I-70 Expansion Heads to Governor
My House Bill Being Heard in Senate Committee
HB155 - Establishes provisions relating to workplace retirement savings plans.
Show-Me MyRetirement Savings Program, which is a multiple-employer retirement savings plan that would allow small employers to offer their employers an affordable 401(k) option to help more working Missourians take the personal responsibility to take charge of their retirement finances. The language for the bill is now on multiple bills and I believe the best possible path for it is in either Senate Bill 20 or Senate Bill 75. With just one week to go, I believe we’re in the best place we’ve ever been to get this incredibly impactful legislation to the Governor’s desk.
My House Bill on Senate 3rd Read Calendar
HB415 - Requires dealers to collect and remit sales tax on motor vehicle sales. The bill is on the Senate perfection calendar now. Once perfected it will get a third read vote then come back to the House for final approval, since changes were made. We’re still working to finally get this across the line and have placed it on multiple bills.
My House Bill Voted on in House Committee
House Bill 1071 (HB1071) was voted Do Pass in the Utilities Committee. The bill gives the public service commission contracting authority in securitization rate cases. I will be adding it to legislation going back to the Senate in the hope of getting it passed.
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
The Department of Natural Resources continues to reach new milestones in its goal of expanding access to electric vehicle charging stations in the Show-Me State.
Within Missouri’s share of the Volkswagen Trust Fund, about $6 million was made available for EV charging infrastructure installations. One of the first steps was to identify areas of the state that would need charging infrastructure. In consultation with stakeholders and electric utilities, the department set a goal of installing 22 charging locations as a part of a minimum practical network of EV charging infrastructure.
Eleven EV charging station installations have been completed since July 2021 and are online, one is nearly complete and contracts have been awarded for 10 others.
In a related effort, the department has begun a pilot program to install EV charging stations at state parks and state office buildings throughout Missouri. The first installations are proposed to be located at Montauk State Park in Dent County, Roaring River State Park in Barry County and the Lewis and Clark State Office Building in Jefferson City. The initial projects will include a mix of mid-high power AC Level 2 chargers and fast DC Level 3 chargers.
The department’s EV charger initiatives are adding to the nearly 1,000 public charging stations already available in Missouri. For more information about efforts to expand EV charging infrastructure or the Volkswagen Trust Fund, visit the department’s website at?dnr.mo.gov/air/what-were-doing/volkswagen-trust-funds.
House and Senate Give Final Approval to the State Operating Budget (HBs 1-13)
The House and Senate have reached final agreement on a fiscally responsible state spending plan that provides record funding for K-12 education, makes major investments in the state’s infrastructure, provides strong support for law enforcement and public safety, and boosts funding for state programs that serve the state’s most vulnerable citizens. Ahead of the constitutional deadline, lawmakers gave bipartisan support to the various budget bills that make up the Fiscal Year 2024 state operating budget.
The budget as it left the House in March appropriated approximately $45.6 billion. The Senate then added several additional spending items to bring the total price tag of the plan to roughly $49.9 billion. The final version approved by the two chambers cuts the Senate total by more than $1 billion to bring the total funding allocated in the budget to nearly $48.8 billion.
Included in the budget is more than $9.8 billion in funding for K-12 public schools in Missouri. That total includes $3.6 billion to provide full funding for the school foundation formula, which determines funding levels for public schools across the state. The funding for public education also includes an additional $233 million to provide a total of $347 million to fully fund school transportation for the second time in as many years. The House and Senate also agreed to provide an additional $29 million to raise the minimum public school teacher salary to $38,000 annually. Additionally, the two chambers agreed to allocate $50 million in funding for Close the Gap grants that will help Missouri families address the learning loss that occurred as a result of the pandemic.
Lawmakers also expressed their ongoing support for higher education with their funding decisions in the budget. The finalized version of the spending plan allocates more than $1.4 billion for higher education and workforce development. Included in that figure is a 7% funding increase for the state’s public colleges and universities. The FY 2024 budget also includes full funding for the state’s scholarship programs such as Bright Flight, Access Missouri, and the A+ Scholarship Program. Legislators also approved $38.3 million for MoExcels workforce development projects on college campuses.
The House and Senate also addressed one of the major spending items requested by Governor Mike Parson, who had originally called for the legislature to spend $859 million to expand Interstate 70 to six lanes in several areas between Kansas City and St. Louis. The final version of the budget expands that proposal to provide sufficient funding to widen Interstate-70 to at least three lanes in both directions from Blue Springs near Kansas City to Wentzville near St. Louis. The budget plan checks in with $2.8 billion in funding for the project, which includes $1.4 billion in general revenue and $1.4 billion from bonds.
