By Rick Francis
Missouri’s Child Care Crisis (HB 870)
We took action this week to address the lack of affordable child care in the state.
I know there is a child care crisis in our communities and in our state. This issue was compounded when 30% of our child care providers closed during the pandemic and only 3% returned. Our parents, our employers, and our state and local chambers are all telling us they have frustration with the lack of affordable, reliable, quality child care.
When 58% of businesses across Missouri report child care has been a barrier to recruiting new employees and that 63% report it has been a barrier to retaining current employees we have to act. I have visited some pre-schools in my District and I have spoken to community leaders about this concern. HB 870 creates tax credit programs to help fund child care in the state. The approach is innovative because business, government, and parents will all participate in the cost of care, making it affordable for families, stable for child care providers, and creating a reliable work force for our businesses.
The bill creates the following tax credits:
Child Care Contribution Tax Credit that allows a taxpayer to claim a tax credit for verified contributions to a child care provider in an amount up to 75% of the contribution. The tax credit issued cannot be less than $100, and cannot exceed $200,000 per tax year.
Employer-Provided Child Care Assistance that allows a taxpayer to claim a tax credit in an amount equal to 30% of the qualified child care expenditures paid or incurred with respect to a child care facility. The maximum amount of the credit cannot exceed $200,000 per taxpayer per tax year.
Child Care Providers Tax Credit that allows a child care provider with three or more employees to claim a tax credit in an amount equal to the child care provider’s eligible employer withholding tax, and may also claim a tax credit in an amount up to 30% of the child care provider’s capital expenditures. No tax credit for capital expenditures will be allowed if the capital expenditures are less than $1,000. The amount of any tax credit issued will not exceed $200,000 per child care provider per tax year.
Each of the credits has a six-year sunset.
Last year it is estimated that Missouri’s economy lost $1.35 billion because of child care issues resulting in $280 million that we did not collect in tax revenue. If we want Missouri’s economy to grow we must address this problem.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Protect the Initiative Petition Process (HB 703)
We approved legislation that would make statutory changes based on court precedent to the state’s initiative petition process. By a vote of 109-49, House members approved HB 703 and sent it to the Senate.
This is a complex bill, but nothing is more important than protecting our constitution. Since 1945 over 199 amendments have been added to the Missouri Constitution. The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times with 10 of them being in the original Bill of Rights, and that has been since 1789. 199 to 27.
One provision in the bill requires that petition circulators be citizens of the United States, residents of Missouri or physically present in Missouri for at least 30 consecutive days prior to the collection of signatures. It also prohibits them from being compensated based on the number of signatures collected.
I think it’s important to eliminate paying circulators per signature obtained because it’s a process ripe with fraud. There’s a lot of out-of-state interests paying these folks per signature. Their motivation is to collect as many signatures as possible instead of the validity of the process.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Other Bills Sent to the Senate:
HB 576 creates the offense of interference with transportation of livestock. A person commits the offense if he or she knowingly stops, hinders, impedes, boards, or otherwise interferes with a motor vehicle transporting livestock; provokes or disturbs livestock confined in a motor vehicle; or puts a compound or substance on livestock that would affect the livestock’s marketability, affect animal or human health, or result in an unreasonable transportation delay. The offense of interference with transportation of livestock is a class E felony for the first offense and a class C felony for any subsequent offenses. Supporters say the bill would help deter animal rights activists, who protest the raising and processing of livestock for food. By interrupting the transport of livestock to the processing plant, protesters can cause the loss of processing time and the loss of the life of the animal. These protests are a public safety concern for the animals, the drivers of the livestock trailers, and the protesters, as well as interrupting the food supply and jeopardizing food safety.
HB 200 adds Perry County to the “German Heritage Corridor” along the Missouri River, which lists counties that were greatly influenced by early German settlers. Supporters say this is a needed fix and there are a lot of people with German heritage in Perry County. Adding the county to the corridor would help promote tourism.
HB 76 creates the Career-Tech Certificate (CTC) Program beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. This program is for students that have met the GPA, attendance, and service requirements for the A+ Program and are eligible for reimbursement of tuition, books, and fees, and are attending an approved institution of postsecondary education, as defined in the bill, for an eligible program of study or specified training program. The bill provides reimbursement for students for one certificate program or completion of a program of study. The bill will create a separate track for students that during high school meet the requirements and earn A+ tuition reimbursement, however not all students are interested in attending a traditional community college or vocational program. This bill will allow such students to receive certificates or degrees under specified programs and have the costs of those programs be covered.
