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Please join us at one of our cocktail receptions to celebrate and help us continue our legacy of creating opportunity for every Missourian.

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Many Thanks to Our Sponsors:

AARP ♦  Abortion Action Missouri  ♦  Aligned  ♦  BJC HealthCare ♦ Children’s Trust Fund  ♦  Clay County Children’s Services ♦ Empower Missouri  ♦  Dr. & Mrs. William M. Fogarty, Jr.  ♦  Health Forward Foundation ♦ Heartland Alliance for Progress ♦ Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis  ♦ Kids Win Missouri ♦ LaFaver & Associates  ♦  League of Women Voters ♦  Mary Ellen Carter Foundation ♦ Maxine Clark and Bob Fox ♦ Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2) ♦ Missouri Association of Area Agencies on Aging ♦ Missouri Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics ♦ Missouri Coalition for Children ♦ Missouri Coalition for Oral Health ♦ Missouri Family Health Council ♦ Missouri Foundation for Health ♦ Missouri Jobs with Justice  ♦   Missouri National Education Association  ♦  Missouri Primary Care Association  ♦  National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis  ♦  Nexus Group ♦ Paraquad  ♦  Planned Parenthood Great Plains ♦ Platform Civic Strategies ♦ Bill & Bev Ricker  ♦  Steve & Judi Roling  ♦ Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center ♦ Show Me Strong Families Parents as Teachers Affiliates ♦ William F. Siedhoff Foundation ♦ StratCommRX ♦ Synergy Services ♦ The Penman Group ♦ The Family and Community Trust ♦ Sidney Watson, J.D. ♦ Ed Weisbart, MD ♦ WEPOWER

Missouri Budget Project’s 20th anniversary affords us an opportunity to reflect on our work and its impact on Missourians and express gratitude for our partners – without whom we would not be able to succeed. Our work together is building a foundation upon which every Missourian can thrive.

Examples of MBP’s Recent Impacts

In the last five years alone, working together we’ve:

+ Expanded Medicaid, making health care coverage available for more than 340,000 Missourians.

+ Created the Missouri Working Families Tax Credit (EITC) and implemented the Wayfair Fix. Both policies will make Missouri’s tax structure a little bit fairer, particularly for the 250,000 families with 409,000 children who will benefit from the EITC.

+ Expanded Postpartum Coverage, helping thousands of moms access the care they need to thrive at parenting.

+ Leveraged billions of federal dollars for investments in Missouri, benefitting education, child care, health and mental health, senior services and infrastructure. These funds will have reverberating positive impacts for Missourians for decades to come. 

+ Fought back efforts to undermine Medicaid, cut the corporate income tax, and proposals to erode our growth toward diversity, equity and inclusion.

More Than 200 Organizations Oppose Dangerous DEI Language in Budget
(as of April 24th, 2023)

We believe this language will result in wide-ranging consequences that would undermine lawmakers’ economic and workforce priorities and urge you to remove it from the budget bills.  The budget language would jeopardize licensing and accreditation of programs critical to both the wellbeing of Missourians and our state’s economic competitiveness.

April 2023

To Members of the Senate:

We are writing to share concerns about language the House of Representatives added to the Fiscal Year 2024 budget bills. Specifically, the language of concern would prohibit funding from being used for staffing, programs and vendors associated with diversity, equity and inclusion. We believe this language will result in wide-ranging consequences that would undermine lawmakers’ economic and workforce priorities and urge you to remove it from the budget bills.

The broad language added to the bills raises questions about its practical application and how it would impact an array of services and programs that the state provides – including those critical to lawmakers’ economic and workforce priorities.

The language reads:

No funds shall be expended for staffing, vendors, consultants, or programs associated with “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,” or “Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging,” or any other initiative which similarly promotes: 1) the preferential treatment of any individual or group of individuals based upon race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, national origin, or ancestry; 2) the concept that disparities are necessarily tied to oppression; 3) collective guilt ideologies; 4) intersectional or divisive identity activism; or, 5) the limiting of freedom of conscience, thought, or speech. This does not prohibit the department from following federal and state employment and anti-discrimination laws.

However, multiple programs and services offered in Missouri are either required by their accrediting bodies to incorporate the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion into their programs, or are specifically designed to ameliorate longstanding disparities in health and economic outcomes. The budget language would jeopardize licensing and accreditation of programs critical to both the wellbeing of Missourians and our state’s economic competitiveness. For instance:

• Many nonprofit child welfare organizations, health and mental health service providers, and others with whom Missouri contracts to provide services are required through their national accrediting organizations to provide programming that incorporates diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to risks to accreditation, failure to meet those standards could result in the loss of federal funding as well as private funding from foundations.
  
• Similarly, the national bodies accrediting professional education programs like those for teachers, social workers, psychiatrists, nurses and other health professionals are also required to incorporate training in diversity, equity and inclusion. Not only would the added budget language jeopardize the accreditation of these programs at Missouri’s public colleges and universities, but the licensure of new professionals could be at risk.
  

