The members of the Missouri House took time this week to approve three bills that will provide vital funding to capital improvement projects around the state. The nearly $773 million in funding contained in the three bills would allow for new construction and repair work at state parks, four-year universities, community colleges, and state-owned facilities.

HB 17 reappropriates $229.7 million for capital improvement projects and maintenance and repair projects that span multiple budget cycles and fiscal years. The bill includes funding for projects around the state including repair and construction for the Missouri School for the Blind, several state parks, veterans’ cemeteries, Fulton State Hospital, Missouri State Highway Patrol facilities, and Missouri National Guard facilities.

The House Budget Committee Vice-Chair said, “These are projects that have been previously vetted and approved in past years. They’re projects that are ongoing. We need to reauthorize and reappropriate this funding to ensure the completion of these projects.”

HB 18 authorizes $312 million of maintenance and repair spending for state-owned facilities. The bill includes more than $40 million for state park and historic site capital improvements. It also includes more than $56 million for repairs and improvements at state veterans’ homes. Additionally, the bill allocates more than $80 million for maintenance and repair at state facilities across Missouri.

HB 19 allocates $230.6 million to be used for capital improvement projects in all parts of the state.

House Approves Bill to Crack Down on Call Spoofers (HB 242)

Members of the Missouri House took action this week to protect vulnerable Missourians from predatory callers who hid their identities. The bill passed by the House would establish the “Caller ID Anti-Spoofing Act.”

Spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to caller ID display to disguise their identity. Scammers often use neighbor spoofing so it appears that an incoming call is coming from a local number, or spoof a number from a company or a government agency the individual they are calling may already know and trust. Spoofers use scam scripts to try to steal money or valuable personal information, which can be used in fraudulent activity.

The bill would create the offense of caller identification spoofing. An individual commits the offense of caller identification spoofing if he or she enters or causes to be entered false information into a caller ID service with the intent to deceive, defraud, or mislead the recipient of the call to obtain anything of value. It would also be a crime if the person places a call knowing that false information was entered into a caller ID service with the intent to deceive, defraud, or mislead the recipient of the call. The offense is a class E felony.

Any victim of call spoofing would have standing to recover punitive damages against the caller in an amount up to $5,000 per call. Additionally, the Attorney General would be empowered to initiate legal proceedings or intervene in legal proceedings on behalf of victims.

Working on your behalf,
Representative Chad Perkins
Proudly Serving the 40^th  House District
Lincoln, Monroe, Pike, & Ralls Counties
Missouri House of Representatives
573-751-4028