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This week...

Legislature Rallies and Passes Budget Hours Before Tonight’s Deadline

This year’s budget process was unlike any other year. Typically, the budget moves through the House, then the Senate, then a select group of Representatives and Senators convene as a Conference Committee to hash out the differences between the two chambers’ budgets before sending the budget to the Governor for his final signature.

Due almost exclusively to delay tactics used by members of the Senate Freedom Caucus throughout the session, it was determined that getting the bills to conference committee before today’s 6:00pm deadline would be impossible. Instead, House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, Senate Appropriations Chairman Lincoln Hough, and budget staff met behind closed doors to iron out the differences. Senator Hough offered the compromise version of the budget on the Senate floor yesterday, andafter a few failed attempts by Freedom Caucus members to adopt amendments, the budget bills ultimately passed with no changes early Thursday evening. 

The budget bills are now back to the House, where they are expected to be taken up and passed today. Read more or click here to view all budget bills.
Specifics to the 91�㽶����Ƶ System budget.
HB 3

• 3% core increase
• $18M in MoExcels
• $5M one-time for Extensions line item
• $1M for MU’s A-Lot program 

HB 6

• $10M for meat processing plant
• $3M for renovation of Eckles Hall wine and grape institute.

HB 20 

• $20M for MU’s isotope distribution center
• $25M for UMSL’s engineering program 

ARPA Funds:

• MU: $52.25M for NextGen
• S&T: $25M for Advancing STEM Education
• UMKC: $20M for health Science District
• UMSL: $20M for campus of the future
   

Governor Signs Five Bills

The Governor signed 5 bills into law this week. The bills will go into effect on August 28 with the exception of HB2016 (supplemental appropriation bill).

• Prohibition on Medicaid Funding for Planned Parenthood: prohibits Medicaid dollars from being used by Planned Parenthood. In 2022, a previous attempt to address the policy was by the Missouri Supreme Court. . 
• Kansas City Landfill: increases the municipal approval radius from ½ mile to 1 mile for landfills and solid waste processing facilities. The legislation was targeted at a landfill project planned for south Kansas City after local citizens and legislators raised objections about the project. .
• Elementary and Secondary Education Package: Together, and raise teacher pay, incentivize school districts to maintain 5-day school weeks, increase the maximum family income eligible for a tax-credit scholarship for private school, and expand charter schools to Boone County. .
• Supplemental Funding for the Southern Border: authorizes over $2 million in funding for the deployment of the Missouri National Guard and Missouri State Highway Patrol to the southern border in Texas. .
   

Bills Awaiting Governor’s Signature

In addition to the five bills signed by the Governor this week, the legislature has sent a total of nine other bills to his desk for his final signature:

• - Financial Institutions
• - Military Affairs ()
• - Fertilizer and Clean Water Laws ()
• - Powers of the State Auditor ()
• - Video Services Providers
• - Taxation of Pass-Through Entities
• - Location of County and City Meetings
• - Investments by the State Treasurer ()
• - Veteran Suicide Prevention
   

Big Ticket Items to Watch in the Final Week

Next week is the final week of the 2024 Missouri legislative session. Excluding the budget, at this time, the General Assembly has passed only 14 bills. Below are some of the issues that are likely to be discussed next week:

• Initiative Petition Reform: that would make it more difficult to approve an initiative petition to amend the state constitution is still pending on the Senate side. This issue is expected to be brought up on Monday and could provided the political sparks to end the session in the Missouri Senate.
• FRA Renewal: to renew the Federal Reimbursement Allowance (FRA), a “tax” placed on hospitals, pharmacies, ambulances and nursing homes to help draw down more federal Medicaid dollars, passed out of the Senate Thursday evening and has just one week to make it through the House. If not renewed before its expiration in September, the state will face a more than $4 billion budget shortfall.
• 340B: to prohibit pharmaceutical companies from restricting access to certain 340B-eligible drugs by limiting the number of pharmacies where these drugs are dispensed is ready for calendar placement and is poised to be brought up on the House floor for debate next week. 
• National Nuclear Security Facility in Kansas City: to allow for a sales tax exemption on construction materials to expand the 1.5 million square foot National Security Administration campus in South Kansas City is awaiting debate on the House floor. The project is expected to create over 2,500 new jobs at an average salary of $150,000.

Governor Disapproves of Attorney General Representing Senators Facing Lawsuits

In a Thursday press conference, Governor Parson spoke out against Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s possible representation of three state senators who are being . The lawsuit came after Senators Bill Eigel (R-St. Charles), Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg), and Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) falsely claimed on social media that a Kansas man was the shooter at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally mass shooting. .