By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – Missouri State Senator Steve Stoll resigned Thursday so he can take a new job as the Festus City Administrator.
Stoll became eligible for a bigger pension by waiting a day into a new session to step down.
A special election will be held to fill his seat in the Senate. State Representative Rick Johnson and former state representative Ryan McKenna are considering running.
Stoll was first elected to the House in 1992 and to the Senate in 1998.
Under the state's retirement plan, Stoll boosted his pension by a couple thousand dollars a year even though he served just a day and a half in the 2005 General Assembly. The retirement system says benefits for anyone first elected in 2000 or later are calculated by months served.
Meanwhile, Senator Sarah Steelman of Rolla bid colleagues farewell on Thursday, as well. She plans to resign her seat Monday, when she takes office as state treasurer.