LEGISLATIVE UPDATE April 21, 2023

APRIL 21, 2023

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 4-21-23 (PDF)

Floor debate is taking much of the time now.  Also bills that have passed one chamber are being heard in the other.   Changes from last week are in red.  Bills that have not yet had a hearing have been deleted.  Bills that have not yet been voted out of committee are unlikely to be considered and have been lined through.

The House added the food sales tax exemption to HB 876 along with other amendments and perfected the bill this week.  The bill has been assigned to the Fiscal Review Committee because of the large fiscal note.  If it passes Fiscal Review, it could be 3rd read next week.  If it is voted out of Fiscal Review, we will send out an alert so that you can contact your representatives to ask them to vote NO on 3rd reading.

In addition, Senator Coleman’s SB 161, which would eliminate the food sales tax, is #7 on the Senate Perfection Calendar and could be debated next week.  Contact Senators to oppose this extremely damaging bill.

SB 222 was amended in the House to add damaging language related to video service providers.  It will likely be 3rd read in the House next week.  Contact Representatives to oppose this bill and let them know your concerns about the need to retain license authority over the right-of-way that are used by streaming services.

House Hearing Schedule                    Senate Hearing Schedule

Priority Bills

HB 978 (Falkner) – modifies provisions for home-based businesses enacted in 2022.  Local Government Committee.  Heard 2/21. Passed Committee 2/28.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 3/20.  (Support)

 Economic Development Bills 

SB 96 (Koenig) – amended to require a 2/3 vote of a local governing body to establish a community improvement district or transportation development district.  Amended to include provisions of HB 1144 to prohibit submitting unsuccessful tax proposal to voters for four years.  Local Government & Elections Committee.  Heard 1/30.  Passed Committee 2/6.  Perfected 2/28.  Passed Senate 3/1.  House Tax Reform Committee.  Heard 4/4.  Passed Committee 4/11.  Referred Rules Committee.

HB 536 (Keathley) – requires CIDs and TDDs to be approved by 2/3 vote of the governing body.  Amended to add damaging language related to video service providers.   Tax Reform Committee.  Heard 2/21.  Passed Committee 2/28.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/3.  Perfected 4/17.  Informal 3rd Reading Calendar.

HB 587 (Owen) – allows municipalities and counties to create land bank agencies to help with the development of vacant properties.   Local Government Committee.  Heard 2/7.  Passed Committee 2/21.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 3/6.  Perfected 3/8.  Passed House 3/20.  Senate Emerging Issues Committee.  Hearing 4/25.

Election Bills

HB 186 (Murphy) – prohibits a political subdivision or election authority from describing any proposed tax on property in a political subdivision as not increasing taxes, or any language to that effect, unless both: (1) Failing to adopt the proposed measure would cause an actual increase in the tax rate; and (2) Adopting the measure would cause the tax rate to stay the same or decrease.  Government Efficiency Committee.  Heard 2/1.  Passed Committee 2/8.  Passed Rules Committee 2/16.  Perfected 2/28. Passed House 3/2.  Senate Local Government/Elections Committee.

HB 1144 (Keathley) – prohibits submitting unsuccessful tax proposal to voters for four years.  Tax Reform Committee.   Heard 3/21.  Passed Committee 3/30.  Referred Rules Committee.  (Oppose)

Miscellaneous Bills 

 SB 174 (Koenig) – makes various changes to the Sunshine Law including allowing a public governmental body is authorized to close records that are related to email addresses and telephone numbers submitted to a public governmental body by individuals or entities for the sole purpose of receiving electronic or other communications.  Governmental Accountability Committee.  Heard 2/9.  Passed Committee 2/23.  (Support)

HB 108 (Barnes) – adds to the definition of “special victim” a sports official assaulted while he or she is performing sports official duties or as a direct result of such duties.  Urban Issues Committee.  Heard 4/3.  Passed Committee 4/5.  Referred Rules Committee.

HB 516 (Mayhew) – for any 4th class city with no more than two thousand inhabitants, if a statute or ordinance authorizes the mayor  to appoint a member of a  board or commission, any requirement that the appointed person be a resident of the 5city shall be deemed satisfied if the person owns real property or a business in the city,  regardless of whether the position to which the appointment is made is considered an officer of the city under section 79.250.  Rural Development Committee.  Heard 3/20.  Passed Committee 3/27.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/12.  Informal Perfection Calendar.

HB 580 (Houx) – establishes a limit on the regulation of construction standards for insulation in new dwellings that political subdivisions may adopt and enforce.  Amended to prohibit a political subdivision from requiring an exempt homeowner to obtain a license, certification, or professional registration or be tested as a condition of applying for a building permit if all work is done by the owner.  Government Efficiency & Downsizing Committee.  Heard 2/1.  Passed Committee 2/22.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 2/27.  Informal Perfection Calendar.

HB 625 (Lovasco) – prohibits a political subdivision from requiring an exempt homeowner to obtain a license, certification, or professional registration or be tested as a condition of applying for a building permit if all work is done by the owner.  (Oppose) Local Government Committee.  Heard 1/31.  Passed Committee 3/7.   Referred Rules Committee.

HB 646 (Lovasco) – allows members of the general assembly to serve as ex-officio members of boards, commissions, councils or legislative bodies within their district without voting privileges.  Government Efficiency & Downsizing Committee.  Heard 3/29.  Passed Committee 4/5.  Failed Rules Committee 4/18.

HB 863 (O’Donnell) – provides that a municipality that issues a municipal green bond shall establish a green bond holder protection fund separate from the municipality’s debt service reserve fund or an equivalent fund.  Financial Institutions Committee.  Heard 1/31.  Passed Committee 2/16.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 3/9.  Perfected 3/22.  Passed House 3/27.  Senate Insurance & Banking Committee.

HB 926 (Falkner) – no public official or other person who would otherwise be personally  liable under applicable law or at equity to a contractor, subcontractor, supplier at any tier, or otherwise, by reason of the failure of a public entity to require a contractor to furnish a payment bond as required by this section shall be so liable unless the contractor provides, prior to the time the contract is executed, to the presiding official or officer and to the secretary, clerk, or similar official or officer of the public entity a written notice in bold, ten-point or greater type identifying the persons who will have personal liability for payment.  General Laws Committee.  Heard 4/3.  Passed Committee 4/12.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/19.

HB 1295 (West) – requires local governments to have a public comment period each meeting of the board or council.  Government Efficiency & Downsizing Committee.  Heard 3/29.  Passed Committee 4/5.  Referred Rules Committee. 

Personnel & Employment Bills 

SB 24 (Hough) – establishes the “Missouri First Responder Mental Health Initiative Act”. This act establishes the rights of first responders to access behavioral health care services and responsive treatment and to have certain records of such treatment be deemed confidential, as specified in the act, and shall not be shared with an employer. First responders shall have the right to seek treatment in any geographic area without restrictions or limitations imposed by an employer or insurance carrier and the right to receive expanded Family and Medical Leave Act protections while voluntarily seeking preventative treatment. First responders shall have the right to have treatment and living quarters in facilities separate from other patients, as well as access to behavioral health treatment for up to 36 months following retirement regardless of Medicare restrictions.  First responders receiving behavioral health services shall be able to seek reimbursement from the First Responder Behavioral Health Grant Program established by this act, in amounts specified in the act. The Department of Mental Health shall make grants to eligible recipients to reimburse behavioral health care expenses, as well as peer support education, prevention and awareness training, software, and other services.  Insurance/Banking Committee.  Heard 1/31.  Passed Committee 2/7.  Perfected 2/14.  Passed Senate 2/23.  House Crime Prevention & Public Safety Committee.  Heard 4/3.  Passed Committee 4/6.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/17.

SB 46 (Gannon) – political subdivisions may elect to cover telecommunication first responders as public safety personnel.  Transportation, Infrastructure & Public Safety Committee.  Heard 2/22.  Passed Committee 3/1.  Perfection Calendar.

SB 119 (Luetkemeyer)- establishes post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, Fifth Edition, (DSM-5) as a compensable occupational disease under workers’ compensation when diagnosed in first responders. A first responder shall not require a physical injury to be eligible for benefits, but preexisting PTSD is not compensable.  Judiciary/Civil & Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.  Heard 1/30.  Passed Committee 2/6.  Perfected 2/14.  Passed Senate 2/23.  House General Laws Committee.  Heard 4/4.

HB 733 (Boggs) – original bill created the Expanding Public Sector Career Opportunities Act to promote hiring for government careers.  These provisions have been deleted from the House Committee Substitute.  Workforce & Infrastructure Development Committee.  Heard 3/1.  Passed Committee 3/8.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 3/20.  Perfected 3/28.  Informal 3rd Reading Calendar.

Public Safety Bills 

SB 38 (Williams) – under current law, the POST Commission sets a minimum number of basic training hours for licensure for peace officers no lower than 470 hours and no higher than 600 with certain exceptions as provided in law. This act changes this requirement to be no lower than 600 hours.

