Senator Karla May's May Report for the Week of April 8, 2024

Friday, April 12, 2024

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The Week of April 8, 2024

On the Floor

This week, the Senate began discussion on House Bill 1803, which increases the limit on investments in linked deposits by the State Treasurer.

 

Additionally, the Senate third read and passed the following bills:

  • Senate Joint Resolution 78 would, if approved by voters, prohibit ranked choice voting in elections.
  • Senate Bill 1351 requires that all information obtained by the Missouri Geological Survey remain confidential and prohibited from release to the public in response to any request, including records requests, except certain information relating to water usage. Last week, the Senate voted down this legislation, but that vote was reconsidered and was ultimately passed by the body.
  • Senate Bill 964 designates August 6 of each year as "Chris Sifford Day" in Missouri. Mr. Sifford was a member of Governor Carnahan’s staff and was tragically killed in a plane crash in 2000 along with the governor and his son. The bill also enacts several other state designations. 
  • Senate Bill 898 modifies provisions relating to the Board of Trustees for the Missouri Local Government Employees’ Retirement System.
  • Senate Bill 767 and Senate Bill 1342 would both repeal the current age requirement of 16 for minors to get married and prohibits the issuance of marriage licenses in Missouri for individuals under 18 years of age. Until six years ago, Missouri allowed children as young as 15 to marry with parental permission, with even younger kids able to marry with judicial approval.

After an 11-hour filibuster from my colleagues and me, the Senate voted to pass House Bill 2634, which specifies that no public funds will be given to any abortion facility or any affiliated facilities, including for MO HealthNet reimbursement. The House of Representatives previously approved HB 2634 by a vote of 104-49 on March 4. However, because of Senate changes, the bill returns to House, which is expected to grant final passage to measure in its current form rather than seek to negotiate a compromise version that would require another Senate vote and potentially spark another filibuster.

 

Because abortion is illegal in Missouri in nearly all circumstances, none of Planned Parenthood’s Missouri clinics perform them and instead focus on other women’s health care services, including general care, cancer screenings and contraception. However, some lawmakers for years have unsuccessfully pushed to defund the organization’s Missouri operations since it still offers abortion in other states. Federal law has long prohibited Medicaid funds from paying for abortion services.

 

The Missouri Supreme Court twice in recent years has struck down efforts to defund Planned Parenthood through the state budget process. In both cases, the court cited longstanding precedent that budget bills must be limited to appropriating funding and cannot also set policy without violating a state constitutional prohibition against bills containing multiple subjects.

 

House Bill 2634 attempts to get around the constitutional impediment by creating a general statute purporting to prohibit Medicaid reimbursements to health care facilities affiliated with out-of-state abortion providers. Although critics say the bill violates federal requirements that states must allow willing providers of Medicaid-eligible services to participate in the program, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a similar Arkansas law.

 

Bills and Committees

Judiciary Committee:

The committee heard House Bill 1659 includes several provisions related to public safety:

  • Raises the age of juveniles who may be certified as an adult to 14 years old
  • Creates the “Stop Cyberstalking and Harassment Task Force”
  • Establishes “Blair’s Law,” creating the offense of unlawful discharge of a firearm
  • Creates “Max’s Law,” raising the penalty on the offense of assault on a law enforcement animal
  • Modifies the definition of “persistent offender” to include a person who has previously been found guilty of a dangerous felony
  • States that the prosecutor in the jurisdiction in which charges were filed may file a motion to vacate or set aside the judgment

Commerce Committee:

Senate Bill 1419 repeals and creates new provisions relating to the membership of the Clean Water Commission. Senate Bill 1466 creates provisions relating to land clearance for redevelopment authorities.

 

Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee:

The committee heard Senate Concurrent Resolution 26 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 36, which both urge the United States Congress to reinstate mandatory country of origin labeling for meat.

 

Other News

Senior Property Tax Freeze Credit

The application for the City of St. Louis Senior Property Tax Credit is now open. This tax credit was passed as a part of Senate Bill 190 during last year’s legislative session and signed into law by the governor. It allows the city to provide senior citizens with fixed city property tax rates while protecting other tax rates such as public schools, the public library, the St. Louis Zoo, museums, etc., from revenue reductions. Eligible seniors can apply for this credit online, via paper form or in-person at the assessor's office. Applications are due by June 30, and individuals can learn more about eligibility and necessary documents at the link above.

 

House approves change that could weaken voting rights

The Missouri House of Representatives on April 9 granted preliminary approval on a voice vote to legislation that I believe could drastically weaken the voting rights protections in the Missouri Constitution. A second, recorded vote is required to advance the measure to the Senate.

 

House Joint Resolution 104’s primary purpose is to constitutionally block efforts to adopt ranked-choice voting or other methods allowing voters to cast ballots for multiple candidates in a given race. However, an unrelated provision added as so-called “ballot candy” to entice voters into ratifying the underlying legislation could inadvertently lead to some U.S. citizens being legally disenfranchised in the future.

 

The state constitution currently guarantees voting rights to “all” U.S. citizens who are at least 18 years old, Missouri residents and registered to vote. This legislation would alter that provision to say “only” people who meet those requirements can vote. The measure’s sponsor says the intent is to prevent non-citizens from voting, which they already can’t do. However, that seemingly minor one-word change could have far reaching consequences by eliminating the constitution’s existing absolute guarantee of voting rights for citizens who meet the constitutional requirements and empower future lawmakers to enact laws excluding certain citizens from voting.

 

If approved by the Legislature, HJR 104 automatically would go on the Nov. 5 statewide ballot for ratification. However, the Senate in previous years has failed to take up similar legislation approved by the House.

 

Net state revenue collections up 0.5% so far in FY 2025

Year-to-date net state general revenue collections increased just 0.5% through the first three quarters of the 2024 fiscal year compared to the same period in FY 2023, going from $9.27 billion last year to $9.32 billion this year, according to revenue data reported March 6 by the Missouri Division of Budget and Planning. Collections had been up 1.3% through the first eight months of the fiscal year.

 

Net general revenue collections in March 2024 declined 6.4% compared to those for March 2023, going from $959.7 million last year to $898.6 million this year. Year-to-date collections are still running slightly ahead of the most recent consensus revenue estimate for FY 2024, issued halfway through the fiscal year in December, which anticipates a 0.7% decline in collections by the time the fiscal year ends June 30. The original FY 2024 estimate, announced in December 2023, predicted 0.7% growth for the year.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Thank you for your interest in the legislative process. I look forward to hearing from you on the issues that are important to you this legislative session. If there is anything my office can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 573-751-3599.