Moreover, we recognize that Missourians continue to face deep disparities in their health and economic outcomes based on race. While white workers in Missouri earn an average of $65,820 per year, Hispanic workers earn $53,178 and Black workers earn just $41,132 annually. While 33% of white Missourians have a college degree, only 21% of Black Missourians and 23% of Hispanic Missourians complete college. Missouri has one of the highest rates in the nation of premature death among Black residents, and Black moms in Missouri face a maternal mortality rate that is three times that of white moms. As long as these disparities exist in Missouri, we should not dampen efforts that would seek to understand and address them.

Unfortunately, the added budget language would likely conflict with several existing efforts, threatening:

• Targeted workforce and economic development programs,
• State contracts with vendors to provide services, including minority-owned businesses and other private companies,
• Department of Health programs targeted based on demographic factors, and
• Missouri Department of Public Safety’s continuing education for law enforcement that includes education in racial profiling and implicit bias.

There are likely additional consequences related to state contracts with private companies, hiring and employment standards that are not mentioned here, but which could also have far-reaching implications.

The added budget language would severely hamper Missouri’s workforce development and economic competitiveness, and we again encourage you to remove the concerning language from all of the budget bills.

We oppose any efforts that would put language aimed at dampening diversity, equity and inclusion into state law.

Respectfully,

Jay Hardenbrook, Advocacy Director, AARP Missouri, Kansas City, MO

Tori Schafer, ACLU of Missouri, St. Louis, MO

Dr. Kendra Holmes, President & CEO, Affinia Healthcare, St. Louis, MO

Tressa Price, Executive Director, Agape House Inc of Mountain View, Mountain View, MO

Lisa Knoll, CEO, Aging Ahead, St. Louis, MO

Erma Berry, AKA Omicron Theta Omega Chapter, Bridgeton, MO

Jennifer Brinkmann, President, Alive and Well Communities, St. Louis, MO

Dr. Maya Moody D.O., President, American Academy of Pediatrics – Missouri Chapter, Jefferson City, MO

Daniel Goodenberger, MD, Governor, American College of Physicians –

Missouri Chapter, Jefferson City, MO

Starla Brennan, Executive Director, Amethyst Place, Inc., Kansas City, MO

Keisha Lee, CEO, Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center, St. Louis, MO

Paula Howell, APO, Springfield, MO

Sara Ruiz, Executive Director, Ashrei Foundation, St. Louis, MO

Fred Rottnek, MD, Medical Director, Assisted Recovery Centers of America, St. Louis, MO

Wendy Orson, CEO, Behavioral Health Network of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Chris Krehmeyer, President & CEO, Beyond Housing, St., Louis, MO

Richard Liekweg, President & CEO, BJC HealthCare, St. Louis, MO

Lakshmi Komatreddy, Project Manager, Black & Veatch

Dr. Cokethea Hill, CEO, BLAQUE KC, Kansas City, MO

Emily Kohring, Executive Director, Bread and Roses Missouri, Saint Louis, MO

Jasmine Hall Ratliff, Executive Director, Build Missouri Health, St. Louis, MO

Eric Williams, Executive Director, Calvary Community Outreach Network, Kansas City, MO

Angela Clabon, President & CEO, CareSTL Health, St.Louis, MO

Barbara Wright, Executive Director, Carthage Area United Way, Cathage, MO

Puneet Leekha, Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel, Chestnut Health Systems, Hillsboro, MO

Rochelle Parker, President & CEO, Child Abuse Prevention Association, Independence, MO

Kristina Jones, Vice President of Programs, Child Abuse Prevention Association, Kansas City, MO

Jen Leek, Child & Family Services Director, Wendy Brazeal, Forensic Interviewer, Nicole McKinney, Forensic Interviewer, Shaina Naegele, Forensic Interviewer, Brittany Rhodes, Forensic Interviewer, Susan M. Williams, Development Director, Child Advocacy Center, Springfield, MO              

Lisa Mizell, President & CEO, Child Protection Center, Inc., Kansas City, MO

Megan Marietta, Director of Programming, Children’s Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Kimberly Kemerer, Executive Director, Children’s Advocacy Center of East Central Missouri, Festus, MO

Lori Jones, Development, Children’s Center of SWMO, Joplin, MO

Rob Whitten, Chief Executive Officer, Children’s Services Fund of Jackson County, Kansas City, MO

Emily van Schenkhof, Executive Director, Children’s Trust Fund, Jefferson City, MO

Thomas L Rodebaugh, Professor and Director of Clinical Training, Clinical Science Program, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO

Maggie Hourd-Bryant, Executive Director, Communities First, St Louis, MO

Bruce A. Eddy PhD, Executive Director, Community Mental Health Fund, Kansas City, MO

Janet Dankert, President & CEO, David Cook, Board Member, Community Partnership of the Ozarks, Springfield, MO

