| Capitol Briefing: Month of June 2014 | |
Senate Bills Receive Governor’s Signature
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JEFFERSON CITY – Much of June was dedicated to the signing of legislation passed by the General Assembly during the 2014 legislative session, including more than a dozen Senate bills designed to address how higher education institutions receive future funding, provide consumer protections in the construction industry, expand public assistance and implement measures to prevent welfare fraud, and change the date of Missouri’s presidential primary election. June also included action on the $26.4 billion budget delivered to the governor by the Legislature. The 2015 fiscal year starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2015. Of the funds allocated by lawmakers for Missouri’s departments and programs, including areas of education, social services, and transportation, the governor vetoed $275.7 million and is withholding $846.3 million in overall funding, totaling more than $1.1 billion. Under Article IV, Section 27, in the Missouri Constitution, “the governor may control the rate at which any appropriation is expended during the period of the appropriation by the allotment or other means, and may reduce the expenditures of the state or any of its agencies below their appropriations whenever the actual revenues are less than the revenue estimates upon which the appropriations were based.” Key funding items found in the Legislature’s truly agreed to and finally passed budget that have been affected by the governor’s recent vetoes and restrictions include:
Senate Bills Signed by Governor On June 4, the governor lent his signature to Senate Bill 892, sponsored by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit. The legislation changes Missouri’s presidential primary election date from February to March in order to alleviate confusion at the polls and increase overall voter turnout. By moving the presidential primary from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February to the second Tuesday after the first Money in March, the next presidential primary in the Show-Me State will be on March 16, 2016. House Bill 1136, also carried through the upper chamber by Sen. Kraus, was also signed on June 4. The election bill addresses the inspection of voter records, updates the description of voting machines and ballot styles, allows youth assisting in an election authority to receive compensation for their time, and repeals obsolete references to election procedures for previous years, among other provisions. A measure that will protect Missourians against predatory practices performed by certain building contractors received the governor’s signature on June 5. Senate Bill 610, sponsored by Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar, extends consumer protections against predatory business practices by contractors to policyholders of not just residential, but also commercial properties. Also on June 5, the governor signed House Bill 1411, handled in the upper chamber by Sen. Scott Sifton, D-Affton. The legislation requires those under the age of 17 to have parental consent to use tanning beds at tanning facilities. Any tanning facility that fails to follow the parental consent requirement would have to pay a fine for the first and each subsequent violation. Senate Bill 492, sponsored by Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, creates a performance-based funding model for public colleges and universities in Missouri. Core funding for each school is appropriated for FY 2015 and funding through the increase allocation model begins FY 2016. Under this model, 90 percent of funding is based on institutional performance measures, such as student retention, graduation rates, job placement, and pursuit of graduate degrees; 10 percent is based on full-time equivalency; and 10 percent is based on weighted full-time equivalent credit hours. The legislation also repeals the sunset on the large animal veterinarian student loan program designed to help students currently enrolled or students accepted into the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine with their financial burden. The measure was signed on June 19. That same day the governor signed House Bill 1389 , carried through the upper chamber by Sen. Pearce. The bill creates a reciprocity agreement for public and private colleges and universities offering online classes, allowing these institutions to provide distance education courses to students who live in other states. On June 20, the governor signed legislation, sponsored by Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, which addresses parental fitness and provides protections for children. Senate Bill 530 allows illegal drug and alcohol use or convictions—testing positive for alcohol, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, or a controlled substance or prescription drug—to be used in determining the parental fitness proceedings regarding the termination of parental rights. The measure speeds up the process of terminating parental rights for those parents who are deemed unfit, provides drug-addicted parents with assistance in establishing a safe place to live for their children, and prevents children from spending unnecessary time in the state’s foster care system. Senate Bill 680, sponsored by Sen. Shalonn “Kiki” Curls, D-Kansas City, also received the governor’s signature on June 20. The bill repeals the lifetime ban for food stamp assistance in Missouri for those who have a drug felony conviction. In addition, the measure establishes a pilot program for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to have access to and the ability to afford fresh produce and other health products at farmers’ markets; adds food stamps to the ban on the use of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits on electronic benefit (EBT) cards in certain businesses to purchase alcohol, lottery tickets, or tobacco products, among other items; and temporarily suspends benefit payments to EBT accounts when recipients of TANF or SNAP benefits fail to make at least one transaction in Missouri within a certain timeframe in order to address fraud in the welfare system. A bill revising the previously enacted “Spc. Edward Lee Myers’ Law” passed by the General Assembly in 2006 and creating a new section of law for picketing or protesting within 300 feet of a funeral—one hour before to one hour after—was also signed by the governor on June 20. Handled by Sen. Kraus, House Bill 1372 specifies the types of establishments where funeral or burial services may be held, provides a definition for “other protest activities,” and modifies the definition of funeral. Legislation making it easier for individuals to navigate legal trusts is sponsored by Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis. Senate Bill 500 addresses qualified spousal trusts, mediation provisions in a trust