Senator Pearce's Capitol Report
At the end of the Second Regular Session of the 98th General Assembly on May 13, the Senate and the House had agreed and finally passed 149 pieces of legislation. Sixty-three were from the Senate, and 86 came from the House – including 16 bills that set the state budget for Fiscal Year 2017.
After they were agreed, the bills and resolutions were sent to the governor’s desk for signature to become law. As of the week of July 4, the governor has acted upon 112 Senate and House bills in total, and has signed 34 Senate bills and 68 House bills. So far, only 9 pieces of legislation from the Senate and 8 pieces from the House were fully or partially vetoed by the governor, and the Legislature has already successfully overridden one bill in particular, Senate Bill 586, which relates to state funding for public schools.
The governor has until Friday, July 15 to sign or veto the remaining House and Senate bills, at which point any pieces of legislation he has not acted upon will automatically become law. The Legislature will then reconvene on Sept. 15 for a veto session, where we will reassess bills that were vetoed by the governor and then vote to sustain or repeal selected vetoed bills.
Following is a list of some of the Senate and House bills that have been successfully and finally passed by the General Assembly and the governor this session:
Bills Signed Into Law
· Senate Bill 997 – This was my comprehensive higher education legislation that will help Missouri be a more supportive, creative and ultimately successful environment for our university, college and technical school students. Senate Bill 997 contains measures for public service loan forgiveness, allows public two-year colleges to offer postsecondary course options and establishes multiple scholarship acts like the “15 to Finish Act,” the “Guided Pathways to Success Act,” and the “Wartime Veteran’s Survivor Grant,” which offers financial aid to the spouses and children of wartime veterans. These are just a few of the many great advancements SB 997 will make within our state higher education system.
· Senate Bill 814 – Another bill of interest to the 21st Senatorial District allows active-duty members of the military to deduct all income received as compensation through their work in the armed forces from their taxable state income. Military personnel who file a combined return with their spouse may also deduct their armed forces pay.
· Senate Bill 635 – Modifies several provisions relating to health care, including municipal hospital funding, vaccination information, palliative care, occupational therapy insurance and more.
· Senate Bill 638 – Modifies several provisions relating to elementary and secondary education, including the creation of the “Missouri Civics Education Initiative,” state guidelines and task forces for addressing dyslexia in schools and academic performance standards for charter schools, among others.
· Senate Bill 665 – Modifies several provisions relating to agriculture in Missouri. This bill reauthorizes the Qualified Beef Tax Credit until 2021, as well as investment tax credits for meat processing facilities. Additionally, SB 665 creates a “Farm-to-Table Act” to help our state’s farmers and ranchers deliver their product to more local communities.
· House Bill 2002 – Deals with Department of Elementary and Secondary Education funding, calling for a 2.1 percent increase in the budget to a total of almost $6 billion, which will raise it to the highest level of funding in the history of the state of Missouri. Included within the bill is a $70 million increase to the Foundation Formula, a $36.6 million increase to the School District Trust Fund and around $24 million in increased funding for school food services.
· House Bill 2003 – Appropriates funding for the expenses, grants, refunds and distributions of the Department of Higher Education, setting FY 2017 funding amount at the highest record level ever. House Bill 2003 adds a 4 percent increase (around $37 million) for funding based on improved performance in Missouri two- and four-year public higher education institutions. Also included within the bill is an increase for A+ Scholarship Program funding by $2.5 million, as well as increases for the Access Missouri and Bright Flight scholarship programs.
For a complete listing of the governor’s action on this session’s legislation, visit:http://www.senate.mo.gov/legislation/.
As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or
(573) 751-2272, or by fax at (573) 526-7381.
Senator David Pearce serves Caldwell, Carroll, Howard, Johnson, Lafayette, Livingston, Ray and Saline counties in the 21st State Senatorial District.
