January 12, 2024

2024 Legislative Session Underway

The 2024 Legislative session began last week with the opening days in both chambers providing some insight into how things will go this year.  This being an election year, we expect a lot of political theater.  It is our hope, however, that some important things can get done, despite all of that.  To date, over 1,500 bills have been filed in the House and Senate.  

A few of the things we will be following closely this year include:

Expansion of the NAP and YOP tax credits

The Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) and Youth Opportunity Program (YOP) tax credits are offered by non-profit organizations to encourage donations. These credits provide donors with a 50% state tax credit for their donations.  These credits are used by Cardinal Ritter Senior Services, Good Shepherd, Marygrove, St. Francis Community Services, and St. Patrick Center to provide case management services, educational support services, counseling, emergency shelter, and workforce development, among other services.

In recent years, however, the Missouri legislature has increased the tax credits available from other state benevolent credits from 50% to 70%, making the NAP and YOP credits less attractive to donors.  

We have secured sponsors to file legislation to increase the NAP and YOP credits to 70%, making them competitive with the other benevolent credits.  Sen. Steven Roberts (D-St. Louis) and Sen. Andrew Koenig (R-Manchester) have each filed bills in the Senate (SB 1041 and SB 1179), and Rep. Michael O’Donnell (R-St. Louis) has filed a bill in the House (HB 2089) to accomplish this important legislative priority for us.  Stay tuned for more information about these bills as they make their way through the process.

Funding for “Benefits Cliff” Legislation

Last year, the Missouri General Assembly passed legislation that would allow recipients of public benefits to continue receiving benefits at a reduced rate if they receive a raise or a promotion, rather than being cut off altogether.  In his proposed budget, Governor Parson included $39M to implement this legislation by funding changes to the state computer program used to administer the TANF and SNAP programs.  To fully implement the program, the proposed $39M, along with additional state revenue, would have to be appropriated to fund the reduced benefits for the 10,000+ estimated recipients that would be impacted by these changes. During hearings held in December, the Department of Social Services reported that federal administrators of the TANF and SNAP programs told them that state, rather than federal, revenue must be appropriated to fund the benefit cliff program.  We understand from speaking with legislators that the MO Department of Social Services has requested a waiver to allow federal funds to be used for this purpose, which will make it easier to get the program started.  We will be reporting more on this as the session unfolds.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support of our legislative agenda.  

Deacon Tyler