Doug Cowan, President & CEO, Community Services League, Independence, MO

Charlie O’Reilly, Concerned Citizen, Nixa, MO

David O’Reilly, Concerned Citizen, Springfield, MO

Maxine Clark, Concerned Citizen, St. Louis, MO

Ellie Richter, Connections Speech and Language Therapy, St. Charles, MO

Sandra Padgett, Executive Director, Consumers Council of Missouri, St Louis, MO

Monique Thomas, Executive Director, Cornerstone Corporation, St. Louis, MO

Merideth Rose, President and CEO, Cornerstones of Care, Kansas City, MO

Martha Sander, Executive Director, Council on Families in Crisis, Inc., Nevada, MO

Audrey Ellermann, Covenant Blu Grand Center Neighborhood, St. Louis, MO

Kimberly Shinn-Brown, Creekside Farm, Republic, MO

Katie Dalton, Executive Director, Crime Victim Advocacy Center, St. Louis, MO

Constance Harper, Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, & Strategic Initiatives, Deaconess Foundation, St. Louis, MO

Donna Smith-Pupillo, Deaconess Nurse Ministry, Bridgeton, MO

Jim Ruedin, Executive Director, Delta Center, St. Peters, MO

Michael V. Smith, Endowed Professor of Music Education, Des Lee Fine Arts Education Collaborative, St. Louis, MO

Ronika Moody, CEO, Distinct Consulting Services, LLC., St. Louis, MO

Douglas Aaron Freeman, Owner, Douglas A. Freeman Consulting, Chesterfield, MO

Amy Blansit, CEO, Drew Lewis Foundation, Springfield, MO

Deidre Anderson, CEO, EarlystART, Kansas City, MO     

Lucia Obergoenner, WHNP-BC, East Missouri Action Agency, Park Hills, MO     

Shelley Moore, ECH Every Child’s Hope, Saint Louis, MO

Deborah Mann, Executive Director, Emmanuel Family & Child Development Center, Kansas City, MO

Mallory Rusch, Executive Director, Holly Honig, Policy Director, Empower Missouri, Jefferson City, MO

Rev. Emma Holley, Faith Des Peres Presbyterian Church, Frontenac, MO

Cheri Tillis, CEO, Fathers & Families Support Center, St. Louis, MO

Julie Lock, Food Outreach, St. Louis, MO

Lori Ross, CEO, FosterAdopt Connect, Independence, MO

Annie Foncannon, Executive Director, Franklin County Children and Families Community Resource Board, Union, MO

Lester Gillespie, CEO, Fresh Start Self Improvement Center, Charleston, MO

Je T’aime Taylor, Executive Director, Front Porch Alliance – Kansas City, Kansas City, MO

Clyde McQueen, President & CEO, Full Employment Council, Kansas City, MO

Katie Rahn, Executive Director, Gateway Early Childhood Alliance, St. Louis, MO

Cynthia Duffe, Executive Director, Gateway Housing First, St. Louis, MO

Kendra Copanas, Generate Health STL, St. Louis, MO

Dionne Ferguson, Executive Director, Good Journey Development Foundation, St. Louis, MO

Marcus Howard, Chief Executive Officer, Greater Health Pharmacy & Wellness, St. Louis, MO

Reona Wise, President & CEO, Guardian Angel Settlement Association, St. Louis, MO

McClain Bryant Macklin, Vice President of Policy and Impact, Health Forward Foundation, Kansas City, MO

Sarah Starnes, Heartland Alliance for Progress, Kansas City, MO

Tom Lally, President & CEO, Hillcrest Ministries of MidAmerica, Inc., Kansas City, MO

Rachel Pozzo, Adult Program Coordinator, Immigrant Home English Learning Program, St. Louis, MO

Gabby Eissner, Community Organizer, Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America, St. Louis, MO

Angie Blumel, President & CEO, Jackson County CASA, Kansas City, MO

Ellen Scholten, Site Director JCC, Jewish Community Center, St. Louis, MO

Jane Callahan, Executive Director, JF Roblee Foundation, St. Louis, MO

Crystal Faris, Deputy Director Youth & Family Engagement, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, MO

Wil Franklin, CEO, KC CARE Health Center, Kansas City, MO

Brian Schmidt, Executive Director, Kids Win Missouri, Ballwin, MO

Susana Elizarraraz, Deputy Director, Latinx Education Collaborative, Kansas City, MO

Karina Arango, Director of Advocacy, League of Student Advocates, St. Louis, MO

Marilyn McLeod, President, Louise T. Wilkerson, Vice President, League of Women Voters of Missouri, St. Louis, MO

Scott Walker, President & CEO, LifeWise StL, St. Louis, MO

Eston Mayfield, Director, Little Whitewater Baptist Church Food Pantry, Patton, MO              

Anna Jordan-Douglass, Owner, Makefully, LLC, Kansas City, MO

Erin Coppenbarger, Manager, Maternal & Infant Health Initiatives, March of Dimes, Saint Peters, MO

Emily Stuart, Marillac Mission Fund, St. Louis, MO

John Fierro, President & CEO, Mattie Rhodes Center, Kansas City, MO

Suzanne King, President & CEO, Mental Health America of Eastern Missouri, St. Louis, MO

Katie Rodman, Vice President of Development, Mental Health Association of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Lora McDonald, Executive Director, Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, Kansas City, MO

