Mazzie Boyd – Capitol report May 12, 2023
To the Great Constituents of District 2,
What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower
As the last week of the 2023 Regular session has come to an end, I’m still processing the entire session. I was able to get one of my bills added on as an amendment to SB 139 that makes the Hawken Rifle the Official State Rifle and that was sent on to the Governor. We truly agreed and finally passed over 62 bills and those will be sent to Governor Parson. Over the next few weeks, I will go over all the bills we sent to the Governor. I received Freshman of the Year for Excelling in Governement Accountabilty.
Budget Bills Sent to the Governor- We have sent all HB 1-20 Budget bills to the Governor. HB 14 was signed by Governor Parson back in February. The budget ended up being nearly $48.8 billion.
Providing Tax Relief to Seniors – SB 190 will provide substantive tax relief to Missouri’s older population. The legislation will eliminate the state income tax on social security benefits. It will allow all seniors regardless of their adjusted gross income or filing status to deduct 100% of their social security benefits. Also, it will help protect seniors from being taxed out of their homes. The bill effectively freezes the property tax on the home of Missourians who are 65 years of age or older. It will allow counties to adopt an ordinance that authorizes a property tax credit for eligible senior homeowners. The bill would in effect ensure seniors don’t pay more in property tax on their property than they did for the same property when they turned 65 years of age. I was proud to support and vote YES on SB 190!
Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act – SBs 49, 236 & 164 is legislation supporters say will protect Missouri’s children from unnecessary and harmful sex change drugs and surgeries. The SAFE Act would prohibit health care providers from performing gender transition surgery on young people under the age of 18. Until August 28, 2027, it would also prohibit a health care provider from prescribing or administering cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs to a minor for a gender transition, unless the minor was receiving such treatment prior to August 28, 2023. A violation of the provisions would be considered unprofessional conduct and would result in the revocation of the health care provider’s professional license. This was something I’ve worked on all session long. This was a huge victory for Missouri!
Promoting Fairness for Female Student Athletes – SB 39 is meant to promote fairness in competition and opportunity for female student athletes. The bill would prohibit a private school, public school district, public charter school, or public or private institution of postsecondary education from allowing any student to compete in an athletics competition designated for the opposite sex, as determined by the student’s official birth certificate. The bill clarifies that biological sex is only correctly stated on birth certificates if it was entered at or near the time of birth or modified to correct scrivener’s error. The bill also makes it clear a female student may be allowed to compete in an athletics competition designated for male students if there is no such athletics competition for female students offered. Another bill, I was happy to vote YES on and speak in support of on the House floor.
Developing Missouri’s Workforce – HB 417 will help employers develop and retain skilled workers. The bill creates a competitive grant program that will be administered by the Department of Economic Development to reimburse employers who help their employees earn short-term certificates or credentials in vital areas for Missouri’s economy. Examples of short-term credentials that would be eligible for reimbursement through the program include manufacturing technology, cybersecurity, welding, certified nursing assistant and HVAC certification. It will encourage employers to train the workers of the future by offering paid internships and apprenticeships. The bill would create the Intern and Apprentice Recruitment Act to incentivize businesses to increase the number of internships and internship opportunities in the state. Under this act, employers would qualify for a tax credit of $1,500 for each intern or apprentice hired at a pay rate equal to or greater than minimum wage. Interns would have to work a minimum of 60 hours per month for two consecutive months to qualify. Apprentices would need to complete a minimum of 2,000 hours of on-the-job training and 144 hours of technical instruction. An employer could not receive more than $9,000 in tax credits in a single year and the program would have a total cap of $1 million in tax credits each year. I’m not for tax credits, as I believe we should be doing tax reductions. I was not able to support this bill.
Attracting Economic Activity to Missouri – SB 94 would help attract revenue-generating film and entertainment projects to the state. Dubbed the “Show MO Act,” the legislation would establish tax credits for film projects starting at 20 percent of specified costs, with opportunities for additional credits as other criteria are met. The bill would allow film productions additional credits when at least half of filming is done in Missouri; at least 15% takes place in rural or blighted areas; at least three of a project’s departments hire a Missourian ready to advance in their field; or the project positively portrays the state or something in it. The film tax incentives would expire at the end of 2029 unless the legislature votes to extend them. The bill aims to bring more music industry dollars to the state by authorizing credits for rehearsal and tour expenses for live tours and associated rehearsals. The credits would be for 30% of tour or rehearsal expenses, capped at $1 million if expenses are less than $4 million. No taxpayer could get a credit greater than $2 million for expenses between $4 and $8 million; nor greater than $3 million for expenses exceeding $8 million. Combined credits are limited to $8 million per fiscal year. The tour and rehearsal credits would expire at the end of 2030 unless extended. As stated above, I am not for tax credits, especially for Hollywood and was unable to support this bill.
Expanding Access to Physical Therapy – HBs 115 & 99 and SB 51 promote individual choice in health care decisions through the elimination of unnecessary and burdensome regulations to allow patients to have direct access to physical therapy. The legislation would allow physical therapists with a doctorate of physical therapy or five years of clinical experience to evaluate and initiate treatment on a patient without a prescription or referral from an approved health care provider. The bills also state physical therapists must refer to an approved health care provider patients with certain conditions, including those with conditions beyond the scope of practice of physical therapy, as well as any patient who does not demonstrate measurable or functional improvement within ten visits or 30 days, whichever occurs first. I was happy to vote yes on SB 51 for expanding access to Physical Therapy, that bill was sent to the Governor in April. A similar bill that was also sent to the Governor, HB 115 & 99 ended up being more of a Christmas tree bill, which I couldn’t support.
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