Additionally, this act adds additional grounds for when the Director of the Department of Public Safety shall discipline peace officers. This act provides that any peace officer shall be disciplined who:

• Is unable to perform the function of a peace officer with reasonable competency or reasonable safety;
• Has been convicted, or has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, in a criminal prosecution under any state laws, any federal laws, or any laws of another country, regardless if a sentence was imposed;
• Has committed any act that involves moral turpitude or a reckless disregard for the safety of the public;
• Has tested positive for a controlled substance without a valid prescription;
• Is subject to an order suspending or revoking a peace officer license from another state, territory, the federal government, or any peace officer licensing authority; or
• Has committed any act of gross misconduct indicating inability to function as a peace officer. Transportation, Infrastructure & Public Safety Committee. Heard 2/22.  Passed Committee 3/1.  Informal Perfection Calendar.

SB 78 (Schroer) – returns operations of the St. Louis City police to a state appoint board of police commissioners.  Transportation, Infrastructure & Public Safety Committee.  Heard 1/25.  Passed Committee 2/8.

HB 109 (Sharp) – a person commits the offense of unlawful discharge of a firearm if that person, with criminal negligence, discharges a firearm within or into the limits of any municipality.  Emerging Issues Committee.  Heard 3/29.  Passed Committee 4/5.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/17.  Perfection Calendar.

HB 117 (Shields) – currently, qualified first responders are allowed to administer naloxone to a person suffering from an apparent overdose. This bill clarifies the definition of first responders so that state and local law enforcement agency staff members do not need to be acting under the directives and established protocols of a medical director of a licensed ground ambulance service. That requirement only applies to fire department personnel, fire district personnel, and licensed emergency medical technicians.  Health & Mental Health Policy Committee.  Heard 2/21.  Passed Committee 2/27.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 3/6.  Perfected 3/21.  Passed House 3/22.  Senate Health & Welfare Committee.

HB 187 (Murphy) – creates the offense of unlawfully gaining entry into a motor vehicle, which a person commits if he or she lifts the door handles or otherwise tries the doors and locks of successive vehicles in an attempt to gain entry.  Crime Prevention & Public Safety Committee.  Heard 2/16.  Passed Committee 4/6.  Referred Rules Committee.

HB 282 (Schnelting) – allows a concealed carry permit holder to lawfully carry firearms on public transportation.  Emerging Issues Committee.  Heard 3/8.  Passed Committee 3/22.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/3. Perfected 4/13.  Passed House 4/17.  Senate Transportation, Infrastructure & Public Safety Committee.

HB 440 (Hovis) – revises disciplinary procedures for police officers.  Crime Prevention & Public Safety Committee.  Heard 4/3.  Passed Committee 4/6.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/17.  Informal Perfection Calendar.

HB 485 (Baker) – changes the law regarding concealed carrying of weapons by allowing firearms in churches and other places of worship with a concealed carry permit.  Emerging Issues Committee.  Heard 3/22.  Passed Committee 3/29.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/17.

HB 514 (Mayhew) – prohibits a fire protection district from adopting any ordinances, orders, rules, or regulations related to the subdivision of land for residential purposes or to the construction or installation of improvements or infrastructure or utility facilities related to serving residential construction.  Government Efficiency & Downsizing Committee.  Heard 3/8.  Passed Committee 3/22.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/12.

HB 532 (Mayhew) – modifies provisions relating to keeping records for the sale of catalytic converters.  Emerging Issues Committee.  Heard 3/1.  Passed Committee 3/8.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/3.  Informal Perfection Calendar.

HB 602 (Reedy) – modifies the offense of unlawful use of a weapon by clarifying circumstances of firing from a vehicle legally and by adding Blair’s Law, which adds the discharging of a firearm within or into the limits of a municipality to the offense.  Emerging Issues Committee.  Heard 3/29.  Passed Committee 4/5.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/17.

HB 702 (Christ) – returns operations of the St. Louis City police to a state appointed board of police commissioners.  Crime Prevention & Public Safety Committee.  Heard 2/9.  Passed Committee 2/23.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 2/27.  Perfected 3/1.  Passed House 3/6.  Senate Transportation, Infrastructure & Public Safety Committee.  Heard 4/5.  Passed Committee 4/12.  Senate 3rd Reading Calendar.

Taxation & Revenue Bills 

SB 8 (Eigel) – current law requires that personal property be assessed at 33.3% of its true value in money. Beginning January 1, 2024, this act requires that personal property be assessed at 31% of its true value in money.  Also eliminates personal property tax on vehicles over 10 years old.  Heard 1/17.  Passed Committee 2/6.  Perfected 2/21.  3rd Reading Calendar.

SB 23 (Hough) – requires licensed motor vehicle dealers to collect and remit to the Department of Revenue the sales tax on all motor vehicles the dealer sells, beginning January 1, 2024.  Transportation, Infrastructure & Public Safety Committee.  Heard 2/1.  Passed Committee 2/8.  Perfected 2/14.  Passed Senate 2/23.  House Emerging Issues Committee.  Heard 4/12.  Passed Committee 4/19.  Referred Rules Committee.

