JEFFERSON CITY — Senators debated a bill regarding a presidential primary Thursday afternoon, with many voicing concerns about election integrity and cost incurred by local election officials.

Senate Bill 96 took on a new face after it went to the House Conference Committee, with changes like moving the presidential primary election to March and that the cost would be incurred by the local governments.

After lengthy debate, bill sponsor Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, moved that the Senate refuse to concur with the House changes.

Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City, said it sounded like many of the items of the bill that caused unrest for senators were the changes made in the House.

The original Senate bill, Koenig said, raises the threshold for special taxing districts to impose a new tax with a two-thirds vote when there is no vote of the people. Both Arthur and Koenig agreed that the bill took on a “turnover” in the house, with provisions reestablishing a presidential primary.

“I appreciate you taking this feedback into consideration,” Arthur said.

Arthur also noted that senators across the political spectrum voiced concern about the implications of the changes made in the House.

Other senators voiced concerns about the financial impact on local election officials. Sen. Doug Beck, D-St. Louis County called upon multiple senators to discuss the issues facing the bill, with many saying they are conflicted between their interest in a primary and the impact on local officials.

Beck called on Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, and the two had a lengthy discussion on the concerns with hosting a presidential primary in March, and then a municipal election only a month later.

“You go from a March to an April election, that’s a lot of work and cost of burden to be put on counties without any finances,” Coleman said.

The Senate took up and passed other bills including SB 398, allowing car dealers to collect the state sales tax on vehicles sold and banning the use of handheld electronic devices by all motor vehicle operators, instead of just those 21 and under.

But work stalled in late afternoon as Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, took to the floor to attack efforts to allow a sports betting bill to advance when a number of bills offering tax cuts were not being considered. As he filibustered, Eigel read from a biography of Ronald Reagan, urged his supporters to tweet questions to him that he could address on the floor and reviewed the history of taxes on personal income and other forms of income.

At one point he read a tweet he received asking him to appear on a St. Louis morning show.