Senator Elaine Gannon’s Capitol Report for July 1, 2021
FRA Has Passed!
Last week, members of the Missouri Senate returned to Jefferson City to convene an extra legislative session and answer the governor’s call to extend the Federal Reimbursement Allowance, or FRA. The FRA was established 30 years ago to collect taxes from services provided by hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies, and in turn, use these proceeds to leverage matching federal dollars to help fund MO HealthNet, or Medicaid. Missourians rely heavily on this funding, although it is probably unbeknownst to most! To give this a frame of reference, in FY 2020, Missouri’s FRA program generated $1.59 billion in General Revenue and an additional $3.07 billion in federal matching funds for Missouri’s Medicaid program. This funding is crucial to avoid budget withholds in the coming fiscal year and provide vital services to thousands of Missourians. The Legislature was able to agree on the final language before the July 1 deadline and extend the program until 2024.
Domestic Violence Legislation Now Law
On Tuesday, June 29, I got to experience one of the most gratifying moments in my life, watching the governor sign my Senate Bill 71 into law. After the law goes into effect on Aug. 28, 2021, victims of domestic violence will be able to include their pets in orders of protection, petition the court to extend those orders indefinitely in certain situations and feel safer knowing the information about their assailant will be immediately added to national and statewide criminal databases. I appreciate the brave survivors who shared their stories and helped legislators understand the scope of the problem. I am also grateful for the bipartisan support this measure received from my colleagues in both chambers.
Representative Roberts and Sen. Gannon watch Gov. Parson as he prepares to sign SB 71 into law.
Keeping Up
During the interim, I will be sending my capitol report, Keeping Up, in printed form instead of in a video format. Please subscribe to receive these reports and to stay informed about the proceedings in the Senate. If you have an event, resource or information that would benefit the residents of Senatorial District 3, please email me.
Elaine.Gannon@senate.mo.gov 573-751-4008 Senate.mo.gov/gannon