Weekly Update

May 5, 2023

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (left) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Lincoln Hough finalized the FY24 budget this week with significant investments in children's priorities. PHOTO CREDIT: Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent

Record funding for pre-K in final budget

Despite yesterday's lengthy filibuster (read what the fuss was about) that frustrated legislators looking to finalize appropriation bills, the Missouri General Assembly gave final approval to the state's nearly $50 billion budget for FY24 this afternoon. Thanks to the leadership of Governor Mike Parson, the advocacy of key lawmakers and the support of budget leaders, the Show-Me State is poised to make generational investments in the birth to 5 population.

Here are the highlights of the new funds allocated to pre-Kindergarten:

$55,830,843 for pre-K grants to districts and charter schools for 4-year-olds with priority towards students from low-income families
$26,084,588 for pre-K grants to child care facilities with priority towards students from low-income families

The funding for these two priorities is in different bills. As of the publication of this newsletter, the $26 million in HB 2 has been Truly Agreed and Finally Passed and heads to the Governor's desk next. The $55.8 million in funding that was included in HB 20 still awaits final approval by the legislature.

The 2023 regular Missouri legislative session will conclude by next Friday at 6 p.m. We will provide more details on the pre-K funding in our end-of-session wrap-up.

Missouri Update

Aligned priorities poised to pass

When we kicked off the legislative session this year, Aligned had three top priorities for early care and education:

More money for child care subsidies
A tax incentive package for child care centers
Expanded money for pre-K

With the subsidies and pre-K money in the budget and the grant authority passed in statute, the remaining agenda items are the child care tax credits.

As of today at 3:00 p.m., the tax credit language from HB 870 (Shields) is in two bills (SB 199 & HB 268) which are on track to pass. We will continue to monitor this and hope to have good news next week.

House Activity this Week

State Employee Biweekly Pay - In an effort to address the critical shortage of state employees, HB131, sponsored by Rep. Dave Griffith (R-Jefferson City), which allows state employees to be paid biweekly, was Truly Agreed and Finally Passed (TAFP'd)
Public Service Commission - On Monday, the House passed HB1044, sponsored by Rep. Mike Haffner (R-Cass Co), by a vote of 84-72, which expands the composition of the Missouri Public Service Commission to become the largest PSC in the country (from current 5 to proposed 11 members), requires at least one member be from each congressional district, and requires at least three members be "actively engaged in agriculture." Making MO Government bigger!
Postpartum Coverage - On Monday Rep. Melanie Stinnett (R-Springfield) led debate on House passage of SB45, which extends MOHealthNet benefits to 12 months postpartum. During debate, several amendments were added, including:
Ticket to Work Health Assurance Program for individuals with disabilities
Transitional Benefits program for TANF/SNAP participants making up to 200% of the FPL
Medicaid coverage for child birthing classes
Health professional loan program and residency program
Allowing HPV vaccine administration to individuals above the age of 7 by dentists
Allowing vaccine administration to individuals above the age of 7 by pharmacists
'Erbody Gets a Day - On Tuesday the House loaded up SB139, sponsored by Sen. Jason Bean (R-Dunklin Co), which designates a certain region of Southeast Missouri as the "Stars & Stripes Historic Region of Missouri." Among amendments added:
Designating Piedmont, MO, as the "UFO Capital of MO"
First week of March changed from "METS" to "STEM" week
Provel is the official cheese of MO
have to be dead for 3 years to get a memorial day
April 22 designated as "MO Black Bear Awareness"
Designating Waverly, MO, as the official "apple capital of MO" and Concordia, MO, as the official "mural capital of MO"
Designating certain counties in MO as the "German Heritage Corridor"
January 16 designated as "Albert Pujols Day"
Designating December 1 as "Mayor Freeman Bosley Sr. Day"
Designating the month of May as "Asian Heritage Month"
First Saturday of October "Breast Cancer Awareness Day"
Third Saturday of October "Domestic Violence Awareness Day"
Designates Hawken Rifle as the state rifle
Designates January as the official month for deceased legislators
First week of February designated as "Missouri Girls and Women in Sports Week"
June 12 designated as "Women Veterans Appreciation Day"
Driver Education - On Thursday an Amendment was added by Rep. Rodger Reedy (R-Windsor) to SB56, a motor vehicle omnibus bill, to require drivers education course completion in high school

Senate Activity this Week

Entertainment Industry Tax Credits - On Thursday, SB94, sponsored by Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Johnson Co), was Truly Agreed and Finally Passed (TAFP'd), reinstating the long sought film and entertainment industry tax incentive program.

Upskill Credentials - On Friday the Senate passed an amended HB417, sponsored by Rep. Mike Henderson (R-Bonne Terre), which provides grants to employers to provide incentives or trainings for employees to obtain upskill credentials. Senate-added amendments include:
Updates to Name - Image - Likeness Compensation for Postsecondary student athletes
State Agency Employment Credentialing - removing the requirement for postsecondary credentialing for certain state agency employment positions.

Adult High Schools - On Friday the Senate passed an amended HB447, sponsored by Rep. Bishop Davidson (R-Republic), which adds authorization for an additional adult high school completion program. Senate-added amendments include:
Language authorizing DESE to expend appropriated funds to licensed childcare facilities for the purpose of increasing access to early childhood education
Language directing DESE to develop language milestone assessments for DEAF and hard of hearing students.

