JEFFERSON CITY — Members of the Missouri Senate joined their House colleagues this week to hear the governor’s annual State of the State address outlining his budget for education, health care and other government services.  This legislative week also resulted in the initial passage of several measures in the Missouri Senate.

Senators Receive Executive State Funding Plan

Lawmakers made their way to chamber of the House of Representatives Monday night to hear Gov. Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon deliver his State of the State address.  Among budgetary priorities that will most likely be addressed in future Senate Appropriations Committee hearings include funding for education, job growth and economic development, public health and safety, and government proficiency. 

In the coming weeks, senators responsible for crafting the next fiscal year budget, which runs from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014, will consider the governor’s $25.7 billion state funding plan, which includes the following increases:

• $18.5 million for early childhood education, including $10 million for the Missouri Preschool Program;
• $108.7 million for K-12 classrooms, including $65.9 million for the K-12 school foundation formula;
• $35 million for higher education, including $1 million to expand the A+ Scholarship Program statewide;
• $27.5 million for job growth and development, including $7 million for the Arts Council and other cultural partners;
• $1.094 billion for health care, including $907.5 million in federal funds for Medicaid expansion;
• $13 million for public safety, including $10.1 million in increased investments to address mental health needs; and
• $76 million for efficient and effective government, including $27.4 million for a 2 percent salary increase for state employees.

Legislation Advances to the House

The first measure to receive the Missouri Senate’s final approval for the 2013 legislative session would make changes to certain benevolent tax credits in the state.  Senate Bill 20, 15 & 19, sponsored by Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, would:

• Extend the Public Safety Officer Surviving Spouse tax credit program;
• Eliminate provisions authorizing unused funds from the Special Needs Adoption tax credit be used for the Children in Crisis tax credit, establish a $2 million cap for in-state adoptions, and prohibit the use of this tax credit for out-of-state adoptions;
• Change the name of the Children in Crisis tax credit to the Champion for Children tax credit, reauthorize this tax credit to sunset in December 2019, and establish a $2 million per tax year cap for the tax credit;
• Extend the sunset to December 2019 on the section of state law that creates the tax credit for certain taxpayers who modify their homes to make them accessible for a disabled resident;
• Remove spending requirements for remaining tax credits under the Rebuilding Communities tax credit program;
• Reauthorize the tax credit for contributions to pregnancy resource centers (to sunset December 2019) and prohibit the assignment or transfer of this particular tax credit;
• Also reauthorize the tax credit for donations to food pantries (to sunset December 2019) and reduce the cap to $1.25 million per fiscal year; and
• Place the recently created developmental disability care provider tax credit program under the requirements of the Tax Credit Accountability Act of 2004.

Senate Bill 20, 15 & 19 perfected by the Missouri Senate on Monday and finally approved by senators on Thursday, contains an emergency clause, meaning it would immediately become law upon receipt of the governor’s signature.

Daily audio/video clips for Jan. 29, 2013, highlight debate on the Senate floor on SB 20, 15 & 19 from Sen. Dixon and Senate Minority Floor Leader Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City.

On Tuesday, lawmakers debated Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale.  His bill would create a tax credit to attract amateur sporting events to the Show-Me State.  More specifically, the act would create a refundable income and financial institutions tax credit which would be available for sports commissions, certain nonprofit organizations, counties and municipalities to offset expenses incurred in attracting amateur sporting events to the state, such as the Olympics trials and national collegiate championship games.  Applicants would have to submit their game support contracts to the Department of Economic Development for approval.  This tax credit would equal $5 for every ticket sold to the sporting event or 100 percent of eligible expenses incurred, with no more than $3 million in tax credits issued per fiscal year.

This measure, also given the Senate’s final approval on Thursday, would take effect on Aug. 28 if passed out of the General Assembly and signed by the governor.

Daily audio/video clips for Jan. 29, 2013, also show debate on SB 10 in the Senate chamber by Sen. Schmitt.

Measures Receiving First-Round Approval

Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue, is sponsoring legislation this session that would add adoptive parents to the list of qualified legal guardians of a child who receives subsidies.  Senate Bill 47 was given the initial approval of senators on Wednesday. 

