House Bill 594 passes House Vote

This week in the House of Representatives, House Bill 594 was third read and passed out of the House. The bill, sponsored by Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins, will now be heard in the Senate. This legislation proposes a full income tax deduction for federal capital gains starting in 2025. These measures aim to provide tax relief to hardworking Missourians, incentivize investment, and make our state more competitive in attracting businesses and entrepreneurs. Representative Perkins had this to say regarding the bill’s passage in the House:

“For years we heard our colleagues on the other side of the aisle tell us to follow the science regarding coronavirus management. Well, statistics are a science and statistics tell us that removing the tax on capital gains puts dollars back into the pockets of hard-working families and will make our state wealthier. So I suggest my Democratic colleagues follow the science.”

Protecting Property Rights

The Missouri House passed House Bill 595 & 343 this week, a bill restricting local governments from imposing certain regulations on property owners. The legislation prohibits cities and counties from requiring landlords to accept Section 8 housing vouchers, limiting how they screen tenants, capping security deposits, or mandating a tenant’s right of first refusal on a rental property. However, it does allow voluntary agreements between local governments and landlords to regulate rent for subsidized housing.

“This is a property rights issue at its core,” the bill’s sponsor said. “Landlords should have the freedom to decide how they manage their properties without being forced into federal housing programs or restricted in how they screen tenants. These regulations drive small property owners out of the market, making rental housing even scarcer and more expensive.”

Ensuring Child Welfare

The Missouri House has passed out its first bill this session, making good on the promise of Speaker Jon Patterson, who said on the first day of the legislative session that legislation dealing with our state’s child welfare system would be the first bill passed out of the House and sent to the Senate.

HB737 & 486 addresses several key issues related to children in the custody of the Children’s Division. The bill introduces changes to how benefits are managed for children in state custody, emphasizes consideration of religious faith in placement decisions, and clarifies circumstances under which children may engage in independent activities.

Currently, an estimated 1,200 young people in Missouri’s foster care system are eligible for benefits from the Social Security or Veterans Administrations, or railroad retirement benefits, often because they are the survivors of deceased parents or because they have disabilities. The state Children’s Division takes those benefits to cover the costs of caring for those children. Social Security benefits, alone, can be around $900 or more each month.