instrument, and no contest clauses. The governor endorsed the measure on June 23. Also signed on June 23 was House Bill 1735, ushered through the upper chamber by Sen. Kraus. The legislation lifts the criminal penalties for selling motorcycles, as well as other powersport vehicles, on Sundays. The bill also updates the state’s definitions for “all-terrain vehicle,” “recreational off-highway vehicle,” and “utility vehicle.” Senate Bill 844, sponsored by Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, was signed by the governor on June 27. The bill makes changes to the Missouri Shared Work Unemployment Compensation Program by laying out qualifications, among other provisions, in order for businesses to participate in the program designed to serve as an alternative to layoffs for employers that are faced with a reduction in available work. The majority of bills passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor this year—including the ones mentioned in this column—will take effect on Aug. 28, exactly 90 days after the General Assembly constitutionally adjourns on May 30 each year (Article III, Section 29). Legislation Vetoed by the Governor A series of bills relating to taxation received the governor’s veto this month. Several of those measures were sponsored by Sen. Kraus, including Senate Bill 662, which would have required the Department of Revenue to notify sellers if there has been a change in the interpretation of sales tax laws that affect taxable personal property or services. The measure would have also addressed the determination of Missouri taxable income for corporations, advertising assumption of sales tax, and a sales tax exemption on right of first refusal. The measure was unanimously passed by the upper chamber. Senate Bill 829, also sponsored by Sen. Kraus and passed by the Senate unanimously, addressed the burden of proof in tax liability disputes, as well as the burden of proof in tax exemption cases. Other tax-related legislation vetoed by the governor was Senate Bill 584, sponsored by Sen. Dixon. Passed by the Senate by a vote of 24-7, the bill contained provisions regarding certain tax liabilities, including motor fuel taxes; employer income tax withholding; sales tax on admission of fees to certain amusement, entertainment and recreation, games and athletic events; used manufactured home sales tax exemption; and sales tax exemption for experimental drugs, among others. Senate Bill 612, sponsored by Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, received unanimous approval in the Senate and would have expanded the nonresident entertainer and athlete income tax, which applies to the withholding tax to the amounts paid to non-resident athletes and entertainers. The measure also included provisions relating to the allocation of interstate income for corporate income taxes, notification requirements regarding the changes in sales tax law, and sales tax exemptions for commercial laundry facilities. However, House Bill 1237, handled by Sen. Schaaf, also extends allocations of tax revenues from nonresident entertainers and athletes until 2020—subject to appropriations—and was signed by the governor on June 20. Legislation sponsored by Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, would have changed the duration for unemployment compensation. The maximum duration for an individual to receive unemployment benefits is 20 weeks. Senate Bill 673 would have directly correlated Missouri’s unemployment rate with the number of weeks available to receive unemployment benefits:
This bill would have also modified the method the state pays back the federal government by requiring the Board of Unemployment Fund Financing to issue bonds when the amount owed to the federal government for advances exceeds $300 million. The bill was passed by the Senate with a vote of 24-8. Senator Parson sponsored legislation this session—approved by the Senate with a 26-5 vote—that started out as a bill designed to exempt motor vehicles older than 10 years from the sales tax on titling. Senate Bill 693 also included provisions relating to fire sprinklers, various taxation items and other merchandising practices. Senate Bill 727, sponsored by Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, would have created a sales and use tax exemption for certain items sold at farmers’ markets, established a pilot program to provide SNAP participants with access to affordable fresh food at farmers’ markets (provision found in SB 680 signed by the governor), and allowed individuals with a felony conviction for possession or use of a controlled substance to be eligible for food stamp benefits (also in SB 680). The bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 27-4. Legislation sponsored by Sen. Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville, would have created a sales and use tax exemption for used manufactured homes. Senate Bill 860, which received unanimous approval in the upper chamber, would have also changed the employer income tax withholding, expanded items included under the School Supplies Sales Tax Holiday, and removed the prohibition of the advertising assumption of sales tax under certain circumstances, among other provisions. One of the most high-profile bills passed by the Legislature during the 2014 session was marked down by the governor. Senate Bill 493, sponsored by Sen. Pearce, set out to reform Missouri’s school accreditation and student transfer process. The measure would have changed how the state assigns classification designations to individual schools throughout the state, naming them as unaccredited, provisionally accredited, accredited or accredited with distinction. The bill would have created three regional authorities (St. Louis region, Kansas City area, the rest of the state) to oversee student transfers in Missouri and revised the number of required school days per year to 1,044 school hours per year. One of the most debated provisions of the bill related to how certain students transfer from one school to another when their home school is deemed unaccredited. The bill would have allowed voters in certain parts of the state to decide if students from an unaccredited district may transfer to a nonsectarian private school located in the district. The legislation received overwhelming support in the Senate by a vote of 28-3. Lawmakers will return to Jefferson City in mid-September for the General Assembly’s annual veto session to consider bills struck down by the governor. A two-thirds majority vote is needed to override a governor’s veto in each chamber: 23 in the Senate and 109 in the House. The Missouri Senate’s Capitol Briefing will be distributed and posted monthly throughout the interim. For more legislative news, please visit the Senate newsroom at www.senate.mo.gov/newsroom, where you will find various audio and video programs and other informational services, such as:
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