Kraus: Legislation in the House

House and Senate Begin Budget Negotiations

Both the House and the Senate have passed versions of the thirteen bills that make up the fiscal year 2011 state budget.  The next step was to send the two versions to a conference committee in which members from the House and Senate will work to craft a compromise version of the state spending plan. I expect this process to be complete as soon as today.

The version of the budget approved by the House cuts approximately $224 million from the more than $23 billion spending plan originally proposed by Gov. Jay Nixon. The Senate's version contained cuts totaling more than $450 million. Gov. Nixon asked the Missouri General Assembly to cut $500 million from his original budget recommendations.

Each budget bill will be discussed by a conference committee made up of five members from the House and five from the Senate. Their job is to iron out any differences between the spending plans adopted by the two chambers. The budget bills must be approved by May 7.

House Approves Tax Credit to Attract Sporting Events

Last Thursday, the Missouri House approved a measure, HB 1786, that would authorize a tax credit that supporters believe will help attract major athletic events such as the NCAA Final Four. The bill is meant to make Missouri competitive with states like Ohio and Texas that already have tax credits to attract college sporting events.

HB 1786 would authorize a refundable tax credit equal for either 100 percent of the eligible costs of an approved event or 90 percent of the tax revenues within the market area that are directly attributable to the event, whichever is less. Within 60 days of the conclusion of the event, the director of the Missouri Department of Revenue would be required to determine the amount of tax revenues directly attributable to the event. The Missouri Department of Economic Development would be allowed to issue up to $10 million in tax credits each year.  HB 1786 now moves to the Senate for consideration.

House Approves Change to Open Meetings Law

The Missouri House gave approval Thursday to legislation, HB 1444, that would require earlier notice for certain public meetings.

The bill would require four days notice for meetings on tax increases, eminent domain issues, zoning, tax increment financing and sales taxes. Current law requires 24 hours notice before a public meeting is held.  The extra time would give citizens more opportunity to comment on the actions of local government. HB 1444 now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Run for Hope

Hope Network, First Baptist Church in Raytown, reaches out to those in the community that are in need of food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. On April 30, they are sponsoring a 5K Run for Hope and Family Fitness Walk.  By participating in the event, you can help provide hope for those in need with your $30 registration fee.

I am entering the 5K run event.  Please join me in this worthwhile effort!

The 5K Run starts at 8:30 a.m. on April 31 and the family fitness walk begins at 8:35 a.m. from the entrance on the north side of First Baptist Raytown, 10500 East 350 Highway, Raytown.  You can go to the website to register, become a sponsor, or find more information.

Constituents Asked…

After I ran an article on litter cleanup, several people contacted my office who were curious to know if prisoners are employed to help clean up our roads and highways.  The answer is that the state does make use of prisoner populations for road litter cleanup.  After a rigorous screening to ensure suitability for outside work, about 600-900 prisoners are available to work and they do work every week day.  The prisoners clean up highways within a reasonable distance of the prisons.  You haven't seen them in Eastern Jackson County because the driving distance from a state prison is too far to transport inmates.

With the beginning of the 2010 Legislative Session, the Capitol Report will be issued about once a week. During this time, if you have an event that you would like me to attend or speak at, please contact my office at 1 (573) 751-1459 or e-mail at will{dot}kraus{at}house{dot}mo{dot}gov.