First Responder Mental Health Act - On Friday the Senate Truly Agreed and Finally Passed SB24, sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Hough (R-Greene Co), which establishes several programs relating to mental health coverage for first responders. During the bill's progression through the House, the title was changed to "vulnerable persons" and an amendment was approved adding language to authorize DESE to expend appropriated funds to licensed childcare facilities for the purpose of increasing access to early childhood education.

Incentives for Small Businesses - On Friday the Senate briefly debated HB268, sponsored by Rep. Alex Riley (R-Springfield), which creates several incentive programs for small businesses, including establishing the several childcare tax credit programs we have previously covered.

Postpartum Coverage - On Friday the Senate adopted a conference committee substitute and passed SB45, sponsored by Sen. Elaine Gannon (R-Jefferson Co), which extends MOHealthNet coverage to 12 months postpartum, and includes several healthcare related provisions.

Outstanding Priorities

Sports Betting - No progress has been made and STL Cardinals President Bill DeWitt says they're considering taking it to the ballot box.

Gender Affirming Medical Care & Athletic Competition Bans - After Gov. Mike Parson announced he intends to call legislators back into a special session to address these issues, we expect approval next week before Friday's session adjournment.

Initiative Petition (IP) Reform - The Senate-approved compromise has faced significant pushback in the House and has been sent to conference for consideration next week

Open Enrollment - Despite bipartisan support by the House, open enrollment for nonresident pupils in Missouri schools remains stuck on the Senate calendar with limited time remaining.

Tidbits

Needing more workers, the federal government is relaxing some drug-testing requirements
What younger workers miss because of remote work
Webster University and Edward Jones team up to train underrepresented communities for careers in the financial services sector
Gov Mike Parson declared May 7-13 as "Missouri Children's Mental Health Week"
Missouri revenue collections took a deep dive in April
Bureaucratic hurdles delay access to affordable childcare for families
Gov. Mike Parson announced the state of Missouri has awarded 169 Missouri school districts with $20 million worth of school safety grants
Seven Missouri headed to National Spelling Bee
Bezos enters preschool business

Note: We will send a final report after the legislative work wraps up.

Missouri Budget Update

Making history with huge new investments

The majority of appropriation bills have been Truly Agreed and Finally passed and we expect the remaining to be finalized by the end of the day. In this banner year, numerous stakeholder groups are celebrating big wins and opportunities for new investments in Missouri.

Highlights:

DEI prohibition language removed from budget
Nearly $50 billion budget, including federal COVID relief dollars and a more than $2 billion surplus
$2.3 million Medical Residency Grant Program to provide grants of up to $100,000 for medical residencies in pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, and OBGYN
$4.5 million aid to public libraries
$13.7 million to expand Children's Division staff by 100 FTE
$300 million to replace the outdated psychiatric residential care facility in KC
$171 million increase to providers of residential healthcare to developmentally disabled, children, and adults
$2.8 billion to widen I-70 to 3 lanes from Wentzville to Blue Springs
$82 million to expand Pre-K programs
$81 million to increase childcare subsidy payments

Status Report - Aligned Priorities

Bills that still have a chance to pass...

Early Childhood

HB 268 (Riley) & SB 199 (Thompson Rehder) includes the language from HB 870 (Shields), a bill that includes multiple child care-related tax credit provisions.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

HB 497 (Lewis), the public education omnibus bill with numerous provisions related to teacher recruitment and retention and the Aligned differentiated pay priority language is scheduled for an executive session in Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development for May 9th at 8:15 a.m.

Next week, we will report on how all Aligned priorities fared this year.

Kansas Update

What's in that education funding bill?

Education funding was one of the final votes of the 2023 Legislative Session. House Sub for Senate Bill 113 passed the House on a vote of 83 to 37 and the Senate 23-16. The bill fully funds K-12 education by appropriating $6.3 billion for schools.

Additional provisions in the bill included:

Expanding eligibility requirements from 185% to 250% of the poverty level for students participating in the Low-Income Students Scholarship Program and increases the income tax credit from 70 to 75% of contributions.
Authorizing nonpublic students to participate in activities regulated by the KSHSAA if the student lives within the school district’s boundaries.
Extending the 20 mill exemption for two years.
Providing for the disposition of school district real property and allowing the Legislature the right of first refusal to acquire the disposed property.

The Legislature was expected to consider a second education bill, House Bill 2089, during the Veto Session, which increased funding for special education by $74 million. The bill also created the Kansas Education Enrichment Program (KEEP), which was more controversial and is similar to a school voucher program. However, lawmakers ultimately adjourned without considering the bill.

A veil of uncertainty

Despite confidence from Senate leadership that Kelly will sign the education bill as it "fully funds education according to Gannon," some groups are asking the governor for a veto. The Kansas Association of School Boards said they oppose the bill because of the voucher expansion language and the failure to close the special education funding gap.

Child care safety provisions preserved

The House failed to override the governor on a bill that would increase ratios and reduce regulations for child care in Kansas. The governor was concerned it would relax safety standards for children. However, the House failed to override the veto by three votes. 81-42.

Governor signs bill to expand teacher workforce

In a statement released earlier this week, Governor Laura Kelly announced her approval of Senate Bill 66, a bi-partisan bill to allow Kansas to join the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact. This action will make it easier for educators who move to and live in Kansas. The bill also includes a provision to the Kansas Promise Scholarship for prospective teachers.

Read our 2023 Veto Session Wrap-up

Missouri lawmakers are still in session but we have a hard stop here. So consider this newsletter as the end of Act 1. We will have final details for you next week or the Monday after session.

Meanwhile, let's celebrate the great wins for our children...

Cheers!