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Your guide to the 48 bills Missouri lawmakers passed in 2024

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Missouri lawmakers set their sights on new laws to make it easier for families to score tax credits on private school tuition, raise the minimum pay for teachers and launch new tax breaks for the nuclear weapons industry in Kansas City.

Lawmakers hoped to pass tax credits for child care providers, a resolution making initiative petitions harder to pass and a package of legislation reforming city and county jails.

But this year’s General Assembly session was defined by fighting among factions in the Republican Party amid campaigns for other offices ahead of the November general election. It resulted in a recent low for passing legislation. Lawmakers passed 48 bills total, 28 of which were non-budget bills.

Most potential new Missouri laws are still awaiting a signature, or possible veto, from lame-duck Gov. Mike Parson. Lawmakers come back for a veto session in September before wrapping up for the year.

The Beacon compiled a list of the bills passed by the Missouri General Assembly this year, which could become new Missouri laws.

Business and taxes

Banking and assets

This bill would ensure that breast and cervical cancer screenings are eligible for medical assistance.

The legislation is SB 1359.

Taxation for certain businesses

This bill changes how certain businesses, like partnerships or S corporations, are taxed. The legislation would let shareholders collect a tax credit for income that may be taxed in another state.

The legislation is HB 1912.

Tax exemptions for KC nuclear facility

This bill will grant state and local sales tax exemptions for the expansion of the nuclear weapons facility at the Honeywell-operated National Nuclear Security Administration campus. It produces non-nuclear parts for nuclear weapons.

The legislation is SB 1388.

The Kansas City National Security Campus

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The Kansas City National Security Campus, HonywellThe Kansas City National Security Campus just off Missouri Highway 150

Business development and tax credits for rural investments

This bill would create a tax credit for some investments made in primarily agricultural businesses in rural Missouri.

The legislation is SB 802.

Another bill would establish the Regulatory Sandbox Act, which will identify state regulations that could be waived in the first years of establishing a business. It would also create an Office of Entrepreneurship to promote small businesses.

The legislation isSB 894.

Local government

Changes to local governance and property rights

This bill outlines a number of changes to property rights in Missouri. Under the legislation, no county or city will be allowed to enforce an eviction moratoriumunless authorized by state law. If a government shuts down a business for at least 14 consecutive days or 30 days total, the city must waive business fees and reduce property taxes for that time. It comes in the wake of government-ordered shutdowns during the pandemic.

The bill would also outline rules to allow property owners to remove people who are illegally staying on or occupying a residential property. It would create a Class A misdemeanor penalty for squatting.

The legislation would also exempt churches and nonprofits from local laws requiring electric vehicle charging stations.

It would also allow counties to establish land banks, which allow for cities to take control of vacant properties. And It would require more transparency for local land banks and create a tax credit program for rehabilitating historic buildings.

The legislation would also bar homeowners associations from prohibiting residents from owning chickens.

The legislation is HB 2062.

Tax credits for seniors

This bill would update a number of provisions included in2023’s property tax freeze for Missourians over 62.

The bill clarifies that Missourians 62 and older who own their homes are eligible for the freeze. It creates more clarity about guidelines counties need to follow.

The legislation is SB 756.

State government

Expanding the powers of the state auditor

This bill would give more powers to the state auditor by allowing the office to audit any local government if an investigation shows the government acted improperly. The bill would apply to fire and ambulance departments and counties and would allow the auditor to launch the audit without first getting voter approval.

The legislation is HB 2111.

Virtual schooling

This bill clarifies language from legislation passed in 2022 relating to Missouri’s virtual schooling program. The bill reworks how the state calculates average daily attendance, state aid to districts that run virtual programs, enrollment policies and accommodating students with disabilities.

Parson has signed this bill, HB 2287, into law.

Raising minimum teacher salary, expanding vouchers, charter schools in Boone County

This bill will raise the minimum starting salary for Missouri teachers to $40,000 and expand a tax-credit scholarship for private schools in Missouri.

Under the legislation, the tax-credit scholarship would give families tax credits for the cost of sending their children to private schools.

The bill did not come with funding for school districts to increase their starting teacher pay, so districts will have to come up with the money themselves.

The legislation will also allow charter schools to open in Boone County.

Parson has signed this bill, SB 727, into law.

Crime, warrants for traffic violations, celebratory gunfire

This bill would make a number of changes to the criminal justice system.

It would raise the minimum age a child can be tried as an adult for certain offenses from 12 to 14. The bill would also make the minimum prison term three years for a first offense of armed criminal action.

If it becomes a law in Missouri, the legislation would prohibit courts from issuing a warrant for arrest over unpaid traffic violations.

Carlos Moreno

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KCUR 89.3A Kansas City Police motorcycle officer pulls over a vehicle on Hwy 71 in July 2021.

It would establish a state conviction review unit to investigate claims of innocence within the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services. It would also create a Cyber Crimes Task Force to research and recommend tools to limit cyberstalking and harassment.

It would establish “Blair’s Law,” which raises the penalty for recklessly discharging a gun within city limits. It would also establish “Max’s Law,” which raises the penalty for attacking or killing a police animal. It would also up the penalty for attempting to flee from a law enforcement officer in a high-speed chase.

The bill would put limits on local civilian review boards and create a Public Defender fund within the state treasurer’s office. It would also update some expungement provisions.

The legislation is SB 754.

Broadband incentives

This bill would allow an income tax deduction for federal, state and local grant money to expand broadband throughout Missouri.

The legislation is SB 872.

Efforts to prevent veteran suicide, veterans and military affairs

The bill would require the Missouri Veterans Commission to review a previously passed mental health care plan. After that review, the commission and the Department of Mental Health will be required to make recommendations for procedures, treatment options and any other assistance needed to assist in efforts to prevent veteran suicide.

The legislation is HB 1495.

Another bill would make a number of changes to veterans affairs in Missouri and expand educational assistance for members of the Missouri National Guard.

The legislation is SB 912.

Health care

Blocking funds for Planned Parenthood

This House bill prohibits state dollars from going to abortion providers or their affiliates, namely Planned Parenthood.

Parson has signed the legislation, HB 2634, into law.

Distribution of 340B drugs

This Senate bill prohibits drug manufacturers from blocking or limiting the supply of discounted drugs to pharmacies.

The legislation is SB 751.

Environment

Regulating wastewater and fertilizer storage

This bill would require industrial wastewater, meatpacking sludge or other waste to be regulated by a standard set by the Department of Natural Resources.

It would also require companies to meet design requirements in line with wastewater treatment facilities before they can obtain an operating permit. The bill would also put buffer zones in place between fertilizer storage and any public building or residential areas. It would require groundwater monitoring if storage is in an area that would increase the chance of groundwater contamination.

The legislation is HB 2134.

Blocking a landfill in south KC

This bill would give cities near Kansas City input on a previously proposed landfill site in south Kansas City. Under law, cities within a half-mile radius of a proposed landfill site are able to block a landfill from being built. If signed, the bill would increase the radius to one mile, allowing cities like Lee’s Summit, Raymore and Belton to weigh in and block the landfill.

The bill passed after the city of Raymore agreed to pay over $3.7 million to the landfill developers to allow the legislation to advance, essentially killing the proposed landfill. Gov. Parson signed this bill into law.

The legislation is HB 1751.

Allison Kite

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Missouri IndependentA sign just outside Creekmoor, a golf course subdivision in Raymore, implores drivers to stop a proposed landfill less than a mile away.

Ballot measures

Salaries and benefits for law enforcement

This proposed constitutional amendment would allow for levying of costs and fees that support salaries and benefits for current and former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys and circuit attorneys.

The resolution is SJR 71.

Ranked-choice voting and noncitizen voting

This proposed constitutional amendment would ask voters to approve that only U.S. citizens over 18 can vote in Missouri elections, which is already the law. The amendment would also bar ranked-choice voting in most elections.

The resolution is SJR 78.

Major bills that died

Making it harder to amend the state Constitution

This legislation would have placed a measure on the ballot asking voters to make it more difficult to pass constitutional amendments. Currently, amendments require simple-majority support to pass. If approved by voters, this measure would have required constitutional amendments to be approved by a simple majority statewide plus a majority in five of Missouri’s eight congressional districts.

The legislation would have also barred noncitizens from voting in Missouri elections and prohibited foreign governments from supporting or opposing ballot initiatives. Both are already illegal.

The legislation was SJR 74.

Raising the minimum age for marriage

This bill would have barred Missourians under 18 from getting married. Current law allows Missourians aged 16 and 17 to get married.

The legislation was SB 767.

Child care tax credits

This legislation would have offered tax credits to those who donate to child care providers in Missouri. It would also provide tax relief for businesses that provide or help pay for child care for their employees and provide tax credits for child care providers.

The legislation was HB 1488.

Task force for missing and murdered Black women

This bill would have created a state task force to author yearly a report that includes recommendations and measures ways to address violence against Black women and girls in Missouri.

The legislation was SB 890.

Modifying policies for jails

This bill would have made a number of changes related to city and county jails.

The legislation would have barred jails from restricting access to phone calls and would cap costs for a phone call at 12 cents per minute.

The legislation would have also barred jails from shackling pregnant inmates in their third trimester, except under certain circumstances. The bill would have required county and city jails to develop specific intake policies for pregnant inmates.

The bill would also require voters to approve a sales tax to establish a regional jail district for two or more counties that are right next to each other. It would also allow jails to lease their properties and would allow regional jails to impose a 1% sales tax, up from half a percent.

The legislation was SB 900.
This story was originally published by The Beacon Kansas City, a member of the KC Media Collective.

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Poll: Support for Missouri abortion rights amendment growing

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A proposed constitutional amendment legalizing abortion in Missouri received support from more than half of respondents in a new poll from St. Louis University and YouGov.That’s a boost from a poll earlier this year, which could mean what’s known as Amendment 3 is in a solid position to pass in November.SLU/YouGov’s poll of 900 likely Missouri voters from Aug. 8-16 found that 52% of respondents would vote for Amendment 3, which would place constitutional protections for abortion up to fetal viability. Thirty-four percent would vote against the measure, while 14% aren’t sure.By comparison, the SLU/YouGov poll from February found that 44% of voters would back the abortion legalization amendment.St. Louis University political science professor Steven Rogers said 32% of Republicans and 53% of independents would vote for the amendment. That’s in addition to nearly 80% of Democratic respondents who would approve the measure. In the previous poll, 24% of Republicans supported the amendment.Rogers noted that neither Amendment 3 nor a separate ballot item raising the state’s minimum wage is helping Democratic candidates. GOP contenders for U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and secretary of state all hold comfortable leads.“We are seeing this kind of crossover voting, a little bit, where there are voters who are basically saying, ‘I am going to the polls and I’m going to support a Republican candidate, but I’m also going to go to the polls and then I’m also going to try to expand abortion access and then raise the minimum wage,’” Rogers said.Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Kehoe has a 51%-41% lead over Democrat Crystal Quade. And U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is leading Democrat Lucas Kunce by 53% to 42%. Some GOP candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer have even larger leads over their Democratic rivals.

Brian Munoz

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St. Louis Public RadioHundreds of demonstrators pack into a parking lot at Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and Southwest Missouri on June 24, 2022, during a demonstration following the Supreme Court’s reversal of a case that guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion.

One of the biggest challenges for foes of Amendment 3 could be financial.Typically, Missouri ballot initiatives with well-funded and well-organized campaigns have a better chance of passing — especially if the opposition is underfunded and disorganized. Since the end of July, the campaign committee formed to pass Amendment 3 received more than $3 million in donations of $5,000 or more.That money could be used for television advertisements to improve the proposal’s standing further, Rogers said, as well as point out that Missouri’s current abortion ban doesn’t allow the procedure in the case of rape or incest.“Meanwhile, the anti side won’t have those resources to kind of try to make that counter argument as strongly, and they don’t have public opinion as strongly on their side,” Rogers said.There is precedent of a well-funded initiative almost failing due to opposition from socially conservative voters.In 2006, a measure providing constitutional protections for embryonic stem cell research nearly failed — even though a campaign committee aimed at passing it had a commanding financial advantage.Former state Sen. Bob Onder was part of the opposition campaign to that measure. He said earlier this month it is possible to create a similar dynamic in 2024 against Amendment 3, if social conservatives who oppose abortion rights can band together.“This is not about reproductive rights or care for miscarriages or IVF or anything else,” said Onder, the GOP nominee for Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District seat. “Missourians will learn that out-of-state special interests and dark money from out of state is lying to them and they will reject this amendment.”Quade said earlier this month that Missourians of all political ideologies are ready to roll back the state’s abortion ban.“Regardless of political party, we hear from folks who are tired of politicians being in their doctor’s offices,” Quade said. “They want politicians to mind their own business. So this is going to excite folks all across the political spectrum.”

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Democrat Mark Osmack makes his case for Missouri treasurer

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Mark Osmack has been out of the electoral fray for awhile, but he never completely abandoned his passion for Missouri politics.Osmack, a Valley Park native and U.S. Army veteran, previously ran for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District seat and for state Senate. Now he’s the Democratic nominee for state treasurer after receiving a phone call from Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Russ Carnahan asking him to run.“There’s a lot of decision making and processing and evaluation that goes into it, which is something I am very passionate and interested in,” Osmack said this week on an episode of Politically Speaking.Osmack is squaring off against state Treasurer Vivek Malek, who was able to easily win a crowded GOP primary against several veteran lawmakers including House Budget Chairman Cody Smith and state Sen. Andrew Koenig.While Malek was able to attract big donations to his political action committee and pour his own money into the campaign, Osmack isn’t worried that he won’t be able to compete in November. Since Malek was appointed to his post, Osmack contends he hasn’t proven that he’s a formidable opponent in a general election.“His actions and his decision making so far in his roughly two year tenure in that office have been questionable,” Osmack said.Among other things, Osmack was critical of Malek for placing unclaimed property notices on video gaming machines which are usually found in gas stations or convenience stores. The legality of the machines has been questioned for some time.As Malek explained on his own episode of Politically Speaking, he wanted to make sure the unclaimed property program was as widely advertised as possible. But he acknowledged it was a mistake to put the decals close to the machines and ultimately decided to remove them.Osmack said: “This doesn’t even pass the common sense sniff test of, ‘Hey, should I put state stickers claiming you might have a billion dollars on a gambling machine that is not registered with the state of Missouri?’ If we’re gonna give kudos for him acknowledging the wrong thing, it never should have been done in the first place.”Osmack’s platform includes supporting programs providing school meals using Missouri agriculture products and making child care more accessible for the working class.He said the fact that Missouri has such a large surplus shows that it’s possible to create programs to make child care within reach for parents.“It is quite audacious for [Republicans] to brag about $8 billion, with a B, dollars in state surplus, while we offer next to no social services to include pre-K, daycare, or child care,” Osmack said.Here’s are some other topics Osmack discussed on the show:How he would handle managing the state’s pension systems and approving low-income housing tax credits. The state treasurer’s office is on boards overseeing both of those programs.Malek’s decision to cut off investments from Chinese companies. Osmack said that Missouri needs to be cautious about abandoning China as a business partner, especially since they’re a major consumer of the state’s agriculture products. “There’s a way to make this work where we are not supporting communist nations to the detriment of the United States or our allies, while also maintaining strong economic ties that benefit Missouri farmers,” he said.What it was like to witness the skirmish at the Missouri State Fair between U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and Democratic challenger Lucas Kunce.Whether Kunce can get the support of influential groups like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which often channels money and staff to states with competitive Senate elections.

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As Illinois receives praise for its cannabis equity efforts, stakeholders work on system’s flaws

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Medical marijuana patients can now purchase cannabis grown by small businesses as part of their allotment, Illinois’ top cannabis regulator said, but smaller, newly licensed cannabis growers are still seeking greater access to the state’s medical marijuana customers.Illinois legalized medicinal marijuana beginning in 2014, then legalized it for recreational use in 2020. While the 2020 law legalized cannabis use for any adult age 21 or older, it did not expand licensing for medical dispensaries.Patients can purchase marijuana as part of the medical cannabis program at dual-purpose dispensaries, which are licensed to serve both medical and recreational customers. But dual-purpose dispensaries are greatly outnumbered by dispensaries only licensed to sell recreationally, and there are no medical-only dispensaries in the state.As another part of the adult-use legalization law, lawmakers created a “craft grow” license category that was designed to give more opportunities to Illinoisans hoping to legally grow and sell marijuana. The smaller-scale grow operations were part of the 2020 law’s efforts to diversify the cannabis industry in Illinois.Prior to that, all cultivation centers in Illinois were large-scale operations dominated by large multi-state operators. The existing cultivators, mostly in operation since 2014, were allowed to grow recreational cannabis beginning in 2019.Until recently, dual-purpose dispensaries have been unsure as to whether craft-grown products, made by social equity licensees — those who have lived in a disproportionately impacted area or have been historically impacted by the war on drugs — can be sold medicinally as part of a patient’s medical allotment.Erin Johnson, the state’s cannabis regulation oversight officer, told Capitol News Illinois last month that her office has “been telling dispensaries, as they have been asking us” they can now sell craft-grown products to medical patients.“There was just a track and trace issue on our end, but never anything statutorily,” she said.

Dilpreet Raju

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Capitol News IllinoisThe graphic shows how cannabis grown in Illinois gets from cultivation centers to customers.

No notice has been posted, but Johnson’s verbal guidance comes almost two years after the first craft grow business went online in Illinois.It allows roughly 150,000 medical patients, who dispensary owners say are the most consistent purchasers of marijuana, to buy products made by social equity businesses without paying recreational taxes. However — even as more dispensaries open — the number available to medical patients has not increased since 2018, something the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office “desperately” wants to see changed. Johnson said Illinois is a limited license state, meaning “there are caps on everything” to help control the relatively new market.Berwyn Thompkins, who operates two cannabis businesses, said the rules limited options for patients and small businesses.“It’s about access,” Thompkins said. “Why wouldn’t we want all the patients — which the (adult-use) program was initially built around — why wouldn’t we want them to have access? They should have access to any dispensary.”Customers with a medical marijuana card pay a 1% tax on all marijuana products, whereas recreational customers pay retail taxes between roughly 20 and 40% on a given cannabis product, when accounting for local taxes.While Illinois has received praise for its equity-focused cannabis law, including through an independent study that showed more people of color own cannabis licenses than in any other state, some industry operators say they’ve experienced many unnecessary hurdles getting their businesses up and running.The state, in fact, announced last month that it had opened its 100th social equity dispensary.But Steve Olson, purchasing manager at a pair of dispensaries (including one dual-purpose dispensary) near Rockford, said small specialty license holders have been left in the lurch since the first craft grower opened in October 2022.“You would think that this would be something they’re (the government) trying to help out these social equity companies with, but they’re putting handcuffs on them in so many different spots,” he said. “One of them being this medical thing.”Olson said he contacted state agencies, including the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, months ago about whether craft products can be sold to medical patients at their retail tax rate, but only heard one response: “They all say it was an oversight.”This potentially hurt social equity companies because they sell wholesale to dispensaries and may have been missing out on a consistent customer base through those medical dispensaries.Olson said the state’s attempts to provide licensees with a path to a successful business over the years, such as with corrective lotteries that granted more social equity licenses, have come up short.“It’s like they almost set up the social equity thing to fail so the big guys could come in and swoop up all these licenses,” Olson said. “I hate to feel like that but, if you look at it, it’s pretty black and white.”Olson said craft companies benefit from any type of retail sale.“If we sell it to medical patients or not, it’s a matter of, ‘Are we collecting the proper taxes?’ That’s all it is,” he said.State revenue from cannabis taxes, licensing costs and other fees goes into the Cannabis Regulation Fund, which is used to fund a host of programs, including cannabis offense expungement, the general revenue fund, and the R3 campaign aiming to uplift disinvested communities.For fiscal year 2024, nearly $256 million was paid out from Cannabis Regulation Fund for related initiatives, which includes almost $89 million transferred to the state’s general revenue fund and more than $20 million distributed to local governments, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.Medical access still limitedThe state’s 55 medical dispensaries that predate the 2020 legalization law, mostly owned by publicly traded multistate operators that had been operating in Illinois since 2014 under the state’s medical marijuana program, were automatically granted a right to licenses to sell recreationally in January 2020. That gave them a dual-purpose license that no new entrants into the market can receive under current law.Since expanding their clientele in 2020, Illinois dispensaries have sold more than $6 billion worth of cannabis products through recreational transactions alone.Nearly two-thirds of dispensaries licensed to sell to medical patients are in the northeast counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will. Dual-purpose dispensaries only represent about 20 percent of the state’s dispensaries.While the state began offering recreational dispensary licenses since the adult-use legalization law passed, it has not granted a new medical dispensary license since 2018. That has allowed the established players to continue to corner the market on the state’s nearly 150,000 medical marijuana patients.But social equity licensees and advocates say there are more ways to level the playing field, including expanding access to medical sales.Johnson, who became the state’s top cannabis regulator in late 2022, expressed hope for movement during the fall veto session on House Bill 2911, which would expand medical access to all Illinois dispensaries.“We would like every single dispensary in Illinois to be able to serve medical patients,” Johnson said. “It’s something that medical patients have been asking for, for years.”Johnson said the bill would benefit patients and small businesses.“It’s something we desperately want to happen as a state system, because we want to make sure that medical patients are able to easily access what they need,” she said. “We also think it’s good for our social equity dispensaries, as they’re opening, to be able to serve medical patients.”Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, who was the first statewide project coordinator for Illinois’ medical cannabis program prior to joining the legislature, wrote in an email to Capitol News Illinois that the state needs to be doing more for its patients.“Illinois is failing the state’s 150,000 medical cannabis patients with debilitating conditions. Too many are still denied the patient protections they deserve, including access to their medicine,” Morgan wrote, adding he would continue to work with stakeholders on further legislation.Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.

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