By the time this is published, the 2024 Regular Session of the Missouri General Assembly will be over. Adjournment was on May 17 at 6:00 p.m. At this point in the session (May 5), there were two weeks left and two major issues still in the balance: the state’s $50-billion-plus budget and the FRA tax renewal. The constitution required the budget bill to be passed by 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 10. The FRA, the health provider self-imposed tax that is used to pull down federal Medicaid dollars, was due by May 17 at 6:00 p.m.

Each needed to pass or the budget was out of balance, and Medicaid as we know it in Missouri would have been non-existent. If either didn’t get done by their respective deadlines, we were looking at a special legislative session.

As for banking issues, we got some good news: HB 1803, sponsored by Rep. Terry Thompson and Sen. Sandy Crawford, was passed in early April. HB 1803 is the increase in the MoBucks program cap. The current cap is $800 million. The new cap is $1.2 billion.

In these last two weeks, there are several things we know for sure: 1) The Senate will be tied up working on the FRA, State Budget and Initiative Petition change legislation; 2) it is doubtful many, if any, of the 70-plus House bills passed over to the Senate will pass; and 3) the credit union expansion bill (HB 2452) sponsored by Rep. West is dead for 2024.

As always, it has been a pleasure for Andrew and me to represent MIBA with the members of the Missouri legislature. We also want to thank MIBA Executive Director Matt Ruge and his staff for their guidance on issues and continued support. Their knowledge and expertise of the community banking business are invaluable in helping us determine how to position MIBA on the issues.