Signed by Governor Mike Parson

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote on a conference report to pass a bill that prohibits any public funds by any school district or by any officer, employee or agent of any school district to support or oppose the nomination or election of any candidate, ballot measure, committee or to pay debts or obligations of any candidate or committee.

Highlights:

• Defines "qualifying contribution" as a donation of cash, including, but not limited to, checks drawn on a banking institution located in the continental United States in U.S. dollars (other than cashier checks, or third-party checks exceeding $10,000), money orders, payroll deductions, and electronic fund transfers (Sec. 135.715-5).

• Prohibits a contribution or expenditure of public funds from being made directly by any officer, employee or agent of any political subdivision, including school districts and charter schools, to advocate, support, or oppose the passage or defeat of any ballot measure or the nomination or election of any candidate for public office, or to direct any public funds to, or pay any debts or obligations of, any committee supporting or opposing such ballot measures or candidates (Sec. A-115.646).

• Specifies the annual increase to the cumulative amount of tax credits will cease when the amount of tax credits reaches $50,000,000. The cumulative amount of tax credits that may be allocated to all taxpayers contributing to educational assistance organizations in the first year of the program will not exceed $25,000,000 (Sec. 135.715-1).

• Requires the state treasurer to limit the number of educational assistance organizations that are certified to administer scholarship accounts to no more than 10 such organizations in any single school year, with no more than 6 of such organizations having their principal place of business in (Sec. 135.715-2):

• A county of the first classification with more than 260,000 but fewer than 300,000 inhabitants;

• A county with a charter form of government and with more than 600,000 but fewer than 700,000 inhabitants;

• A county with a charter form of government and with more than 300,000 but fewer than 450,000 inhabitants;

• A county with a charter form of government and with more than 950,000 inhabitants; or

• A city not within a county.

• Authorizes the state treasurer to delegate any duties assigned to the state treasurer to the Missouri empowerment scholarship accounts board, which is hereby established (Sec. 135.715-3).

• Requires 4 percent of the total qualifying contributions received by each educational assistance organization per calendar year to be deposited in the Missouri empowerment scholarship accounts fund to be used by the state treasurer for marketing and administrative expenses or the costs incurred in administering the program, whichever is less (Sec. 135.715-4).

Full Bill Text