Legislative Links
MoASBO's legislative liaison, Kevin Supple, shares the following: While K-12 education fared poorly this year, we know that issues like school choice, minimum teacher salaries, and property tax legislation will return. And we will need to be prepared to address these topics.
November 18:
ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Area school districts will forego nearly $20 million in the first year of St. Louis County's senior freeze on property taxes. The freeze comes as many area school districts already are grappling with budget shortfalls caused by rising supply prices, higher healthcare and staffing costs, declining enrollments and the end of pandemic relief funds. Download the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Article
October 2:
Senate Bill 3 Challenged
A group of taxing districts and property owners is challenging the constitutionality of the property tax provisions in Senate Bill (SB) 3. Plaintiffs in the group that filed a lawsuit on Sept. 26 include:
- Warren County R-III, Crawford R-I, Ozark R-VI, Meramec Valley R-III, Grandview R-II, and Doniphan R-I School Districts
- Ozark Fire Protection District
A taxpayer from St. Louis County, which will not have taxes subject to the law’s caps, and one from Warren County, which will have a cap that allows no growth in tax bills.
The lawsuit argues that SB 3 violates Article X of the Missouri Constitution, which requires uniformity in taxation and limits state lawmakers’ power to divide real property into subclasses, among other things. Some of the school districts in the group that filed the lawsuit cover multiple counties. If approved by voters, there would be different levels of taxation for their districts.
At this point, SB 3’s property tax provisions remain in effect. Click here to view information and talking points.
September 9:
Missouri Foundation Formula Tax Force - Update
The meeting was livestreamed for public access. Dr. Monsees reviewed selected responses to questions submitted after the
Bellwether Group’s presentation at the previous session. [Access the document here.]
The group then discussed data indicating that Missouri ranks 50th nationally in state-sourced funding for public schools. Notably, Missouri school
districts report Proposition C revenue—generated from the statewide sales tax—as local rather than state funding. If Proposition C receipts were
classified as state-sourced, Missouri’s ranking would improve slightly.
The meeting concluded with a review of upcoming workgroup sessions and a summary of each group’s focus areas.
[View the slide deck here.] All workgroup meetings will be held virtually and livestreamed for public viewing. To obtain more information, you can access
the DESE webpage for the task force here.
July 24:
Tax implications for overtime pay - With the signing of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” by President Trump on July 4, 2025, tax implications have changed with overtime pay. Click here to view document that contains information about on the new rules.
July 19:
The U.S. Department of Education will release $1.3 billion in grant money for after-school and summer programs, allowing some previously frozen funds to be distributed to the states.
No information is available on the other education funds that remain on hold.
Legislative Link 6-6-25
Download the Proposed Property Tax and the SB3 Impacted Counties
Legislative Link 4-14-25
Download the Legislative Committee Update
Legislative Link 4-1-25
The House plans to finalize the budget bills this week and send them to the Senate. The Senate will need time to make modifications, and then a conference committee will need to work out the differences. The General Assembly must adopt a budget by the end of business on May 9. Details about the major K-12 budget provisions are provided in this week's Update.
HJR4 is a Constitutional amendment proposal that would allow the General Assembly to cap the assessed value increase each reassessment year to the lesser of CPI or 2%. Geoff Macy and Patty Bedborough developed a Google doc that allows you to calculate the potential fiscal impact of such a change. Members are encouraged to complete the Google doc, send the result to Scott Kimble, and update your fiscal note response to HJR4 in MOLIS. Appropriate links to complete these tasks are below.
HB567 is legislation that proposes to undo the changes to Missouri's minimum wage and requirements for employers to provide some sick leave for employees, as approved by voters last November. This bill was recently amended to apply to public entities, like school districts. Under the bill's provisions, the minimum wage would be $13.75/hour beginning August 28, and rise to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026. Members are asked to calculate the potential fiscal impact of this legislation and communicate with your Senators about the impact.
Your major To Do items this week are:
- Call Senators regarding the financial impact of HB567 – state minimum wage changes
- Call Senators and Representatives to oppose HB711 – Open Enrollment
- Call Senators to oppose SJR62 - allows the General Assembly to place a cap on assessed values
- Complete the HJR4 calculator; send to Scott Kimble and update the fiscal note on MOLIS
HJR4 Fiscal Note Calculator Google Doc
For additional information or questions, please contact Kevin Supple, MoASBO 2025-26 Legislative Liaison, at ksupple@moasbo.org.
