Mid-Session Update: 2022 Legislative Session

It’s spring break for the Missouri legislature and our fellows have summarized the bills that have been moving through the process during the first half of session.

As of March 10, the Missouri House of Representatives has sent thirty bills to the Missouri Senate for consideration; the Senate has sent seven bills to the House. Only one bill, a supplemental appropriations bill (HB 3014), has been signed into law by the Governor. Both chambers have conducted public hearings on hundreds of additional bills covering a range of topics.

Looking for something specific? Navigate to the relevant subsection using these links: Agriculture, Education, Elections, Energy, Health, Human/Social Services, Public Safety.

Agriculture

HB 1720 was one of the first bills to pass out of the Missouri House of Representatives during this year’s legislative session. The bill includes a series of agricultural provisions, including tax credits and loans for agricultural producers, the extension of the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development (MASBDA) program, and tax credits for retailers and producers of biofuels in Missouri. The Senate Agriculture, Food Production, and Outdoor Activities Committee held a public hearing for HB 1720 in late February, but has not yet voted to move the bill out of committee.

There are also several bills being discussed which would establish tax credits for urban farms (SB 717, HB 1570, HB 1919, HB 2020) or grocery stores (HB2871, SB790) in food desert areas of Missouri in order to increase the availability of nutritious and healthy foods.

Other agriculture bills that have been moving through the committee process include:

• HB 1876 and HB 2005, which would modify how eminent domain can be used for utility purposes in Missouri
• SB 750, which relates to the use and application of anhydrous ammonia
• SB 705, which would establish the Joint Committee on Rural Economic Development
• SB984, which would create the “Flood Resiliency Act”

Related Science Notes: Anhydrous Ammonia, Biodiesel, Eminent Domain for Utility Purposes, Family Farms, Tax Credits for Grocery Stores in Food Deserts, Tax Credits for Urban Agriculture in Food Deserts

Broadband

This year, the Speaker of the House established a special committee on broadband and infrastructure. Several of the broadband related bills that have been heard in this committee and others address issues such as the establishment of a broadband development task force, allowing for broadband improvement districts, and broadband mapping.

Related Science Notes: Broadband Mapping and Granular Level Mapping; Vertical Asset Management and Public-Private Partnerships; Broadband Development Task Forces; Broadband Improvement Districts; State-level Broadband Policies

Education

Before recess, the House narrowly passed HB1552, which would modify how Missouri charter schools are funded. This bill is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate during the week after recess. On the Senate side, lawmakers passed a bipartisan literacy bill (SB681). A similar bill in the House (HB1556) has also passed out of committee. Both chambers also heard public testimony on a number of bills related to teacher curriculum, parental oversight and critical race theory. To date, none of these bills have moved out of the originating chamber.

The House and Senate heard public testimony on a range of additional education topics before the break, including:

• SB 806 and HB 2366, related to gifted education
• SB 703 and HB 2171, related to career and technical education
• HB 2652, related to public school accountability and accreditation
• HB 1998, related to alternative teacher certification and permits
• HB 2493, related to teacher career ladders
• HB 1683, related to college credit for AP scores of 3 or higher
• HB 2602, related to performance-based funding for higher education
• SB 662, SB 1009, and HB 2152, related to school innovation waivers
• HB 1475 and HB 2615, related to COVID-19 mitigation in schools

Related Science Notes: Career and Technical Education, College Credit Based on AP Scores, COVID-19 in Schools, Discussing Race and Racism in Schools, Dyslexia and Reading Difficulties, Gifted Education, Performance-Based Funding for Higher Education, Public School (K-12) Accountability, School Innovation Waivers, Teacher Career Ladders, Teacher Certification and Permits

Elections

Last week, the Missouri House passed two proposals to introduce new photo voter ID requirements (HB 1878, HJR 94). The House also passed a joint resolution to modify the signature and vote thresholds for the initiative petition and referendum process (HJR 79). A similar resolution (SJR 37) recently passed out of the Senate Elections committee as well. Additional elections bills (e.g., HB 1455) have also been moving through the committee process during the first half of session.

