As we enter the
second month of session the natural progression of the governmental process
will bring more and more issues to light as the hundreds of bills filed begin
to move through the committee process and on to the House Chamber for discussion.
Last week the
Missouri House gave approval to a bill I mentioned in a previous report that is
designed to reinstate several tax credit programs that encourage donations to
charitable organizations. Commonly
referred to as benevolent tax credits, these programs offer a tax break to
individuals who donate money to organizations like food pantries and pregnancy
resource centers. Unfortunately, some of
the credits expired last year and the result has been a potential funding
crisis for these non-profits. Putting
the benevolent credits back in place will rectify this and allow them to
continue to serve where there is a need.
The total cost to our state will be approximately $2.9 million each year
in forgone tax revenue, but the benefits this investment will produce for
countless Missourians will be priceless.
The House
Elections Committee met last week to approve two pieces of legislation meant to
ensure voter fraud doesn’t occur in Missouri.
One piece of legislation is a constitutional amendment that would allow
Missourians to decide whether voters should have to show a form of photo
identification at the polling place. The
second bill would put a voter ID system in place in the event voters approve
the change to our state constitution.
This is an issue
the legislature has considered numerous times in recent years. The legislature and the governor actually put
a voter identification requirement into law in 2006, but it was ultimately
struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court.
In 2011, the General Assembly approved a constitutional amendment to let
voters decide on the issue, but it was kept off the ballot by a court decision
last year. This year, we hope to allow
Missourians to decide once and for all if they should have to prove that they
are who they say they are when they vote.
The goal of this legislation is not in any way to disenfranchise voters,
but instead to make sure every vote counts and that every vote is cast by the
person who is registered to cast it. If
passed, this legislation will bring about a change which will protect the
integrity of the voting process.
Also last week,
the Joint Committee on Education unveiled the plan for a new funding model that
determines the amount of state support for all of our public higher education
institutions. Last year the General
Assembly passed a bill that would require the Joint Committee on Education to
develop a model for funding public higher education institutions by December
31, 2013. The way our funding process
currently operates is by allocating money to schools based largely on what
they’ve received in the past and what the state has available. There is a continual argument about equity
funding for our schools and the percentage raises or cuts that we have seen for
years simply increases the disparity.
The goal of the
Joint Committee on Education was to develop a plan that was fair and equitable
for all schools. We can now move forward
as we consider legislation that will possibly put this plan in place.
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 401B State Capitol
Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
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