JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Many of the Missouri lawmakers taking office at the state Capitol will be new.
A combination of term limits that barred more veteran legislators from seeking re-election, a redistricting process that rearranged state Legislature seats and a few electoral defeats resulted in the new faces.
In all, there will be 12 state senators and 56 state House members who last year were not serving in their current legislative chamber.
Still, some of the new lawmakers have previous legislative experience. For example, Republican House member Kevin Engler, of Farmington, spent two terms in the Senate and was majority leader. He also served one House term previously. In addition, four House Democrats who lost re-election in 2010 and are returning after a two-year break.
The 2013 legislative session starts Wednesday.