Our team also provided informational testimony at two public hearings for bills that would extend legislative term limits in Missouri (HJR 77, SJR 36).

Related Science Notes: Absentee Voting, Ballot Initiatives and Referendums, Term Limits for State Legislatures, Voter Fraud, Voter ID

Energy

House and Senate committees conducted public hearings on several “clean energy” bills during the first two months of session, including:

• SB 881, which would authorize a sales tax exemption for some solar energy system purchases,
• HB 1584, which would require political subdivisions that require the installation of electric charging stations at businesses to pay for the installation, maintenance, and operation of the charging stations,
• HB 1695, which would authorize a tax credit for ethanol,
• HB 1684, which would allow utility companies to charge ratepayers for the construction of clean baseload electric-generating nuclear plants before the facility is operational,
• SB 763, which would establish the Task Force on Distributed Energy Resources and Net Metering to research information related to net metering.

Related Science Notes: Community Solar, Net Metering, Nuclear Energy, Solar Panel Lifetimes & Property Taxes

Health

The House passed the Kratom Consumer Protection Act (HB 1667) in late February. Prior to recess, the House passed two bills that would limit vaccination requirements for access to healthcare services or employment opportunities (HB 1686, HB 1861). Several related bills (HB 1485, HB 1575, HB 1624, HB 1692, HB 1798, HB 2009 ) also passed out of committee during the first two months of session.

House and Senate committees also passed several health-related bills during the first two months of session, including:

• SB 723 and SB 779, related to Medicaid funding and contracts
• HB 1616, SB 727 and SB 890, related to certificates of need
• SB 690, related to syringe access programs
• HB 1677, related to prescription drug pricing
• SB 710, related to school nurse seizure preparedness
• SB 757 and HB 1630, related to education or incentives in the medical workforce

Related Science Notes: Cannabis Legalization, Certificates of Need, COVID-19 and the Missouri Workforce, COVID-19 Delta Variant and Vaccine Efficacy, Kratom Consumer Protection Act, Medical Residency, Pricing & Transparency in Prescription Drug Costs, Rural Physician Grant Program, School Nurse Seizure Action Plans, Syringe Access Programs, Work & Community Engagement Requirements for MO HealthNet

Human/Social Services

In the week prior to recess, the House passed HB 1897, which would establish a correctional center nursery program for incarcerated women, and HB 1743, which would establish the Missouri CROWN Act to prohibit hair-based discrimination in schools.

Several bills have also passed out of committee, including:

• HB 1741, which would allow pharmacists to dispense contraceptives to individuals over 18 years old with a physician prescription.
• SB 698, which extends postpartum coverage from 60 days to 1 year following the end of pregnancy to improve maternal health disparities in Missouri.

Related Science Notes: Contraceptive Accessibility, Discrimination Based on Hair Texture and Styles, Maternal Mortality, Prison Nursery Programs

Public Safety

Prior to recess, the Senate passed SB 678, which modifies provisions to public safety funding for the Kansas City Police Department. House and Senate committees have discussed and passed a range of public safety bills, including SB 713, which would prohibit texting and driving, HB 1702 which seeks to decriminalize certain traffic violations from criminal to infractions, and SB 804, which would allow those with a concealed carry permit to carry a concealed firearm onto public transportation.

Related Science Notes: Decriminalization of Minor Traffic Violations, Distracted Driving & Cell Phone Use, Public Safety Funding

Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a comprehensive overview and does not highlight every bill that was discussed prior to legislative recess. Our goal is to highlight the major themes, especially those that coincide with the expertise of our fellows and topics that we have worked on Science Notes for.

You can access our entire Science Note database at https://mostpolicyinitiative.org/policy-initiatives/legislative-science-notes/.

You can also access bill information and statuses on the Missouri House and Senate websites.