JEFFERSON CITY — Today (1-31), the Missouri Senate voted unanimously to advance Senate Bills 20, 15 and 19, sponsored by Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield. 

“The value of these benevolent tax credits is obvious. The amounts redeemed may be small in terms of the state budget, but the impact in terms of lives saved or improved is tremendous,” Sen. Dixon said. “Allowing these tax credits to expire does not save taxpayers one dime in the long run. With its swift action, the Senate has demonstrated its strong support for this ounce of prevention action.”  

Senate Bills 20, 15 and 19 deal with numerous benevolent tax credits, including:  

• The Public Safety Officer Surviving Spouse Tax Credit aids the surviving spouses of public safety officers killed in the line of duty;
• The Children in Crisis Tax Credit—which will be renamed the Champion for Children tax credit in honor of former Senator Norma Champion—benefits crisis nurseries, child advocacy centers, and CASAs;
• The Residential Dwelling Accessibility Tax Credit allows individuals with disabilities to live at home longer, saving taxpayer dollars;
• The Pregnancy Resource Center Tax Credit aids pregnancy resource centers to provide services to women with unplanned or crisis pregnancies;
• The Food Pantry Tax Credit helps Missouri’s food banks and pantries provide millions of pounds of food to hungry Missourians. 

The bill would extend most of these programs to Dec. 31, 2019, and includes an emergency clause, making it effective immediately upon the governor’s signature. 

“It’s common sense to allow individual donors to personally direct their charitable dollars to the efficient and effective programs that do the most good,” Sen. Dixon said. “It’s fiscally responsible, easing future burdens on the state budget and avoiding bureaucracy and the political process.”    

With this affirmative vote, these measures move to the House for its consideration. For more information on the bills, visit www.senate.mo.gov/dixon.