Senate Bill 105, which awaits the Governor’s signature, will end the sale of six plants in Missouri, helping to reduce the negative impacts of invasive plants in the state.
On May 15, one day before the close of the 2025 Missouri legislative session, the Missouri House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 105 to halt the sale of select invasive plants by a vote of 124 to 19. A similar bill, House Bill 60, was introduced and passed by the House Natural Resources Committee during this session as well, but was not brought up for a floor vote.
“The Missouri Invasive Plant Council is extremely pleased with this wonderful news, and thanks Missouri legislators for their support of this bill that will help protect Missouri’s working lands and native habitats,” said Carol Davit, Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) Chair.
Several years ago, MoIP, administered by the Missouri Prairie Foundation, proposed the idea of legislation to cease the sale of select invasive plants to reduce their negative impacts on Missouri’s landscape. MoIP invited feedback from nearly 100 stakeholder groups, and tabulated feedback that was received to assess opinions in support or against inclusion of specific invasive plants on eventual state legislation.
In 2023, at his request, MoIP sent a list of invasive plants with broad stakeholder support to Missouri Representative Bruce Sassmann for inclusion in a bill he was sponsoring to halt the sale of select invasive plants. While his bill, and a companion bill sponsored by Missouri Senator Bernskoetter, were not scheduled for floor votes during the 2024 legislative session, both legislators filed similar bills for the 2025 session, for which MoIP and other groups advocated.
“After a long session of work,” said Senator Bernskoetter, “I am extremely pleased to see the passage of SB 105. We worked hard all year on this legislation and I am glad the state has taken a step to stop the spread of invasive plants and protect our natural ecosystem in Missouri.”
Representative Sassmann holds a similar view, saying, “I’m really happy we could end the legislative session on a high note. The passage of a bill restricting the sale of select invasive species is one step in the right direction for improving our landscape. I want to thank everyone who supported this effort, including those who attended hearings and sent witness testimonies, and wrote letters and placed calls to Missouri Senators and Representatives. I especially want to recognize Kyna Iman, a lobbyist who advocates for conservation legislation on behalf of the Conservation Federation of Missouri. She never gave up and fought to the very end for this legislation. This was a grassroots effort that made great things happen, and MoIP was foundational to the process.”
MoIP thanks Representative Sassmann and Senator Bernskoetter for their leadership; the many citizens who contacted their Missouri representatives and senators in support of the bills; the numerous groups, including the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association; Missouri Municipal League; Missouri Stream Teams United; and the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM), who advocated for the legislation alongside MoIP and the Missouri Prairie Foundation; Missouri legislators who supported the bill; and Kyna Iman, CFM lobbyist, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to build support for the bills in the Missouri Capitol.
Missouri Governor Kehoe has until July 14, 2025 to sign the bill into law. The law will halt the sale in Missouri of six invasive plants: sericea lespedeza, burning bush (cultivar ‘Compactus’), Callery pear, Japanese honeysuckle, perilla mint, and wintercreeper (variety Coloratus). The implementation date for the legislation is August 28, 2025. The legislation allows four plants in the bill to continue to be sold through January 1, 2027 and two others to be sold through January 1, 2029 to mitigate revenue loss for plant sellers who may have a current inventory of these species.
Resources & Action
Read all details in the final bill language here.
Download the press release.
Those wishing to send a note of support to the Governor may find his contact information here.
