Health care for new mothers, marijuana banking among final bills signed by Gov. Parson

Gov. Mike Parson signed the remaining bills approved during the 2023 legislative session into law on Thursday. Among these were provisions extending health care benefits for new mothers, establishing educational grant programs for doctors and offering tax credits for advanced employee credentials.

The Missouri General Assembly passed 43 bills this year, the lowest output of any full session in two decades. Progress was hampered by filibusters and an inability to compromise on some matters.

Parson signed 31 pieces of legislation into law Thursday, but vetoed one bill related to public safety. Although the governor supported several items in SB 189, he disagreed with a measure that would have increased payment to wrongly convicted criminals who were later released.

"SB 189 contains many public safety measures that we support and would like to sign into law, including Blair's Law, Max's Law, increased penalties for violent repeat offenders and gun crimes, and strengthening the public defender system," Parson said in a release. "However, in this case, these unintended consequences unfortunately outweigh the good.”

Health care legislation aims to keep doctors in Missouri

Legislators came to an agreement on some key provisions related to the health care industry in Missouri, including extending postpartum benefits, educational grants, new residency opportunities for medical students and simplifying the transfer of professional licenses.

From 2018-2020, Missouri ranked 12th in the nation in maternal mortality, with about 25 maternal deaths per 100,000 births. Legislation aimed at addressing this was among the bills signed by Parson.

More: Study: US maternal deaths more than doubled in 20 years. Here's what that looks like in MO

New mothers receiving health care benefits from Medicaid will receive benefits for up to a year under newly signed legislation. This expands the previous coverage window, which was effective for 60 days after the birth of a child.

Missouri has long struggled to retain many of its medical school graduates through in-state residency programs. A 2018 report from the National Residency Matching Program shows that there were only 725 residencies available for about 1,000 medical school graduates from Missouri programs.

Bipartisan legislation aims to address this shortage by offering grants not exceeding $100,000 to medical school graduates seeking to complete their training in the state.

In an effort to address the shortage of primary care doctors in the state, new legislation would also fully fund three-year residencies in family medicine, general pediatrics and internal medicine.

Another measure signed into law by Gov. Parson was the implementation of transitional benefits for recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Aid for Needy Families. This aims to bridge the gap found when income increases cause families to lose their food stamp benefits.

Training grants, marijuana finances and tax credits for film

Many employers have job vacancies, but some of the open positions require advanced training or credentials. One bill creates a short-term credentialing program for workers wanting to improve their skills and move up within the company.

This piece of legislation would allow an employer to claim a tax credit to offset the cost of funding or allowing employees to take time off to gain advanced certifications.

For those working in the cannabis industry, new hiring requirements will now be imposed. Applicants must submit to fingerprinting and background checks before being hired for any positions relating to the sale or cultivation of marijuana.

However, cannabis firms will benefit from a new law which eases the accessibility of banking services. Since marijuana remains federally illegal, many banks are leery of doing business with companies in this industry.

More: Wednesday is the last day for Springfield voters to register for marijuana tax election

After Missouri was passed over as the filming location for shows fictionally based in the state, like Netflix's “Ozark,” legislators approved legislation aimed at enticing entertainment productions to the state. The state will now issue tax credits for “qualified motion media production projects” in Missouri.

Also, this bill allows Missouri taxpayers working in the entertainment industry to claim a tax credit for expense incurred for rehearsals and tours.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: mike parson signs bills health care education grants tax credits