Prioritizing the most needy

BY STATE REP. BRUCE SASSMANN Missouri’s 62nd District
Posted 4/21/21

“If making laws were easy, we’d have too many.”

That’s what was on my mind this week, as I listened to colleagues debate bills on the floor of the House. With just four …

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Prioritizing the most needy

Posted

“If making laws were easy, we’d have too many.”

That’s what was on my mind this week, as I listened to colleagues debate bills on the floor of the House. With just four weeks remaining in our legislative session, the days are getting longer as things start to heat up in Jefferson City.

Legislation is now on its way to the governor that would provide additional financial assistance to Missouri families who provide a stable home to children in need. The House this week gave final approval to two bills, HB 429 and HB 430 that received strong support in the Senate

before coming back to the House to receive overwhelming bipartisan approval. The bills would authorize an income tax deduction of up to $5,000 for expenses relating to providing care as a foster parent, and they expand the state’s existing $10,000 adoption tax credit to any child adopted by Missouri taxpayers on or after

Jan. 1, 2022.
The Senate added other provisions,

including the Birth Match Program and expanded tax credits for contributions to domestic violence shelters and maternity homes. Additionally, the House has sent a funding bill to the Senate that would provide resources to help Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens. The legislation appropriates more than $342 million in

funding to support seniors in nursing homes, provide care for the developmentally disabled, expand mental health programs, add public defenders to the criminal justice system, and boost K-12 school transportation funding.

The bill is the result of the House voting against funding for Medicaid expansion in the state operating budget. HB 21 makes fiscally responsible use of the funds saved by rejecting the expansion of Medicaid.

The House Budget Chairman said in the bill, “A lot of very good things are happening for a lot of people in the state of Missouri who cannot help themselves. This is the prioritization of the people who are most needy in our state that we help through the state budget.”