Rev. David Gerth, Executive Director, Metropolitan Congregations United, St Louis, MO

Scott Meier, National Sales Manager, Mid-West Family Broadcasting, Springfield, MO

Kathy Pabst, Executive Director, Missouri Academy of Family Physicians, Jefferson City, MO

Jake Hummel, President, Missouri AFL-CIO, Jefferson City, MO

Hong Chartrand, AHEC Program Director, Missouri AHEC Network, Kirksville, MO

Phyllis Pasley, Executive Director, Andrea Branstetter, Missouri Alliance for Arts Education, Maryland Heights, MO

Karrie Snider, President, Missouri Association for the Education of Young Children, Lee’s Summit, MO

Julie Peetz, Executive Director, Missouri Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Jefferson City, MO

Mario Millsap, MSOT, OTR/L, President, Missouri Black Occupational Therapy Caucus

Amy Blouin, President & CEO, Missouri Budget Project, St. Louis, MO

Cheryl Robb-Welch, CEO, Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (MOCADSV), Jefferson City, MO

Mary Chant, Executive Director, Missouri Coalition for Children, Jefferson City, MO

Alice Bloch, Missouri Dance Organization, St. Louis, MO

Vicky Davidson, Executive Director, Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council, Jefferson City, MO

Tracey Bloch, Legislative Director, Missouri Disability Empowerment Foundation, Rolla, MO

Mandy Hagseth, Director of Policy and External Affairs, Missouri Family Health Council, Jefferson City, MO

KJ McDonald, Organizing Director, Missouri Health Care for All, St. Louis, MO

Richard von Glahn, Political Director, Missouri Jobs with Justice, St. Louis, MO

Jessica Seitz, Executive Director, Missouri KidsFirst, Jefferson City, MO

DeeAnn Aull, Executive Director, Missouri NEA, Jefferson City, MO

Heidi N. Lucas, Executive Director, Missouri Nurses Association, Jefferson City, MO

Missouri Occupational Therapy Association (MOTA), Columbia, MO

Nikole J Cronk, PhD, President, Missouri Psychological Association, Columbia, MO

Carla Wiese, President, Missouri PTA, Columbia, MO

Sandra Boeckman, Executive Director, Missouri Public Health Association, Jefferson City, MO

Rhonda Perry, Executive Director, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, Columbia, MO

Tim Shryack, Board President, Missouri Rural Health Association, Jefferson City, MO

Karen Gridley, Executive Director, Missouri Statewide Independent Living Council, Kansas City, MO

Teri Turner, Advocacy Chair, Jennifer Forrest-James, Missouri Thespians, Ballwin, MO

Julie Donelon, President & CEO, MOCSA, Kansas City, MO

Angel McDonald, Executive Director, Mother’s Refuge, Independence, MO

Aya Kawasaki, Multicultural Counseling and Research Center, St. Louis, MO

Christine Patterson, Executive Director, Christina Gesmundo Simon, Vice President, NAMI St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Rev. Jenn Simmons, National Avenue Christian Church, Springfield, MO

Amy Kuo Hammerman, State Policy Advocacy Chair; Jen Bernstein, Advocacy Manager, National Council of Jewish Women – St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Anna Meyer, Senior Manager of Grassroots Advocacy, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Creve Coeur, MO

Courtney Thomas, Newhouse, Kansas City, MO

Verna Kelsey, Executive Director, North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center, Trenton, MO

Linda Mattson, Executive Director, North Star Advocacy Center, Maryville, MO

Melinda Monroe, CEO, Nurses for Newborns, Saint Louis, MO

Tracy Russell, Executive Director, Nurture KC, Kansas City, MO

Mary Esselman, President & CEO, Operation Breakthrough, Kansas City, MO

Kristen Wild, President & CEO, Operation Food Search, St. Louis, MO

Tim O’Reilly, CEO, O’Reilly Hospitality Management, LLC, Springfield, Missouri

Velta Smith, Organization for Black Struggle, St. Louis, MO

P. Scott Hummel, MSW, PhD, Executive Director, Our Little Haven, St. Louis, MO

Jennifer Olson, Executive Director, Sara Villines-Patterson, CSBG Project Coordinator, Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation, Springfield, MO

Aimee Wehmeier, President, Paraquad, Inc., St. Louis, MO

Alison Gee, Vice President, Government & Community Engagement, Parents as Teachers, St. Louis, MO

Demaris Ridgell, Patient Advisory Board, St.  Ann, MO

Leslie Peck, Pecks Insurance and Financial Services, Inc., Springfield, MO

Mark Sanford, Executive Director, People’s Community Action Corporation, St. Louis, MO

Ed Weisbart, MD, Physicians for a National Health Program – MO Chapter, Olivette, MO

Vanessa Wellbery, Planned Parenthood Advocates of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, St. Louis, MO

La’Shana Torello, Health Center Manager, Kourtney Vincent-Woodbury, VP of Equity and Community Relations, Planned Parenthood Great Plains

Terry Flowers, PNHP, Independence, MO

LJ Punch, Executive Director, Power4STL, St. Louis, MO

Maggie Olivia, Pro Choice Missouri, St. Louis, MO

Anne Kraus, Manager of Public Policy and Advocacy, PROMO, Saint Louis, MO

Katie Heiden-Rootes, PhD, Queer & Trans Wellness Clinic, St. Louis, MO

Brenda Porter, CAC Director, Rainbow House Regional Child Advocacy Center, Columbia, MO

Brenda Sharpe, President & CEO, REACH Healthcare Foundation

Bre-Ann Slay, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Reflect to Connect Psychology, LLC, Kansas City, MO

Emily Macdonald, Executive Director, Regional Family Crisis Center, Perryville, MO

Christy Moreno, Chief Community Advocacy & Impact Officer, Revolución Educativa, Kansas City, MO

LaDonna Williams, Executive Director, Rural Advocates For Independent Living, Kirksville, MO

Cynthia Danley, CEO, Safe Connections, St. Louis, MO

Jessica Hill, Executive Director, Safe House of Southeast Missouri, Cape Girardeau, MO

Dr. Kanika Cunningham, Saint Louis County Department of Public Health, Berkeley, MO

Marshaun R. Butler, MHSA, Vice President & Administrator, Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, Crittenton Children’s Center, Kansas City, MO

Donna Thompson, Executive Director, SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, Cape Girardeau, MO

Sister Carol Boschert, Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, MO, O’Fallon, MO

Rebel Lillo, RMA, South Central Child Advocacy Center, West Plains, MO

Kendra Eads, Executive Director, Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence, Jackson, MO

William Palmer, Advocacy Chair, Speech and Theatre Association of Missouri, Lee’s Summit, MO

Dede Coughlin, St. Cronan Church, St. Louis, MO

Mark A. Keeley, President & CEO, St. Louis Arc, St. Louis, MO

Muriel Smith, Executive Director, St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, St. Louis, MO

Jessica Gerfen, St. Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute, St. Louis, MO

Elizabeth George, Director of Community Investment, St. Louis Community Foundation, St. Louis, MO

Luka Cai, Executive Director, St. Louis Queer+ Support Helpline, St. Louis, MO

Angela Brown, CEO, St. Louis Regional Health Commission, St. Louis, MO

Dr. Jumesha Wade, Start at Zero, Kansas City, MO

Stephanie Boydston, Executive Director, STW Charities, Kansas City, MO

Marsha Keene-Frye, CEO, Connor Bryars, Community Development Director, Reva Jones, Community Violence Prevention Educator, Nikole Keene, Director of Victim Services, Willie Epps, Hiset Instructor, Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center, Charleston, MO

Evelyn Johnston, ABE Secretary, Holli Childers, Crime Victim Advocate, Susanna Wesley Family Learning Center, East Prairie, MO

Robin Winner, Co-Executive Director, Tiffani Clark, CAC Director, Synergy Services, Inc, Parkville, MO

Julie Seymore, Executive Director, The Child Advocacy Center of Northeast Missouri, Wentzville, MO

Nicole McKinney, Forensic Interviewer, Shaina Naegele, Forensic Interviewer, The Child Advocacy Center, Inc., Springfield, MO

Paula Neth, President and CEO, The Family Conservancy, Kansas City, MO

Brian Herstig, President & CEO, The Jewish Federation of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Dave Almeida, Regional Director – State Government Affairs, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Jillian Meriweather, Principal Owner, The Meriweather Group, Kansas City, MO

Will Jordan, Executive Director, Marissa Cohen, Director of Education, Outreach, and Advocacy, The Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing & Opportunity Council, St. Louis, MO

Michele Utt, The Missouri Association for Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health (MOAIMH-EC), Kansas City, MO

Emily Stuckey, The National Peer Recovery Alliance, Lake Saint Louis, MO

Dayna M. Stock, CEO, The Rome Group, St. Louis, MO

Faith Sandler, Executive Director, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Michael Soodjinda, CEO, The Whole Person Inc., Kansas City, MO

Tonya Lewis, Executive Director, Tri-County Center for Independent Living, Rolla, MO

Deanna Finch, Executive Director, United 4 Children, St Louis, MO

Elizabeth Shelton, Executive Director, Robin Koetting, Read to Succeed Program Manager, United Way of Southeast Missouri, Cape Girardeau, MO

Greg Burris, President & CEO, United Way of the Ozarks, Springfield, MO

Darlene Sowell President & CEO, Unleashing Potential, St Louis, MO

Alexandra Rankin, Associate Director of State Policy, Upstream USA

Matt Pagnotti, State & Local Government Relations Director, Vivent Health

Alleigh Emmendorfer, Voices for Children, Cape Girardeau, MO

Sharon Hileman, Executive Director, Voices for Children/CASA of Southeast Missouri, Cape Girardeau, MO

Marjorie Moore, Executive Director, VOYCE, St. Louis, MO

Shaashawn Dial, Voycetress Media LLC, Columbia, MO

Sabrina Davis APRN-PMHNP, MSN, Executive Director, WalkNFaith, Saint Louis, MO

Tammy Buckner, CEO, WeCode KC, Kansas City, MO

Rev. Dr. Mark R. Miller, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Saint Louis, MO

Christina Donald, Senior Vice President, Programs and Advocacy, Wyman, Eureka, MO

Pat Holterman-Hommes, CEO, Youth In Need, Inc., Saint Charles, MO

Danielle Stewart, YWCA Head Start, Saint Louis, MO

In March, the Missouri House added anti-diversity language to the Fiscal Year 2024 budget bills that would have wide-ranging consequences and undermine lawmakers’ economic and workforce priorities.

