contracted by MODOT may face changes in liability expectations and insurance requirements.

Summary

SS/SCS/SB 916 - This act modifies provisions relating to sovereign immunity. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY FOR MODOT PRIVATE CONTRACTORS (SECTION 537.600) Currently, public entities are immune from liability for compensatory damages resulting from negligence, except as expressly waived in law. This act modifies the express waivers to include injuries directly resulting from negligence caused by an agent of the Missouri Department of Transportation ("Department") arising out of the operation of motor vehicles within the course of their employment and for injuries caused by the condition of the public entity's property if the negligence of an agent of the Department created the dangerous condition or had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition in order to take measures to protect against the dangerous condition. Furthermore, this act creates a statutory cause of action for damages against an agent of the Department for claims arising from the design, condition, or maintenance of a Department project and abrogates any other common law claims against a private contractor, subcontractor, or engineer, or employee thereof, for such claims. The cause of action is established when the damages occur after execution of a contract to perform work but prior to the commencement of construction activities on the project site and for when construction activities on the project site are approved and accepted by the Department. The Department shall be solely liable for personal injury or death arising out of instances during such periods of time. The immunity provided by this statutory cause of action shall not apply when: (1) The work is so defective that it creates an imminent danger to third parties; (2) A defect in the work was concealed and not discoverable by a reasonable inspection by the State Highways and Transportation Commission ("Commission"); (3) The agent knew of the dangerous condition and did not disclose it to the Commission; or (4) The plans or specifications followed were so imperfect or improper that the agent should have known the work to be done would result in an unsafe condition. Furthermore, the Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction, or its successor, as published by the Commission shall not include provisions requiring a contractor to indemnify or defend the state, the Commission, or employees or agents of the Missouri Department of Transportation. No contractor of the Commission shall be required to agree to an indemnification or a duty to defend provision. This provision is similar to HCS/HB 2926 (2026). PURCHASE OF LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY CLAIMS (SECTION 537.610) As it relates to political subdivisions purchasing liability insurance for tort claims made against the political subdivision, this act defines the term "purchase" to refer only to the direct acquisition of insurance coverage by a governing body and not any indirect action by contract or otherwise. This provision is substantially similar to a provision in HCS/HB 1718 (2026), SB 454 (2025), HB 142 (2025), SB 1346 (2024), and HB 2690 (2022). KATIE O'BRIEN

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

3 added · 3 removed

Plain-language change summary

In the latest version of Bill SB 916, the wording has been updated to reflect that the bill has been fully agreed upon and passed as of 2026. The removal of the "perfected" label and the introduction information simplifies the document, indicating the bill is now finalized rather than still being revised. These changes are important because they signal that the bill is ready for implementation, meaning the proposed measures will soon be put into effect.

→
Previous
Latest
SECOND REGULAR SESSION [PERFECTED] SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILLNO.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION [TRULYAGREED TOAND FINALLY PASSED] SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILLNO.
916 103RD GENERALASSEMBLY INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BURGER.
916 103RD GENERALASSEMBLY 3834S.08T ANACT To repeal sections 537.600 and 537.610, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to sovereign immunity.
3834S.08P KRISTINAMARTIN, Secretary ANACT To repeal sections 537.600 and 537.610, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to sovereign immunity.
SS SCS SB 916 2 (2) Injuries caused by the condition of a public entity's property if the plaintiff establishes that the property was in dangerous condition at the time of the injury, that the injury directly resulted from the dangerous condition, that the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of harm of the kind of injury which was incurred, and that either a negligent or wrongful act or omission of an employee of the public entity, or an agent of the Missouri department of transportation, within the course of his employment, created the dangerous condition or a public entity, or an agent of the Missouri department of transportation, had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition in sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition.
(2) Injuries caused by the condition of a public entity's property if the plaintiff establishes that the SS SCS SB 916 2 property was in dangerous condition at the time of the injury, that the injury directly resulted from the dangerous condition, that the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of harm of the kind of injury which was incurred, and that either a negligent or wrongful act or omission of an employee of the public entity, or an agent of the Missouri department of transportation, within the course of his employment, created the dangerous condition or a public entity, or an agent of the Missouri department of transportation, had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition in sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition.
SS SCS SB 916 3 3.
3.
A statutory cause of action for damages against an agent of the Missouri department of transportation is hereby created, replacing any such common law cause of action against a private contractor, subcontractor, engineer, or employee thereof for liability of claims arising from design, condition, or maintenance of a Missouri department of transportation project after execution of a contract to perform work but prior to the commencement of construction activities on the project site and for when construction activities on the project site are approved and accepted by the Missouri department of transportation.
A statutory cause of action for damages against an agent of the Missouri department of transportation is hereby SS SCS SB 916 3 created, replacing any such common law cause of action against a private contractor, subcontractor, engineer, or employee thereof for liability of claims arising from design, condition, or maintenance of a Missouri department of transportation project after execution of a contract to perform work but prior to the commencement of construction activities on the project site and for when construction activities on the project site are approved and accepted by the Missouri department of transportation.
or (4) The plans or specifications followed were so imperfect or improper that the agent of the Missouri SS SCS SB 916 4 department of transportation should have known the work to be done thereunder would result in an unsafe condition.
or (4) The plans or specifications followed were so imperfect or improper that the agent of the Missouri department of transportation should have known the work to be done thereunder would result in an unsafe condition.
5.
SS SCS SB 916 4 5.
SS SCS SB 916 5 9.
9.
The phrase "after execution of a contract to perform work but prior to the commencement of construction activities" as used in this section shall apply as a period of time when a contract is fully executed and signed by an agent of the Missouri department of transportation and the Missouri department of transportation but shall end when the agent of the Missouri department of transportation first begins performing work pursuant to the terms of the contract, including the furnishing of labor, material, equipment, and other incidentals necessary or convenient to the successful completion of the project and the carrying out of duties and obligations imposed by the contract.
The phrase "after execution of a contract to perform work but prior to the commencement of construction SS SCS SB 916 5 activities" as used in this section shall apply as a period of time when a contract is fully executed and signed by an agent of the Missouri department of transportation and the Missouri department of transportation but shall end when the agent of the Missouri department of transportation first begins performing work pursuant to the terms of the contract, including the furnishing of labor, material, equipment, and other incidentals necessary or convenient to the successful completion of the project and the carrying out of duties and obligations imposed by the contract.
The commissioner of administration, through the purchasing division, and the governing body of each political subdivision of this state, notwithstanding any other provision of law, may purchase liability insurance for tort claims, made against the state or the political subdivision, but the maximum amount of such coverage shall not exceed two million dollars for all claims arising out of SS SCS SB 916 6 a single occurrence and shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars for any one person in a single accident or occurrence, except for those claims governed by the provisions of the Missouri workers' compensation law, chapter 287, and no amount in excess of the above limits shall be awarded or settled upon.
The commissioner of administration, through the purchasing division, and the governing body of each political subdivision of this state, notwithstanding any other provision of law, may purchase liability insurance for tort claims, made against the state or the political subdivision, but the maximum amount of such coverage shall not exceed two million dollars for all claims arising out of a single occurrence and shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars for any one person in a single accident or SS SCS SB 916 6 occurrence, except for those claims governed by the provisions of the Missouri workers' compensation law, chapter 287, and no amount in excess of the above limits shall be awarded or settled upon.
SS SCS SB 916 7 4.
4.
If the amount awarded to or settled upon multiple claimants exceeds two million dollars, any party may apply to any circuit court to apportion to each claimant his proper share of the total amount limited by subsection 1 of this section.
If the amount awarded to or settled upon multiple claimants exceeds two million dollars, any party may apply SS SCS SB 916 7 to any circuit court to apportion to each claimant his proper share of the total amount limited by subsection 1 of this section.
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (6)

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Reported Duly Enrolled Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions & Ethics Committee

