Tax cuts, restrictions on transgender youth on the agenda as Missouri legislature returns

The Missouri General Assembly is set to tackle a familiar set of priorities when they return to Jefferson City this week for the second half of their annual session.

Republican leaders in the House say they plan to make progress on additional tax cuts, while GOP senators appear poised to continue debating legislation banning gender-affirming care and restricting transgender student-athletes. Lawmakers will also begin to move the budget through both chambers, and hope remains that a deal can be made to legalize sports betting by the end of session in May.

Desire for tax cuts remains, but what form they take is uncertain

Last fall, the legislature returned to the Capitol for a special session and passed the largest income tax cut in the state's history, approving a series of gradual cuts that will bring the top individual rate down from 5.3% to 4.5%. It's the most recent cut approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly in the past several years, and appears unlikely to be the last.

Speaker of the House Dean Plocher told reporters before spring break that the chamber would be "looking at tax cuts" in the coming weeks, and didn't rule out which rates could be the target of cuts, though he singled out personal property tax in particular.

"I think we look at this globally, the whole universe of things we can do to make life better for Missourians," Plocher, a St. Louis Republican, said. "Certainly in November and December, when we get our personal property tax bills, I was flabbergasted how much it had gone up."

Costs on personal property, which for many families includes one or several vehicles, have increased due to economic circumstances, supply chain disruptions and particularly a shortage of vehicles. And though personal property taxes have caught the eye of Republicans early on in session, a wider package of cuts could end up being considered by the House.

"There's a big tax cut bill on the docket ... that will reduce our state's income tax further, eliminate income taxes on Social Security income for our state's seniors, and also hopefully phase out the state's corporate income tax, which would be a big boost to our business climate as well," said Rep. Alex Riley, a Springfield Republican.

Such a combination of cuts would address several longstanding priorities of members throughout the GOP caucuses, which have been proposed through separate pieces of legislation this year.

More:Missouri lawmakers passed an income tax cut starting this year. What does it mean for you?

Some conservative legislators have previously lobbied to eliminate or phase out the state's corporate income tax, which currently stands at 4%. A previous attempt to phase out the corporate tax was ditched last year after Gov. Mike Parson signaled he would not support it being attached to his requested income tax cuts. Advocates believe eliminating the tax would make Missouri a more desirable location for businesses, while opponents worry it could result in significant revenue loss while making a marginal difference in attracting companies.

Personal property tax cuts have already been the subject of debate in the Senate this year, but discussions stalled after members proposing adding an elimination of sales tax on groceries to the bill. The president of the Senate said afterwards that the cut on food tax would come at a "tremendous cost."

Several versions of legislation exempting Social Security income from tax have been proposed; they received a House committee hearing in January but have not advanced since then.

Many Democrats have previously opposed tax cuts pushed by Republicans, arguing the decline in revenue could hurt the state's ability to fund services and programs during future economic downturns. Those in the minority party that have been amenable to the cuts have urged for them to be targeted at more vulnerable populations, which would include a cut on grocery taxes.

"I'm not opposed to a tax cut, I'm not opposed to how we do a tax cut," Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo, a Democrat from Independence, said earlier this month. "If we are going to do that, I'd rather it affect the single mom, I'd rather it affect the family trying to make ends meet than give a billion dollars across the board."

Senate to revisit bill banning transgender health care

After the Senate adjourned a day early for break in the midst of tense negotiations, the chamber is expected to return to legislation that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

A joint statement issued by eight conservative Republicans, led by the sponsor of the bill Sen. Mike Moon of Ash Grove, last week indicated the group would continue to push for the legislation, which bans minors from being prescribed puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgical procedures for gender transitioning.

"This is not about procedural diplomacy," the group wrote in the statement. "This is not about legislative traditions. Protecting Missouri's children is not up for negotiation. The Missouri Senate must protect the most vulnerable Missourians from these predatory, unethical and inhumane practices."

The senators said they understand that "there is a commitment from our leadership to return to (the bill) immediately upon our return from legislative spring break." They are "prepared to use whatever tools and procedures necessary" to vote on the bill, which could include invoking a rare maneuver to cut off debate.

More:Missouri Senate goes home for break without vote on bill banning transgender health care

Democrats, who strongly oppose the legislation, held the floor and filibustered for two days. Sen. Greg Razer, a Kansas City Democrat, said if that maneuver was used, he would aim to grind the Senate to a halt and effective kill any and all legislative priorities for Republicans. The group of senators wrote they were "unmoved by threats to stall action on the state budget" or any other bills.

Though the House has held hearings on similar bills and advanced them to the floor for debate, Plocher indicated he would likely wait for a deal to be reached there.

"If the Senate can't get it done, we will get it done," he said. "We just haven't turned the burner on yet, and I don't think there's a need to until the Senate demonstrates its inability to do something or its ability to do something, which is coming close. So we'll probably do something quickly if one decision is made one way or another."

State budget, sports betting and more

Here's what else the legislature is expected to tackle in the coming weeks:

• The state budget. The House committee's budget proposal, based off of the governor's recommendations, will soon go through its final changes before heading to the floor for debate and amendments. Then it heads to the Senate, where any number of big changes can be made. What should you watch for? Big improvements to infrastructure, particularly Missouri's major interstates; whether lawmakers choose to continue investing money to give teachers pay raises; and how other money is allocated after a record-high budget fueled by federal dollars last year.

• Sports betting. Members on both sides desperately want this across the finish line by the end of session, but one senator's insistence that regulations on video lottery terminals be included in the proposal is proving an obstacle. If a deal can be struck on that front, there appears to be little standing in the way of legalized sports betting this year. But that's a big if.

More:What's going on with sports betting in Missouri? Here's the latest on efforts to legalize

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Tax cuts, transgender health care ban on tap for Missouri lawmakers