Mazzie Boyd – Capitol Report March 30, 2023
To the Great Constituents of District 2,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
– John 14:27
This past week has been devastating for those that have lost loved ones in the Tennessee Christian School shooting. It’s truly hard to understand the evilness that goes on in our world. But as it says in Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” I want to point out some of the things the Missouri Legislature has been doing in regards to school safety programs. The budget approved over $50 million for school safety grants for Missouri schools to make physical security investments on their campuses, develop safety plans, establish school resource officer programs, and increase active threat trainings. We also have approved $1 million to establish safe school programs to address active shooter response training and school safety measures. I want to see our children be protected by good guys with guns just like celebrities, music festivals, presidents, and courts just to name a few.
This week we passed the state operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Some of the highlights from the $45.6 Billion Budget:
- 20% pay increases for the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Capitol Police to help attract and retain quality officers.
- $1 million increase for Blue Scholarships to help attract more Missourians to law enforcement careers and address officer shortages
- $20 million to support Missouri’s veteran’s homes.
- $72.9 million in new funding for nursing home rate increases to help ensure homes can continue to provide quality care to some of the state’s most vulnerable Missourians.
- Full funding for state scholarship programs such as Bright Flight, Access Missouri, and A+.
15 other bills were passed this week in the house, here are highlights of some of those bills:
HBs 913 & 428 modifies provisions relating to licensed child care facilities. Currently, a person caring for up to six children, with a maximum of three children under the age of two, can operate an unlicensed child care facility.
HB 1015 allows the chief law enforcement executive for any law enforcement agency to request assistance from a law enforcement agency in another jurisdiction, including from outside the state but within the United States. The bill creates provisions for how arrests are handled if executed by an officer outside of his or her jurisdiction.
HBs 971 & 970 establishes the “Missouri Employment First Act”. The act specifies that all state agencies that provide employment-related services or services or support to persons with disabilities are required to coordinate with other agencies,
HB 403 increases the number of qualified applicants who may be awarded loans under the Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program from six to 12 per academic year.
Lastly, the Ag Policy committee passed out HB 1052 which prohibits the use of eminent domain by electrical corporations for the construction or erection of any plant, tower, panel, or facility that: (1) Uses, captures, or converts wind or air currents to generate or manufacture electricity; or (2) Uses, captures, or converts the light or heat generated by the sun to generate or manufacture electricity.
It’s a pleasure to serve and as always if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to my office at (573) 751-4285 or email me at [email protected].
All my Best,
Mazzie Boyd, State Representative for District 2
