MISSOURI — Missourians who pay income tax are one step closer to receiving substantive relief from their income tax burden. The Missouri House of Representatives this week approved legislation to create a one-time economic recovery tax credit for Missouri residents who paid personal income tax in the state for 2021.

The chairman of the House Budget Committee, who sponsors the bill, told his colleagues the plan came into being when he looked at the numbers following the House giving approval to the state budget. Despite the fact the House approved the largest budget in the state’s history, the state still had billions of dollars left in its coffers.

The sponsor told his colleagues, “This is an attempt to offset some of the tax burden for those state income taxpayers at a time where I think that they could use the money much better than the state government can.”

He added, “It’s a simple notion. We’re going to create a tax credit that would send a billion dollars back to taxpayers and offset their state income tax liability.”

HB 3021 will appropriate $1 billion from the state’s General Revenue Fund to fund a one-time economic recovery non-refundable tax credit. Under the plan, anyone filing an individual Missouri personal income tax return would receive a credit equal to their tax liability up to $500. Married couples filing jointly would receive up to a $1,000 credit.

The vice-chairman of the House Budget Committee spoke in support of the proposal. He noted the budget plan approved by the House provides an immense amount of support for low-income Missourians, but said, “you know who we haven’t so much talked about, but here we’re talking about them here today in House Bill 3021, is that working Missourian – that man or woman working two, three jobs. There’s not been a lot of relief for them and here it is today. That’s why I’m so excited to support it.”

The chairman of the Budget Committee agreed that the budget approved by the House is “addressing the needs of low-income Missourians on a scale that we have never done before. It’s an unprecedented scale.” In reference to HB 3021, he said “This is a bill that would essentially give state revenues back to those that paid state revenues into the state treasury. We are in a situation where we have excess revenues in the state treasury, and to me that means it’s time to give some of those dollars back to those that paid it in, especially when they are facing challenges due to inflation and various economic factors.”

House Moves to Protect Missourians from Unapproved Vaccines (HB 1709)

The members of the Missouri House took action this week in an effort to protect Missourians from being forced to take vaccinations that have yet to receive full authorization.

HB 1709 provides it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for any government entity in the state to require any person to receive a medication, vaccination, or injection that has not been fully authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is allowed under an emergency use authorization, or is undergoing safety trials.

The bill’s sponsor, who also works in the health care field, told her colleagues she has personal experience with a workplace mandate to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. She said, “I’ll never forget the day that I received an email, it was actually on my birthday, stating that I had to get the vaccination or else I would lose my job. My issues with that was that it wasn’t fully FDA-approved.” She added, “There’s a lot of people that are scared when you’re told you have to get a vaccination. I am in no way, shape, or form against the COVID vaccination. I did personally receive the vaccination, but I waited until the Pfizer was FDA-approved before I went ahead and got it.”

HB 1709 specifies that its provisions will not prohibit health facilities from requiring employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in order for a health facility to participate in a federal program or contract, and the provisions will not prohibit public colleges or universities from requiring select students to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in order for a college or university to receive federal funds.

Parents’ Bill of Rights Heads to Senate (HB 1858)

Legislation is now on its way to the Senate that would create the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act of 2022.

The bill’s sponsor said his legislation is “really about transparency in public education. It’s about recognition of the fact that parents are the ultimate authority when it comes to the direction of the education of their children.”

He added, “This bill is for every parent who might have been ignored at a school board meeting and not listened to, and purposefully relegated to sit in silence as business was done. This is about those who have concerns about the content of the classroom, and classroom materials; what is being put in front of their child in the classroom.”

The bill will provide a list of rights that parents may require school districts to follow. Some of the parental rights outlined in the bill include the right to review curricula, books and instructional materials; the right to visit school during school hours with restrictions; and the right to have sufficient accountability and transparency regarding school boards.

The bill also prohibits school districts from requiring nondisclosure agreements for a parent’s review of curricula or individualized education program meetings. It would restrict schools from collecting biometric data or other sensitive personal information about a minor child without obtaining parental consent. Additionally, it would require school board meetings dealing with curricula or general safety to take place in public and allow for public comments.

Additionally, the bill specifies that no school or school employee can compel a teacher or student to personally adopt or affirm ideas in violation of Title IV or Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. This would include ideas such as individuals of any race, ethnicity, color, or national origin are inherently superior or inferior; or that individuals, by virtue of their race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, bear collective guilt and are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, ethnicity, color, or national origin.

The bill also allows parents to file a civil lawsuit against a school district or school that violates the Parents’ Bill of Rights. Other provisions in the bill would require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to develop an online database that provides access to every school district’s curriculum and professional development materials; require the salaries of public school employees to be included in the state accountability portal; and require school boards to provide a time for an open forum at the beginning of each board meeting and allows parents to bring civil action against school districts that violate the policy.

“We need to teach kids how to think, not what to think. We need to encourage parent involvement, not discourage it. This is about protecting our kids in schools,” said the bill’s sponsor.

Working on your behalf,