SCS/SB 581 - This act establishes the "Show Me a Brighter Future Scholarship Program". For all fiscal years beginning on July 1, 2021, any taxpayer who makes a qualifying contribution to the Show Me a Brighter Future Scholarship Fund set forth in the act may claim a tax credit equal to 100% of the total contribution. The amount of the tax credit claimed by an individual taxpayer or a married couple filing jointly shall not exceed 50% of the taxpayer's state tax liability for the year in which the credit is claimed, nor shall a corporate taxpayer claim a tax credit in excess of 50% of such taxpayer's state tax liability for the year.
The Department of Revenue shall create a receipt to be issued to a taxpayer to indicate the value of a contribution received. The State Treasurer shall certify the tax credit amount to the taxpayer. Such credit may be carried forward to any of the taxpayer's three subsequent tax years. No tax credits authorized under the program shall be transferred, sold, or assigned, and are not refundable.
The cumulative amount of tax credits that may be allocated to all taxpayers contributing to the scholarship fund in the first year of the program shall not exceed $25 million. If the amount of the tax credits claimed in the first tax year exceeds 90% of the tax credits available, the amount of tax credits available shall increase by 10% in the subsequent year, except that the total amount of tax credits available in a year shall not exceed $50 million. Tax credits shall be allocated by the State Treasurer on a first come, first served basis.
A taxpayer who makes a contribution to the scholarship fund shall not designate the student who will receive a scholarship grant. (Section 135.732)
The State Treasurer shall adopt rules and procedures necessary to implement the provisions of this act, including rules setting forth the procedure for awarding scholarship grants in the order of preference set forth in the act, reporting requirements, responsibilities of a parent of an eligible student, and responsibilities of an eligible student's district of residence.
The State Treasurer shall also provide each eligible student an explanation of a qualifying private school's special education program, as set forth in the act.
Under this act, an eligible student is any student who is a member of a household whose total annual income does not exceed an amount equal to two times the income standard used to qualify for free and reduced price lunch, who has attended a public school in the preceding semester or is starting school in the state for the first time, received a scholarship grant from the program in the preceding year, or who is starting school in Missouri for the first time and is a sibling of a student already enrolled in the program.
The dollar amount of a scholarship grant awarded to an eligible student shall not exceed the state adequacy target, or the actual tuition at a qualifying school, and the amount of a scholarship grant awarded to a special education eligible student shall not exceed an amount equal to the state adequacy target multiplied by 1.75, or the actual tuition at a qualifying school.
Scholarship funds in a qualified tuition savings account shall only be used for payment of tuition at a qualifying school, including special education services.
The State Treasurer may bar a parent from future participation in the program if the State Treasurer establishes that the parent has intentionally or negligently spent scholarship grant funds for a purpose other than that allowed under the act or by rule.
Six years after the program has gone into effect, the State Treasurer shall issue a report on the state of the program, which shall include information regarding the finances of a qualified school, the educational outcomes of eligible students, and the results of annual parental satisfaction surveys.
The State Treasurer shall provide a standardized format for qualifying schools to provide the results from an annual parental satisfaction survey, which shall include certain elements set forth in the act.
(Section 135.734)
This act establishes the "Show Me a Brighter Future Scholarship Fund" within the State Treasury. Subject to appropriation, moneys in the fund shall be used solely by the State Treasurer to make scholarship grants and to pay for personal service, equipment, and other expenses of the State Treasurer related to the administration of this act.
(Section 135.736)
The Missouri Sunset Act shall not apply to this act.
(Section 135.738)
This act is similar to HCS/HB 2068 (2020).
JOSIE BUTLER