  3. Signed by Senate President Pro Tem

  4. Signed by House Speaker

  5. Delivered to Governor

  6. Bill Placed on H Informal Calendar

  7. Voted Do Pass H Fiscal Review

  8. Reported Do Pass H Fiscal Review

  9. H Third Read and Passed

  10. Truly Agreed To and Finally Passed

  11. Voted Do Pass H Rules - Administrative

  12. Reported Do Pass H Rules - Administrative

  13. Referred H Fiscal Review Committee

  14. Reported Do Pass H Commerce

  15. Referred H Rules - Administrative

  16. Hearing Conducted H Commerce

  17. Voted Do Pass H Commerce

  18. H Second Read

  19. Referred H Commerce

  20. Voted Do Pass S Fiscal Oversight Committee

  21. Reported from S Fiscal Oversight Committee

  22. S Third Read and Passed

  23. H First Read

  24. Reported Truly Perfected S Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee

  25. Referred S Fiscal Oversight Committee

  26. SS for SCS S offered (Burger)--(3834S.08F)

  27. SA 1 to SS for SCS S offered & adopted (Webber)--(3834S08.05S)

  28. SS for SCS, as amended, S adopted

  29. Perfected

  30. Bill Placed on Informal Calendar

  31. SCS Reported from S General Laws Committee

  32. SCS Voted Do Pass S General Laws Committee (3834S.05C)

  33. Hearing Conducted S General Laws Committee

  34. Second Read and Referred S General Laws Committee

  35. S First Read

  36. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 198 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (198)

198 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 198 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety labor transportation
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 916 do?
SS/SCS/SB 916 - This act modifies provisions relating to sovereign immunity. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY FOR MODOT PRIVATE CONTRACTORS (SECTION 537.600) Currently, public entities are immune from liability for compensatory damages resulting from negligence, except as expressly waived in law. This act modifies the express waivers to include injuries directly resulting from negligence caused by an agent of the Missouri Department of Transportation ("Department") arising out of the operation of motor vehicles within the course of their employment and for injuries caused by the condition of the public entity's property if the negligence of an agent of the Department created the dangerous condition or had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition in order to take measures to protect against the dangerous condition. Furthermore, this act creates a statutory cause of action for damages against an agent of the Department for claims arising from the design, condition, or maintenance of a Department project and abrogates any other common law claims against a private contractor, subcontractor, or engineer, or employee thereof, for such claims. The cause of action is established when the damages occur after execution of a contract to perform work but prior to the commencement of construction activities on the project site and for when construction activities on the project site are approved and accepted by the Department. The Department shall be solely liable for personal injury or death arising out of instances during such periods of time. The immunity provided by this statutory cause of action shall not apply when: (1) The work is so defective that it creates an imminent danger to third parties; (2) A defect in the work was concealed and not discoverable by a reasonable inspection by the State Highways and Transportation Commission ("Commission"); (3) The agent knew of the dangerous condition and did not disclose it to the Commission; or (4) The plans or specifications followed were so imperfect or improper that the agent should have known the work to be done would result in an unsafe condition. Furthermore, the Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction, or its successor, as published by the Commission shall not include provisions requiring a contractor to indemnify or defend the state, the Commission, or employees or agents of the Missouri Department of Transportation. No contractor of the Commission shall be required to agree to an indemnification or a duty to defend provision. This provision is similar to HCS/HB 2926 (2026). PURCHASE OF LIABILITY INSURANCE FOR SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY CLAIMS (SECTION 537.610) As it relates to political subdivisions purchasing liability insurance for tort claims made against the political subdivision, this act defines the term "purchase" to refer only to the direct acquisition of insurance coverage by a governing body and not any indirect action by contract or otherwise. This provision is substantially similar to a provision in HCS/HB 1718 (2026), SB 454 (2025), HB 142 (2025), SB 1346 (2024), and HB 2690 (2022). KATIE O'BRIEN
Who sponsors SB 916?
SB 916 is sponsored by Jamie Burger.
What is the current status of SB 916?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 01, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 916?
Track SB 916 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 916

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 916

Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →