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Breaking news...
The 2023 regular session of the Missouri General Assembly ended just shy of 6 p.m. without the passage of a tax credit package aimed at incentivizing support for child care providers. The pandemic has ravaged the financial stability of an industry that already operates on razor-thin margins. These tax credits, a top priority of Governor Mike Parson, would have incentivized financial support for providers and enabled them to serve more working families who struggle to find quality care in most communities throughout the state.
President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden said the personal property tax cut, the child care tax credits, sports betting, and a social security tax cut were one vote away from passage.
"The reason why that didn't happen is because some folks wanted slot machines in gas stations. That's it. There is not a lot of nuance. That's how we ended this session," stated Rowden.
In addition, the legislature failed to pass a big education bill this year. As a result, proposals to bolster teacher recruitment and retention efforts and raise the cap on formula growth to increase per-pupil funding stalled in the final days.
However, lawmakers did approve historic funding for early care and education that will give both public schools and private providers the means to start and expand pre-Kindergarten programs and provide a hefty increase to the child care subsidy program.
This year's budget includes the following increases:
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$55.8 million for pre-Kindergarten expansion grants for public schools
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$26 million for pre-Kindergarten education programs for child care facilities
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$80 million for an increase to the child care subsidy program.
Despite the failure of the child care tax credit package, we want to thank the Missouri General Assembly for the generous budgetary support of early care and education and especially the leadership of Governor Parson, who has championed these initiatives with tremendous tenacity.
The session ended just 45 minutes ago; therefore, we need time to digest the past week's happenings. We will be back next week with a thorough report and outline of our plans for the interim.
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