To the Constituents of the 125th District,

The House of Representatives passed several pieces out of the House and sent to the Senate this week, two especially important that could benefit the citizens of Missouri. The first being a tax relief package that would give back to the citizens of the state who paid Missouri income tax in 2021, up to $500.00 per individual and $1000.00 for couples. We also sent the Senate a Parents Bill of Rights. As I stated last week, this is not such a problem in our rural schools but has become a problem in some schools and felt it needed to be addressed. Only 3 weeks left in this year’s session, it sure has flown by.
House Approves Tax Relief Package for Missouri Taxpayers (HB 3021)
Missourians who pay income tax are one step closer to receiving substantive relief from their income tax burden. The Missouri House of Representatives this week approved legislation to create a one-time economic recovery tax credit for Missouri residents who paid personal income tax in the state for 2021.
The sponsor told his colleagues, “This is an attempt to offset some of the tax burden for those state income taxpayers at a time where I think that they could use the money much better than the state government can.”
HB 3021 will appropriate $1 billion from the state’s General Revenue Fund to fund a one-time economic recovery non-refundable tax credit. Under the plan, anyone filing an individual Missouri personal income tax return would receive a credit equal to their tax liability up to $500. Married couples filing jointly would receive up to a $1,000 credit. The credit is limited to individuals who were a Missouri resident for the entire tax year.
Parents’ Bill of Rights Heads to Senate (HB 1858)
Legislation is now on its way to the Senate that would create the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act of 2022.
The bill’s sponsor said his legislation is “really about transparency in public education. It’s about recognition of the fact that parents are the ultimate authority when it comes to the direction of the education of their children.”
He added, “This bill is for every parent who might have been ignored at a school board meeting and not listened to, and purposefully relegated to sit in silence as business was done. This is about those who have concerns about the content of the classroom, and classroom materials; what is being put in front of their child in the classroom.” The bill will provide a list of rights that parents may require school districts to follow. Some of the parental rights outlined in the bill include the right to review curricula, books and instructional materials; the right to visit school during school hours with restrictions; and the right to have sufficient accountability and transparency regarding school boards.
Additionally, the bill specifies that no school or school employee can compel a teacher or student to personally adopt or affirm ideas in violation of Title IV or Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. This would include ideas such as individuals of any race, ethnicity, color, or national origin are inherently superior or inferior; or that individuals, by virtue of their race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, bear collective guilt and are inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, ethnicity, color, or national origin.
I am honored to serve as your Representative in the Missouri House. If at any time, you have questions, concerns or ideas regarding state government, please feel free to contact me at 573-751-4065 or Jim.Kalberloh@house.mo.gov.
State Representative Jim Kalberloh