Website │ E-Mail Me │ Past May Reports

The Week of May 1, 2023

On the Floor

This week, members of the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives met as a conference committee to sort out the differences between the two versions of the budget passed by each chamber.

Lawmakers raced to grant final passage to a $51.51 billion state operating budget for the 2024 fiscal year on May 5 ahead of a hard constitutional deadline to avoid starting the process over in a special or extra legislative session.

A $2.8 billion plan to widen the entire length of Interstate 70 across Missouri is arguably the budget’s most ambitious feature. While the governor had proposed a more limited $859 million plan to improve portions of the highway in the Columbia, Kansas City and St. Louis areas – a position backed by the House – the Senate insisted on the more expansive undertaking, as well as including funding to begin preparing for a similar expansion of Interstate 44.

The final budget also provides a substantial increase for Missouri’s public colleges and universities, achieves the funding minimum called for by the statutory formula for distributing state funding to local public school districts and, for the second year in a row, fully funds the state’s share of districts’ student transportation costs. The budget also increased funding to expand pre-K offerings at public schools.

Lawmakers also bumped state reimbursements for home care workers who assist elderly or disabled Missourians in an effort to boost their average pay from about $12 an hour to $14 an hour.

Controversial language inserted by the House, but removed in the Senate, to prohibit all state agencies and any individual or company that contracts with the state from promoting “diversity, equity and inclusion” remained excluded from the final appropriations bills.

The governor has until July 1 to act on the various bills that make up the state budget. Unlike with standard legislation, which the governor must either sign into law, veto or let become law without his signature, the governor has line-item veto power over appropriations bills that allows him to strike spending items he doesn’t like while signing the remainder of a bill into law.

The Senate third read and passed the following bills this week:

• House Bill 655 modifies provisions relating to property and casualty insurance.
• House Bill 417 establishes the “Upskill Credential Training Fund” to provide grants to employers to encourage employees to obtain upskill credentials.
• House Bill 447 modifies provisions relating to adult high schools.
• Senate Bills 45 & 90 extends benefits received through MO HealthNet for Pregnant Women or Show-Me Healthy Babies to one year following the end of the pregnancy, instead of the current 60 days.

The following bills were passed by the Senate and declared truly agreed to and finally passed:

• House Bill 131 allows for payment of state employment salaries every two weeks.
• Senate Bill 24 creates the “Missouri First Responder Mental Health Initiative Act.”
• Senate Bill 106 would prohibit performing certain patient examinations upon anaesthetized or unconscious patients.

Bills and Committees

Senator May’s Legislation:

Senate Bill 35 was passed by the Missouri House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on May 2, and the House Rules – Administrative Oversight Committee voted do pass on the bill on May 4. My proposal would give individuals who are behind on child support payments and lose their driver’s license or professional license as a result the opportunity to have an evidentiary hearing to determine if the suspension of the license should remain.

Judiciary Committee:

The committee heard and voted do pass on House Bill 90, which eliminates the sunset date for court automation fees for the Statewide Court Automation Fund and repeals provisions relating to the Missouri Postconviction Drug Treatment Program.

Senate Bill 122, which would allow a child to be excused from school due to mental health or behavioral health concerns, provided the school receives documentation from a mental health professional, was referred to the House Rules – Administrative Oversight Committee and is scheduled for an executive session on Monday, May 8, at 11:45 a.m.

Commerce Committee:

This week the committee heard Senate Bill 568, which creates provisions intended to make the process and construction of electric transmission line run more efficiently by requiring co-location for new transmission lines whenever possible.

Appropriations Committee:

This week, the committee heard additional appropriations bills. House Bill 17 concerns reappropriations for capital improvement and other purposes for the departments and offices of state government. House Bill 18 appropriates money for the maintenance and repair of state property. House Bill 19 appropriates money for capital improvements. House Bill 20 appropriates funds from the American Recovery Plan Act.

Other News

Judge signals rule targeting transgender care likely invalid

A St. Louis County judge on May 1 issued a temporary restraining order blocking the attorney general from enforcing an emergency rule seeking to prohibit nearly all gender transition medical care for transgender Missourians, an early sign that could indicate the attorney general’s action amounts to unconstitutional legislating by an executive branch official.

The attorney general promulgated the administrative rule seeking to tightly restrict transgender medical care in early April, citing authority granted to his office under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, a consumer protection law traditionally used to crack down on deceptive business practices or the sale of defective products. A group of plaintiffs that includes transgender Missourians and medical providers sued to challenge the validity of the rule, arguing the attorney general grossly overstepped his authority and is attempting to enact substantive law under the guise of an administrative rule.

The attorney general’s rule was slated to take effect April 27, but was placed on pause a day earlier while the judge considered the temporary restraining order. The rule will remain on hold until at least July 24. The judge has scheduled a hearing for July 20 on whether to issue a temporary injunction that would continue to block the rule’s enforcement while the lawsuit remains pending. The case is Southhampton Community Healthcare, et al., v. Andrew Bailey.

House approves eliminating corporate income taxes

The House of Representatives on May 1 voted to advance legislation that would cut state and local taxes by more than $2.33 billion a year once fully implemented.

The House version of Senate Bill 247 calls for completely eliminating the state’s 4% corporate income tax. Missouri’s individual income tax rate already is slated to be reduced to 4.5% under the recent tax cuts, and SB 47 would further cut it to 4.05%.

The original version of SB 247 the Senate passed in March was limited to a few relatively minor provisions primarily targeted at providing tax relief for senior citizens. The two chambers must negotiate a final version of the bill in order to grant it final passage before the legislative session ends on May 12.

House narrowly votes to expand PSC to eleven members

The House of Representatives voted 84-72 on May 1 for a controversial plan to expand the five-member Missouri Public Service Commission to 11 members and earmark three of those new positions for those with ties to agriculture. The bill passed with just two votes more than the minimum needed to advance to the Senate.

The PSC is the regulatory authority for Missouri’s investor-owned power utilities. Supporters of House Bill 1044 said expanding the panel and ensuring some of its members will protect the interests of farmers is appropriate since eminent domain is often used to secure agricultural land for power transmission lines. Critics said if the state starts designating commission spots for one interest group, others – particularly large industrial power users – will soon demand special treatment as well.

Lawmakers grant final passage to entertainment tax breaks

The House of Representatives voted to grant final passage to legislation to provide tax breaks intended to lure film and television productions to Missouri, as well as create other entertainment industry jobs. The Senate previously approved the bill on a 20-12 vote in February. It now goes to the governor for his consideration.

Supporters of Senate Bill 94 say it would bolster Missouri’s economy and reputation by attracting more productions and growing the number of entertainment jobs based in the state. Opponents note that Missouri tried similar tax breaks in the 2000s and the financial costs to the state far exceeded the economic return.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Thank you for your interest in the legislative process. I look forward to hearing from you on the issues that are important to you this legislative session. If there is anything my office can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (573) 751-3599.