The language is very broad, raising questions about its practical application and how it would impact an array of services and programs that the state provides. It reads:

No funds shall be expended for staffing, vendors, consultants, or programs associated with “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,” or “Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging,” or any other initiative which similarly promotes: 1) the preferential treatment of any individual or group of individuals based upon race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, national origin, or ancestry; 2) the concept that disparities are necessarily tied to oppression; 3) collective guilt ideologies; 4) intersectional or divisive identity activism; or, 5) the limiting of freedom of conscience, thought, or speech. This does not prohibit the department from following federal and state employment and anti-discrimination laws.

However, multiple programs and services offered in Missouri are either required by their accrediting bodies to incorporate the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion into their programs, or are specifically designed to ameliorate longstanding disparities in health and economic outcomes. The budget language would jeopardize licensing and accreditation of programs critical to both the wellbeing of Missourians and our state’s economic competitiveness by placing billions of dollars at risk. For instance:

• Many nonprofit child welfare organizations, health and mental health service providers, and others with whom Missouri contracts to provide services are required through their national accrediting organizations to provide programming that incorporates diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to risks to accreditation, failure to meet those standards could result in the loss of federal funding as well as private funding from foundations.
• Similarly, the national bodies accrediting professional education programs like those for teachers, social workers, psychiatrists, nurses and other health professionals are also required to incorporate training in diversity, equity and inclusion. Not only would the added budget language jeopardize the accreditation of these programs at Missouri’s public colleges and universities, but the licensure of new professionals could be at risk.

Moreover, Missourians continue to face deep disparities in their health and economic outcomes based on race.

• While white workers in Missouri earn an average of $65,820 per year, Hispanic workers earn $53,178 and Black workers earn just $41,132 annually.
• While 33% of white Missourians have a college degree, only 21% of Black Missourians and 23% of Hispanic Missourians complete college.
• Missouri has one of the highest rates in the nation of premature death among Black residents, and Black moms in Missouri face a maternal mortality rate that is three times that of white moms.

As long as these disparities exist in Missouri, we should not dampen efforts that would seek to understand and address them.

Unfortunately, the added budget language would likely also conflict with several existing efforts, threatening:

• Targeted workforce and economic development programs,
• State contracts with vendors to provide services, including minority-owned businesses and other private companies,
• Department of Health programs targeted based on demographic factors, and
• Missouri Department of Public Safety’s continuing education for law enforcement that includes education in racial profiling and implicit bias.

There are likely additional consequences related to state contracts with private companies, and hiring and employment standards that are not mentioned here, but which could also have far-reaching implications.

We oppose any efforts that would put language aimed at dampening diversity, equity and inclusion into state law.

State lawmakers are considering several proposals to eliminate Missouri’s corporate income tax, under the mistaken assumption that doing so would incentivize business growth or attract new businesses to Missouri. But evidence shows that there is little to no correlation between corporate tax rates and business location decisions.

In fact, in a recent survey of corporate executives and location consultants, access to major markets and availability of skilled labor were ranked as the top influencers of corporate location and expansion decisions. Tax rates didn’t even make the top five list.

Beyond the survey is real life evidence:

• Missouri’s corporate income tax is already at the bottom of the nation – only one state has a corporate income tax rate that is lower than Missouri’s rate of 4%.
  
• If corporate tax rates were a primary concern of businesses, Missouri would already be overflowing with business growth – we’d have businesses knocking down our doors to enter the state.

But they aren’t – and that’s because businesses consider a variety of factors when making expansion and location decisions.

• Factors like trained labor, the size of the customer base, and access to transportation hubs all matter to businesses to a much higher degree than state taxes.
  
• Further, business growth is increasingly in the entrepreneurial sector, founded by individuals who can often locate anywhere. For these folks, aspects of the quality of life in a state mean much more than the corporate income tax rate.

And all of those things – skilled labor, transportation, and quality of life – depend on state revenue and public services to support them.

Through the state’s education and highway infrastructures, our park systems, and services that nurture safe and healthy communities, we create an environment where workers and families want to live and where companies can grow to meet the natural demand of a thriving community.

Eliminating the corporate income tax would take a big bite out of the state’s ability to provide those basic public services and damage our ability to attract and retain businesses and jobs.

• In context, eliminating the corporate income tax would cost more than $700 million per year – three-fourths of the total amount of funding Missouri contributes to higher education, four-year colleges and universities, two-year community colleges and technical schools, each year.

Rather than eliminate the corporate income tax, Missouri would do better using the revenue to invest in its workers and communities. The bills under consideration include Senate Bills 93 and 135, House Bills 660 and 816.