The House Budget Committee Chairman said, “This represents the single greatest investment into our transportation network in the state’s history.”
Lawmakers also included $25 million for environmental studies for Interstate 44 and U.S. Route 63, and $50 million for safety improvements at railroad crossings.
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Another point of emphasis in the spending plan is support for law enforcement and public safety. The budget provides a 20% pay increase for the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Capitol Police. It also includes $50 million for school safety grants for Missouri schools to make physical security investments on their campuses, develop safety plans, establish school resource officer programs, and increase active threat trainings.?Additionally, the budget provides $2 million to the Missouri National Guard to assist with recruitment.
House and Senate members also approved several spending items that will improve healthcare outcomes and improve services for some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens. The budget includes $300 million to build a new mental health hospital in Kansas City. Lawmakers also approved $171 million to boost pay for workers who provide residential and other support services to Missourians with developmental disabilities. The funding increase will bring their base pay to approximately $16 an hour. The budget also provides a $33.3 million funding increase for the state’s Children’s Division, which manages the state’s foster care system and investigates allegations of child abuse and neglect. The additional dollars will boost staffing levels by 134 employees.
The bills that make up the budget now head to the governor’s desk for his consideration. Gov. Parson has the option to sign the bills into law or to use his authority to issue line item vetoes to reject certain spending items in the budget.
Items of note in the budget:
HB 15 is a supplemental appropriations bill that authorizes more than $2 billion spending for the Fiscal Year 2023 state operating budget.
HB 17 re-appropriates nearly $431 million in funding for state parks around Missouri.
HB 18 appropriates nearly $778 million for maintenance and repair of state property.
HB 19 allocates approximately $606.3 million for capital improvement projects.
HB 20 appropriates nearly $3.3 billion in funding from the American Recovery Plan Act.
Other Legislation Given Final Approval
HB 131 allows the salaries of state employees to be paid in biweekly installments, as designated by the Commissioner of the Office of Administration. Supporters say the bill allows for flexibility in pay structure by state agencies which will be an incentive for workforce attraction. The bill is common sense and promotes fiscal responsibility, helping struggling state agencies and employees.
SCR 7 creates the America 250 Missouri Commission. The Commission's principal purpose shall be to plan, promote, and implement public celebrations and commemorations of the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America.
HB 402 modifies several provisions relating to health care, including: (1) Rare Kidney Disease Awareness Month; (2) do-not-resuscitate orders; (3) patient examinations; (4) health care advisory committees; (5) health professional loans and grants; (6) the Missouri Parkinson's Disease Registry Act; (7) voluntary non-opioid directive forms; (8) licensing of certain health care professionals; (9) prescription labeling requirements; (10) pharmacy settlements; (11) rural emergency hospitals; (12) at-risk behavioral health patients; (13) surgical smoke plume; (14) county or township-owned nursing homes; (15) supplemental welfare assistance; (16) fentanyl testing; (17) mental health services for vulnerable persons; (18) notarization requirements for certain mental health detentions; and (19) lead poisoning.
Governor Mike Parson announced 169 school districts and charter schools have received grants from the newly created School Safety Grant Program.?
The grant program aims to support school safety improvements, including physical security upgrades and associated technology in school facilities (e.g., door locks, monitoring systems), bleeding control kits, and automatic external defibrillators. The $20 million grant was part of Governor Parson's Fiscal Year 2023 early supplemental budget request. Governor Parson's Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal includes an additional $50 million for the program, if approved by the General Assembly.
School districts and charter schools applied to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) through a competitive grant application process for a maximum grant amount of $900,000 for districts/schools with the largest student populations.?See grant award totals here on DESE’s website.
Monarch Jewelry Visit to the Capitol
One of my constituents is part of the Monarch Jewelry organization. Monarch is a Christian Ministry of Crisis Aid International, dedicated to raising awareness and funds for survivors of sex trafficking and child exploitation. Here’s a link to their webpage www.monarchjewelry.org. They were able to raise over $3,000 during their visit to the State Capitol. One of their partner groups also attended, the Children’s Anti-exploitation Partnership Program had a survivor there to share their story. Their webpage is www.ussafe.org.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me at [email protected], 573-751-3762 or my office is located on the 4th floor of the Capitol in room 411A.