SPONSOR: Farnan
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Corrections and Public Institutions by a vote of 9 to 1. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules-Administrative by a vote of 8 to 0.
Under current law, state funds for the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council and for the Mid-America Regional Council are not to exceed $65,000 and state funds for other regional planning commissions must not exceed $25,000. This bill changes the sums to $130,000 and $50,000.
Additionally, the bill removes the regional planning commissions of Show-Me, Missouri Valley, Ozark Gateway, ABCD, and Lakes County and adds Harry S. Truman, MO-Kan, Pioneer Trails, and Southwest Missouri.
Beginning July 1, 2026, the maximum grant amount for each regional planning commission will be adjusted with the Consumer Price Index.
This bill is the same as SB 240 (2025).
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that regional planning commissions do an incredible amount of work. Anything that gets done at the county level happens because of these planning commissions, and their members are good, salt-of-the-earth folk. Their funding has not increased in a very long time. The planning commissions being removed and added in the bill are only accounting for some name changes that have happened.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Farnan; Jack Gamble, Missouri Association of Councils of Government; Arnie Dienoff.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: