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.

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

MOLIS link

Governor's State Budget Proposal

Download Legislative link

Implementation of SB 727

Download - The Legislative Bulletin of the Missouri School Administrators Coalition

SB 727 Update 4-1-24

There are aspects of SB727 that would be beneficial for school districts and teachers, like the increase in minimum teacher salaries. However, the cost of the bill is concerning. The State is anticipating sluggish revenue growth over the next two years, and SB727 would cost almost $600 million in additional funds to implement in FY26. Even worse, the funding to pay for the increase to the minimum teacher salaries is not guaranteed, but is subject to appropriation. If the State is short on revenue (as seems likely, given the low consensus revenue estimate), then districts could face the possibility of having their non-Formula funds (e.g., Transportation) reduced in order to fully fund the Formula and provisions of SB727. We have been in a "Rob Peter to pay Paul" situation many times previously, and the results create real hardships for districts. Please review the SB727.

Listen to January 17, 2024 Podcast - Mike Lodewegen, director of Government Affairs for MCSA, talks about legislative priorities for this session.