A proposal to add $500,000 to Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s budget was not approved by the Senate, so no new hires in the Solicitor General unit of his office.
And a lot of things can still happen between now and the end of session at 6 p.m. Friday, May 13, according to Rep. Brad Hudson (R-Cape Fair), who was behind the effort to increase the AG's budget
The Missouri House of Representatives had approved adding the half million to Schmitt's budget, however the Senate Appropriations Committee approved Vice-Chairman Lincoln Hough (R-Springfield)’s proposal to cut it out. House and Senate members conferenced the Senate committee’s decision last week.
“We sent the state budget to the governor's desk last Friday and that $500,000 didn't make it out of conference,” Hudson said. “The Senate position was held. We didn't have the votes in conference to keep that $500,000.”
The $47 billion budget approved last week must now be signed by Gov. Mike Parson by July 1.
Hudson has mixed feelings about the budget, which is the largest in state history, according to media reports.
“There's just no way I can look at that much money and say that I'm completely happy or completely unhappy,” he said. “That’s a lot of money and more money than we've ever spent in my time here that I'm aware of. It's huge. So, I do have some concerns. There are some items in it that I wouldn't necessarily support but there are some items in it that I do support.”
With the last day of the legislative session looming on Friday, May 13, lawmakers have been busy reviewing bills in hearings and conferences.
"We've been working on SB 908, which has to do with taxation," Hudson said. "I actually got an amendment on that bill. So, I'm hoping it gets across the finish line. My amendment helps protect personal property owners from an increase in personal property taxes on cars, trucks, and that sort of thing."
HB 1692, an anti-vaccination bill that was approved by the House on April 25, has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence but a hearing has not been scheduled, according to Hudson.
“Anything can happen and things can move quickly if enough people get behind it in this building but typically the way things work, if the language that is in HB 1692 were to become law this year, it would have to be because it was amended onto something else to become law,” he said.
If HB 1692 is approved before the deadline, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce has argued that it would provide an avenue for businesses that require vaccination of their employees to be sued.
“I'd be surprised to see it make it across the finish line," Hudson added.
Senate Bill 631, which would have shortened Missouri’s statute of limitations from five years to three years, is on the Senate calendar but has not yet been approved by the House.
“If it's going to pass, it would have to be attached to something,” Hudson said. “The bill itself is just not that far along in the process but anything is possible if you've got a legislator that is willing to do it and you've got a vehicle that it would fit on. There are a lot of things that can be attached to legislation between now and 6 o'clock Friday.”