SB 104 (Cierpiot) – current law requires personal property to be assessed at 33.3% of its true value in money. Beginning with the 2024 calendar year, this act reduces such percentage by one percent a year through the 2035 calendar year. Beginning with the 2036 calendar year, personal property shall be assessed at 20% of its true value.  General Laws Committee.  Heard 2/22.  Passed Committee 3/1.

SB 105 (Cierpiot) – current law requires residential real property to be assessed at 19% of its true value in money. Beginning with the c024 calendar year, this act reduces such percentage by one percent a year through the 2026 calendar year. Beginning with the 2027 calendar year, residential real property shall be assessed at 15% of its true value.  General Laws Committee.  Heard 2/8.  Passed Committee 2/20.  Informal Perfection Calendar.

SB 161 (Coleman) – provides that retail sales of food shall be exempt from state and local sales taxes.  Economic Development & Tax Policy Committee.  Heard 2/6.   Passed Committee 2/22.  Perfection Calendar.  (Oppose)

HB 247 (Hurlbert) – original bill allows any municipality to levy a public safety sales tax of up to 1/2 cent, subject to approval by 4/7 of the voters.  The bill also allows any city with a fire department, any city contracting for fire service or any fire district to levy a fire service sales tax of up to 1/2 cent, subject to 4/7 voter approval.  However, it was amended in committee to exempt St. Louis County municipalities and fire districts from this taxing authority.  Local Government Committee.  Heard 3/7.  Passed Committee 4/18.

HB 415 (O’Donnell) – requires licensed motor vehicle dealers to collect and remit to the Department of Revenue the sales tax on all motor vehicles the dealer sells, beginning January 1, 2024.  Ways & Means Committee. Heard 2/2.  Rules Committee.  Heard 2/13.  Passed Committee 2/13.  Perfected 2/23.  Passed House 2/27.  Senate Transportation, Infrastructure & Public Safety Committee.  Heard 4/12.  Passed Committee 4/19.  Senate 3rd Reading Calendar.

HB 589 (Murphy) – allows earning tax payers working remotely outside of St. Louis City to file for refunds.  Tax Reform Committee.  Heard 3/21.  Passed Committee 4/4. Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/11.  Informal Perfection Calendar.

Transportation and Vehicle Bills

HB 184 (Murphy) – provides that any political subdivision in St. Louis County that adopts an ordinance or other regulation that requires installation of electric vehicle charging stations at any non-automotive fueling station business shall pay all costs associated with the installation, maintenance, and operation of the stations. No political subdivision shall adopt any ordinance or other regulation that requires more than five such stations per parking lot located at any non-automotive fueling station, or infrastructure for future installation of more than five such stations. Such ordinances and regulations shall only apply to parking lots with more than thirty parking spaces.  Government Efficiency & Downsizing Committee.  Heard 1/25.  Passed Committee 2/2.  Rules Committee.  Heard 2/7.  Passed Committee 2/9.  Perfected 2/14.  Passed House 2/16.  Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy & Environment Committee.  Heard 4/11.  Passed Committee 4/11.  Senate 3rd Reading Calendar.

HB 246 (Hurlbert) – prohibits the state and any political subdivision from establishing or collecting any fee for parking on any public street unless requested by a business.  Government Efficiency & Downsizing Committee.  Heard 2/1.  Passed Committee 4/5.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 4/13.  Perfected 4/17.  Informal 3rd Reading Calendar.  (Oppose)

Utility & Broadband Bills

SB 152 (Trent) – modifies the definition of “video service” to include the provision of video programming by a video service provider provided through wireline facilities located in a public right-of-way without regard to the delivery technology. Video services does not include any video programming accessed via a service that enables users to access content over the internet, including streaming content.  Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy & Environment Committee.  Heard 2/7. Passed Committee 2/14.  Informal Perfection Calendar.  (Oppose)

HB 461 (Riggs) – establishes a broadband development council to explore ways to expand access to broadband services; the potential for increased use of broadband for education, career readiness, workforce preparation, and alternative career training; ways to encourage state and municipal agencies to expand service to better serve the public through the use of streaming, voice over Internet protocol, teleconferencing, and wireless networking.  Utilities Committee.  Heard 2/1.  Passed Committee 2/15.  Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee  2/27.  Perfected 3/7. Passed House 3/9.  Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy & Environment Committee.  Hearing 4/25.  (Oppose)

HB 651 (Richey) – excludes streaming services from the definition of video services thus eliminating streaming services from local franchise fees.  Utilities Committee.  Heard 2/8.   Passed Committee 3/1. Referred Rules Committee.  Passed Committee 3/8.  Perfected 3/23.  Passed House 3/27.  Senate Local Government & Elections Committee.  (Oppose)