At the end of the 2022 state legislative session lawmakers approved House Bill 2090, to provide “economic recovery” payments to Missourians.  Intended to help families meet the rising cost of inflation, the bill had a fundamental flaw in that it would leave out more than one-third of Missouri taxpayers, including families earning low wages and seniors who rely on Social Security income.

Governor Parson should veto the bill, which would allow the state to instead invest the funding in the services and infrastructure would create an inclusive recovery.

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Paid family leave benefits both workers and employers by allowing employees to address the caregiving needs of their family without losing their jobs or ability to pay their bills and by reducing employer costs associated with high turnover, low worker retention, and decreased productivity.

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This analysis provides a fiscal estimate of a proposal to provide paid leave to St. Louis City employees. The proposed policy would provide:

• 12 weeks paid parental leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
  
• 4 weeks of paid caregiver leave for a spouse, parent, or child (which are existing FMLA categories) as well as additional eligibility to care for an in-law or parent of a domestic partner, grandparent, or a sibling with a serious health condition.
  
• 2 weeks of paid military deployment leave for a “qualifying exigency” related to military deployment of a spouse, child, or parent such as making alternative child care arrangements, attending certain military ceremonies, and making financial or legal arrangements.

The table below provides an overview of the estimated costs to St. Louis City to provide paid family leave. We find that expanding paid family leave to St. Louis City workers would cost approximately $1.05 million in wages annually, but would also be offset by significant cost savings in the form of reduced turnover, improved worker retention, & increased productivity.

Cost of Paid Family Leave

Type of Family Leave	Estimated Annual Leave Requests	Average Weekly Wage	Proposed Weeks of Paid Leave	Annual Cost Per Employee	Annual Cost of Paid Family Leave
Birth, Adoption, Foster Care	44	$1,004.80	12	$12,057.60	$530,534.40
Caregiving for Family Member	128	$1,004.80	4	$4,019.20	$514,457.60
Military Family Leave	2	$1,004.80	2	$2,009.60	$4,019.20
Total	174				$1,049,011.20

Savings from Paid Family Leave

Paid family leave is an investment in a modern workforce, but also an investment that helps an employer’s bottom line by allowing workers to continue to make productive contributions in the workplace while simultaneously fulfilling family care obligations.

Paid family leave has been shown to lead to significant savings for employers primarily by reducing employee turnover and boosting worker retention.  In fact, research has shown that access to paid family leave reduces the likelihood of new mothers leaving the labor force by 20%[i]. Rehiring and training a replacement represents a significant cost to employers and is estimated to cost approximately 21% of a lost employee’s annual salary[ii].

Paid family leave increases productivity and has little impact on daily operations. Research has shown that work-family benefits attract a higher quality workforce and reduce absenteeism and tardiness among workers, thereby increasing overall productivity[iii]. Further, 87% of employers in California reported a positive effect or no noticeable effect on business operations due to paid family leave and 91% report a positive effect or no noticeable effect on business profitability and performance upon instituting family leave.[iv]

American Rescue Plan

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) allocated nearly $440 million to St. Louis City that may be used to support efforts to bring the pandemic under control and to support economic stabilization for workers, households, businesses, and the public sector[v]. Paid family leave would meet these objectives by allowing workers the opportunity to provide care for family members without having to lose income as a result of that care. Local fiscal relief provided through ARP provides a unique opportunity to fund paid family leave for St. Louis City workers allowing St. Louis City to build a vibrant and competitive workforce.

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Methodology used for paid family leave estimates: Annual Leave Request estimates based on average annual new FMLA leave requests in 2019 & 2020 obtained from STL City Personnel Department adjusted for a 10.3% increase[vi] in uptake in caregiver leave to account for new categories of eligible care recipients; Average cost of one week of leave: average bi-weekly rate for salaried civil service employees obtained from STL City Personnel Department; Military deployment leave: Usage data for military leave are unavailable but uptake is expected to be quite low. Estimate assumes two employees taking leave annually.

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[i] Jones, K., & Wilcher, B. (2019). Reducing maternal labor market detachment: A role for paid family leave. American University Working Paper Series

[ii] Boushey, H., & Glynn, S. J. (2012). There are significant business costs to replacing employees. Center for American Progress, 16, 1-9.

[iii] Meyer, Christine Siegwarth, Swati Mukerjee, and Ann Sestero. “Work-family benefits: which ones maximize profits?.” Journal of managerial Issues (2001): 28-44.

[iv] Appelbaum, E., and R. Milkman. “Employer and worker experiences with paid family leave in California.” Leaves That Pay (2011): 1-32.

[v] U.S. Department of the Treasury. Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. Funding Objectives & Allocation for Metropolitan Cities. 

[vi] Missouri Budget Project analysis of average annual paid family care claims for recipients other than a spouse, parent, or child in FY2012-2021. State of California Employment Development Department: Paid Family Leave Program Statistics.

Thank you for your interest in this issue. This action is now complete, as the bill moved out of the House Budget Committee on Tuesday, April 19th.