Although it failed to receive first-round approval this week, lawmakers in the upper chamber considered Senate Bill 48 on the floor.  Also sponsored by Sen. Lamping, his measure would prohibit the race or ethnicity of an adoptive child, the child’s biological parents or the adoptive parents as a factor when considering adoptive placements.

Daily audio/video clips for Jan. 30, 2013, feature Sen. Lamping and Sen. Shalonn “Kiki” Curls, D-Kansas City, debating SB 48 on the floor of the Missouri Senate.

Legislation Voted Out of Committee

A bill sponsored by Sen. Scott T. Rupp, R-Wentzville, was sent to the full Senate for debate this week.  Senate Bill 1 would change state law relating to a fund created to help injured workers when a current work-related injury combines with a prior disability to create an increased combined disability, known as the Second Injury Fund, as well as occupational disease within the workers’ compensation system.

Senate Bill 16, sponsored by Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, would exempt certain farm work performed by young Missourians under the age of 16 from certain child labor requirements.  This exemption would only apply to children working on their own family farms and other family farms with the consent of their parents.

Legislation addressing school accreditation for failing school districts in Missouri also passed out of committee this week.  Senate Bill 7 is sponsored by Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg.  Under current state statute, when a school district becomes unaccredited, there is a two-year timeframe between when the district loses its accreditation and the state takes over the school district.  This legislation removes this waiting period and requires the State Board of Education to review how and when it would govern the school district after the loss of accreditation.  In addition, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would hold two public hearings regarding the accreditation status of the district, giving individuals the opportunity to gather community resources to determine how to return the district to an accredited status.

The Senate Education Committee also voted out of its committee on Wednesday Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Sen. Rupp.  The measure would create the “Early High School Graduation Scholarship Program,” which would provide two different types of scholarships to students who graduate early from public high school in Missouri and would be implemented and created by the Missouri Department of Higher Education.

Senate Committees Consider Various Legislation

Members of the Senate Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee held a hearing earlier in the week to consider testimony on Senate Bill 82, sponsored by Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia.  His measure would require the governor to call a special election if the office of lieutenant governor is vacated — a predicament that could play out this year.

Daily audio/video clips for Jan. 28, 2013, feature Sen. Schaefer and Sen. Scott Sifton, D-Affton, discussing SB 82 in committee.

Senate Bill 75, sponsored by Sen. Dan Brown, R-Rolla, was considered by members of the Senate General Laws Committee on Tuesday.  His measure would require school districts and charter schools to provide training and education about firearms safety and address potentially dangerous or armed intruders.

Daily audio/video clips for Jan. 30, 2013, feature Sen. Brown and Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, addressing SB 75 during committee.

The Senate Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee on Wednesday heard testimony on Senate Bill 32, sponsored by Sen. Lamping.  This legislation would change the state’s low-income housing and historic preservation tax credit programs. 

The Low-Income Housing tax credit program provides tax credits to investors to construct or acquire and rehabilitate the development of affordable housing.  Senate Bill 32 would establish a $110 million cap for authorizations of 9 percent low-income housing tax credits for FY 2015 and gradually reduce the authorization amount to $70 million beginning in FY 2018.  The act would also cap authorizations of 4 percent low-income housing tax credits at $15 million for FY 2015 and reduce the authorization amount each fiscal year to $5 million, prohibiting the authorization of this specific low-income house tax credit after June 30, 2017.  Senate Bill 32 would prohibit the authorization of all low-income housing tax credits after Aug. 28, 2019.

The Historic Preservation tax credit program was created in 1997 to aid in the redevelopment of historic structures in the Show-Me State.  Currently, the Department of Economic Development is prohibited from issuing more than $140 million in Historic Preservation tax credits in any fiscal year for projects that will receive more than $275,000 in tax credits.  Beginning in FY 2015, Senate Bill 32 would reduce this amount to $80 million in Historic Preservation tax credits, and projects receiving less than $275,000 in tax credits would be subject to a $10 million fiscal year cap.

The Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee also considered testimony on Senate Bill 46, sponsored by Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar.  His legislation would create state and local sales and use tax exemptions for data storage centers and allow utility boards of counties, cities, towns or villages to enter into loan agreements, or sell, lease, or mortgage municipal property for a technology business facility project.  These centers specialize in the off-site storage and management of various computer data.

In the same committee, senators reviewed Senate Bill 120, sponsored by Sen. Schmitt.  The act would create the Missouri Export Incentive Act which would authorize air export tax credits for freight forwarders to receive per-unit credits on their exports when qualifying outbound flights take off to foreign destinations from an airport owned and operated by the City of St. Louis.  The bill would cap these credits at $7.5 million each year.

Members of the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee heard on Thursday testimony on Senate Bill 113, sponsored by Sen. Schmitt.  The legislation would require individuals who are 18 or older who witness a child being sexually abused to immediately report the abuse to any law enforcement agency or the Children’s Division of the Department of Social Services.  Currently, only certain professional workers, such as physicians, nurses, principals or school officials, or other individuals who are responsible for caring for children must report the suspected abuse.

The Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee considered legislation that would direct the State Historical Society of Missouri to develop plans to commemorate and celebrate the State of Missouri’s bicentennial.  Senate Concurrent Resolution 2, sponsored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Ron Richard, R-Joplin, notes that 2021 marks the bicentennial of the state of Missouri’s admission into the Union, and commemorating such events by drawing attention to the passage of these historical milestones offers significant opportunities for generating interest in documenting and celebrating the state’s history.

Introduction of Bills Continues

More than 40 bills were introduced in the Senate this week.  Among those was Senate Bill 228, sponsored by Sen. Jason R. Holsman, D-Kansas City.  His measure would allow a person or organization to apply to an incorporated municipality to develop an urban agricultural zone, or UAZ, on a blighted area of land.  The application would have to identify if the zone would be a grower, processing or vending UAZ, or a combination of all three types.  It would also include the number of jobs that would be created and the types of products produced through the zone.  Urban agriculture can include a number of food production and distribution-related activities, such as plant cultivation or animal husbandry, as well as non-industrial processing and distribution of that food.

Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence, also introduced legislation on the Senate floor this week that would charge the Missouri Attorney General with administering and enforcing ethics laws and impose campaign contribution limits.  More specifically, Senate Bill 227 moves the Missouri Ethics Commission into the newly formed Division of Ethics within the Office of the Attorney General in order to continue the commission’s duties.  In addition, campaign contributions limits for individuals and committees in support of candidates running for public office would include $10,000 for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor and attorney general; $5,000 for senators; $2,000 for representatives and any other office, including judicial positions. 

Daily audio/video clips for Jan. 29, 2013, feature Sen. LeVota introducing SB 227 on the floor of the Missouri Senate.

Lawmakers may continue to file legislation for the 2013 session until Feb. 28.

The Missouri Senate will convene on Monday, Feb. 4 at 4:00 p.m.  The First Regular Session of the 97th General Assembly runs until May 17.

To follow these and other issues before the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov.  Visitors can track legislation considered by the General Assembly during the 2013 session, learn more about their legislative district, and listen to streaming audio of legislative debate as it happens on the Senate floor.

For more legislative news, please visit the Senate newsroom at www.senate.mo.gov/newsroom, where you will find various audio and video programs and other informational services, such as:

• Missouri Legislative Update – A video program produced throughout the legislative session and interim that provides an overview of news in the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives.  The program features news interviews with lawmakers conducted by Missourinet’s Bob Priddy and stories on issues concerning Missourians.
• This Week in the Missouri Senate – A weekly, five-minute audio program that wraps up the week’s news in the Missouri Senate.  Programs are posted online every Friday in .mp3 format.
• The Senate Minute – A condensed, one-minute audio report of current Senate news.  Programs are posted in .mp3 format and are available through podcast.
• Daily Audio/Video Clips – Throughout the year, the Senate Newsroom posts broadcast-quality audio and video highlights from Senate committee hearings, floor debate, press conferences and other legislative events.  Please note: Clips linked to this Capitol Briefing are only available for the legislative week referenced in the publication.