Even with plenty of issues and three days left, Democrats in the state Senate say the session is effectively finished after Republicans forced a so-called “right to work” measure through their chamber.

Senate Democrats stalled for more than eight hours a vote on a bill to keep the paying of union dues from being a condition of employment, before Republican leadership used a motion called a “previous question” to force a vote and pass the bill to the House. Such a move is considered an insult in a chamber where all members expect to be allowed to speak as long as they like.

After that, Senate Democrats are threatening to make moving bills in the Senate as difficult as possible, even on a bill that means more than 3-billion federal dollars for Medicaid.

“As far as we were concerned, that was going to be the end of any policy discussion at this point,” said Senator Scott Sifton (D-Affton). “The route for [the Federal Reimbursement Allowance bill] is a special session.”

Right to work sponsor, Senator Dan Brown (R-Rolla), thinks Democrats will back down from that position.

“What if in the special session, somebody in our caucus says, ‘I’m not going to pass FRA tax? Medicaid goes away in Missouri, quite frankly,” Brown told reporters after the Senate adjourned Tuesday. “That is a threat that [Sifton] needs to think about.”

The session ends at 6 p.m. Friday.