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The legislative session ended last Friday with the legislature passing 46 bills, fewer than during the 2020 legislative session interrupted by the COVID pandemic when they passed 51.
Here is a brief summary of some of the bills that passed this session and are headed to the Governor for his signature or veto.
Education Reform
The Missouri Education Scholarship Program offers state tax credits to donors contributing funds to provide scholarships for students to attend private and parochial schools. The legislature increased the cap on the amount of tax credits available under the program from $50 million to $75 million. They also opened the door to charter schools setting up shop in Boone County (Columbia) and increased minimum teacher salaries from $25,000 to $40,000 for the 2025-26 school year.
Defunding Planned Parenthood
The Missouri General Assembly passed language prohibiting state funds going to abortion providers or affiliates thereof, effectively defunding Planned Parenthood.
Gun Violence
After many years of effort, the legislature passed legislation making it unlawful to discharge a firearm for celebratory purposes within the limits of a municipality. Known as “Blair’s Law”, the bill was championed by the mother of a young woman killed by a stray bullet in Kansas City over ten years ago.
Landlord/Tenant Law and Property Rights
The legislature passed a law prohibiting counties, municipalities, or other political subdivisions from imposing moratoriums on evictions, unless authorized by state law. This provision was passed in response to moratoriums put in place during the COVID crisis, which left many landlords with no recourse.
Also passed was a provision addressing “squatters,” or those unlawfully occupying private residential property. The legislation would allow property owners to file a petition to remove unlawful squatters and outlines the process for doing so.
Election Ballot Provision
The General Assembly approved a ballot provision that would outlaw “ranked-choice” voting, whereby voters in a primary election are permitted to select multiple candidates to appear on the general election ballot for consideration. If passed, voters in primary elections will be permitted to vote for one candidate only (as things are done currently), and the winning candidate will square off against the winner of the other party primary, rather than against a slate of other candidates from his/her own party.
Look for more news about the election in the fall. Have a good summer!
Deacon Tyler
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