As the end of session approaches, the scramble to pass meaningful legislation continues. The efforts to create a balanced budget in this very difficult time hastens and deadlines become the major obstacle.
I have been working vigorously the past few months on a specific piece of legislation (HB 1473) regarding the Access Missouri Grant, which is a financial aid grant for students in higher education. Access Missouri is given to students based on their expected family contribution (EFC) when getting ready to begin any given school year. This is not a merit-based award like most scholarships in the state, which are awarded based on grades, activities, and so on. My goal in changing the laws regarding Access Missouri was to allow more students to actually have access to higher education, instead of letting a difficult financial situation keep them from a quality education. In this piece of legislation, the renewal grade point average (GPA) is lowered from a 2.5 to a 2.0 for a student’s first 60 hours of credit, and then jumping back to a 2.5 for the remainder of their time in an undergraduate institution. While those of us who fight for education daily want students to maintain the best grades possible, we also understand the difficulties many young people go through in their freshman and sophomore years of college. This legislation is estimated to help as many as 1700 Missouri students per year maintain this piece of their financial aid and continue their education.
Another part of this legislation, which was added on the House floor, a bill originally introduced by Representative Kingery, equalizes the award amounts for students who attend either a public or private university. Presently private school attendees receive a larger award than public school attendees. It is important that students have the opportunity to attend the school of their choice and not be forced to make decisions based solely on the amount of their Access award. The passage of this bill is a culmination of much negotiation and collaboration with higher education institutions across the state and will make education more accessible for many students.
A different issue that was discussed extensively this week was the use of tax credits. While tax credits may be vital to our many economic development programs, if used excessively, can become detrimental as we are obligated to redeem millions of dollars per year using taxpayer dollars that could be supporting other programs. Maintaining a proper balance and providing those credits that stimulate business and create revenue for the state, while limiting the growth of credits that have ballooned in recent years, creates a major dilemma.
House Bill 1786, which passed out of the House last week, would provide tax credit incentives to those who attract major events to our state. This bill focuses on bringing new events to Missouri and is wisely crafted so that tax credits are not issued until the events have occurred. The House also passed HB 2252, which provides a tax credit for pregnancy resource centers in Missouri.
If you have questions, you may reach me at my Capitol number 573-751-9465, at the local district number, 660-582-4014, by email at mike.thomson@house.mo.gov or by mail at Room 114B State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
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