We’re disappointed that lawmakers chose to leave one-third of Missourians out of proposed economic relief, despite expressing an intent to help families meet the rising cost of inflation. Moreover, the taxpayers who won’t get this rebate are the very ones who pay the highest portion of their income in state and local taxes.

While we oppose the legislation in its current form because it leaves out so many taxpayers, we’re hopeful that if it or other tax rebate proposals move forward in the remaining weeks, policymakers will prioritize – or at least include – the Missourians most struggling to afford gas and put food on the table.

Learn More: Economic Recovery Rebates Should Include All Missourians.

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A Missouri House proposal to provide economic recovery payments to Missourians intended to help families meet the rising cost of inflation would leave out one-third of Missouri taxpayers, including families earning low wages and seniors who rely on Social Security income.

By modifying the structure of this one-time economic recovery payment, lawmakers can greatly simplify administration of the credit and put money back in the hands of all Missourians, including those most impacted by the health and economic consequences of COVID.

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House Bill 3021 structures the economic recovery payment as a tax credit applied to income tax and would give single adults a credit of up to $500 and joint filers a credit of up to $1,000. However, the credit is limited depending on the income tax liability of the taxpayer. So, if a family’s income tax liability is $6, they would get $6; if a family’s income tax liability is $0, they would get $0.

This structure leaves behind many of the Missouri taxpayers most struggling afford to gas and to put food on the table, including families earning low wages and seniors with fixed incomes – while giving the largest rebates to Missourians with average incomes of $332,000 or higher.

While these folks are not likely to have a state income tax liability, they pay significant portions of their income in sales, property and other state and local taxes. In fact, according to the most recent analysis, Missouri families in the bottom quintile of income pay 9.9% of their income in state and local taxes, compared to just 6.2% for the wealthiest 1% of families.

The Missourians left out of the current version of the economic recovery payment are the very ones that are still struggling to recover from the COVID crisis while facing higher costs for food, gas, and other necessities. Further, as the costs for the food and gas and other necessities increase, the sales and excise taxes paid on those items have also increased, making it even harder for low-income Missourians to get by. 

By making the economic recovery payment refundable, lawmakers can include all Missourians, greatly simplify administration of the credit, and put money into the hands of the Missourians who need it the most.

For Immediate Release: April 13, 2022
Contact: Traci Gleason

Groups Encourage Lawmakers to Strengthen Economic Relief Proposal
Current Proposal Leaves Out Missourians Struggling to Make Ends Meet

A coalition of groups led by the Missouri Budget Project appreciate House leadership’s efforts to provide direct assistance to families as in House Bill 3021. However, the proposed one-time economy recovery payment that the House Budget Committee will hear today currently leaves out the very Missourians who most need it. Legislators have an opportunity to help an additional 400,000 Missouri households by making the credit refundable, providing a lifeline to Missourians struggling to make ends meet.

House Bill 3021 would provide a one-time economic recovery tax credit of up to $500 for individuals and up to $1,000 for married couples. However, at least 400,000 Missouri households whose pay is so low that they don’t owe income tax wouldn’t see any benefit – even though the total state and local taxes they pay make up a higher portion of their incomes than most taxpayers. What’s more, many of these Missourians are the very ones who were hit hardest by the pandemic and are still struggling to recover.  

“Missourians whose pay is so low that they don’t owe income tax are still paying taxes,” said Amy Blouin, President & CEO of the Missouri Budget Project. “In fact, the lower your earnings, the more you pay in state and local taxes as a share of what you make.”

According to the most recent analysis, Missouri families in the bottom quintile of income pay 9.9% of their income in state and local taxes, compared to just 6.2% for the wealthiest 1% of families.

“Many older adults have low enough incomes that they don’t owe income taxes,” said Jay Hardenbrook, Advocacy Director for AARP Missouri. “But they still pay sales taxes, they still pay property taxes, and they still pay gas taxes, all of which take a big bite of your budget when you have limited income.”

All Missourians are seeing increased costs for food, gas, and other products they need. As the costs of those goods increase, so do the associated sales taxes, which are applied as a percentage of the total.

What’s more, the economic fallout from COVID hit workers with low wages and families with fixed incomes the hardest, and many families are still trying to get back on their feet, with more than 30% of Missourians still reporting difficulty meeting their normal household expenses.

“The very households struggling the most with both rising costs and the consequences of the pandemic are left out of this relief,” Blouin continued. “We encourage Missouri lawmakers to modify this credit so that the Missourians most struggling to afford gas and put food on the table aren’t left behind.”

The pandemic particularly upended the lives and budgets of families with children, who are more likely to report challenges like not having enough to eat.

“Providing families with a one-time benefit would combat against rising household costs and ensure they are able to make ends meet,” said Craig Stevenson, Director of Policy & Advocacy for Kids Win Missouri. “We look forward to working with House Budget leaders in working towards refundability of the credit or adding an enhancement for those families with children, structured similar to the federal stimulus payments.” 

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Missouri Budget Project is a nonprofit public policy analysis organization that analyzes state budget, tax, and economic issues.