Jefferson City – The Missouri House of Representatives adjourned on Thursday after a busy week that included passage of several supplemental budget bills and a flurry of committee activity.
During floor action on Tuesday, the House gave final approval to three supplemental budget items. House Bill 2015 appropriates $6.4 million for the Utilicare Stabilization Fund to assist low income Missourians with affording their heating bills. HB 2021 allocates $10 million to the Missouri Department of Conversation for various projects. HB 2022 appropriates approximately $1.9 million for the Missouri Sheriff Methamphetamine Relief Taskforce (MoSMART) Program. All three bills are now being considered by the Senate.
House Committees met throughout the week to discuss a variety of issues ranging from penalties for drunk drivers to property tax credits for seniors.
On Wednesday, the House Transportation Committee considered legislation (HB 1423) that would make it mandatory that convicted drunk drivers in Missouri use ignition interlock devices to start their cars.
“Basically, we are mandating that if you are convicted of DWI that you have an alcohol interlock on your car to get your restricted driving privileges,” said Rep. St. Onge, R-Ellisville, who sponsors the bill.
Wednesday evening, the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee heard testimony on legislation (HB 1314) sponsored by Rep. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, that would provide school children with additional protections from sexual offenders. The committee will work in the coming weeks to finalize the provisions contained in the bill.
“This bill right now is in very skeleton form and there’s a lot of information to get your arms around with this bill. I want to make sure we as a committee really study it and determine what components we want in it,” said Rep. Cunningham. “This will be a committee bill we’ll all agree on with how to attack the problem and how to improve the situation and protect our students the way we should while still being very fair to our teachers.”
Also on Wednesday evening, the House Special Committee on Immigration considered legislation (HB 1463) that would prohibit public institutions of higher education that receive state tax dollars, including junior colleges, from knowingly admitting unlawfully present aliens. Rep. Nolte, R-Gladstone, sponsors the bill and said his legislation seeks to bring consistency and ensure Missouri taxpayers aren’t paying to provide educational opportunities to individuals who cannot be hired legally after graduation.
The committee also heard HB 1538, sponsored by Rep. Tim Jones, R- Eureka, which would exempt certain nonresidents from the state’s driver’s license requirement, but only if they are in this country legally. Supporters say this would close a loophole in current law, but some legislators worried it could lead to racial profiling.
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee considered two bills focused on one of the legislature’s top priorities this session – property tax. Legislation (HB1365) sponsored by Rep. Kathlyn Fares, R-Webster Groves, would authorize a 50% tax credit of the property tax accrued or $1,500, whichever is less, for persons 67 years of age or older, veterans, or disabled individuals who have been Missouri residents for at least 25 years and have lived in their home for at least 20 years and who have spent more than 10% of their household income on real property taxes.
“These people have been contributors to this state and to their communities for a long, long time,” said Rep. Fares during her testimony. “We’re just asking that they be able to stay in their homes.”
The committee also heard testimony on a proposed constitutional amendment (HJR 43) sponsored by Rep. Chuck Portwood, R-Ballwin, that would alter the rollback requirement for the Hancock Amendment. If approved by voters, the amendment would require the current levy, rather than the maximum authorized levy, to be reduced to yield the same gross revenue for existing property as before an increase in assessed valuations, without an adjustment for changes in the general price level.
“This legislation addresses the concerns of citizens,” said Rep. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis, who co-sponsors the bill. “With this, political subdivisions are able to continue to grow but they must learn to live within their means just as we’ve asked the people to live within their means and the government to live within its means.”
