Missouri House Approves COVID-19 Spending Plan

This week, the Missouri House approved a 1.2 billion COVID-19 spending bill by a vote of 133-4. The bill gives Governor Parson's administration the authority to spend the money, which is mainly federal funding. The money is part of funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that needs to be distributed to the state by the end of the year.

The House approved a $752 million federal grant for resources for fighting the pandemic, $34 million for businesses and employers participating in shared work, $76 million for additional school meals, $18 million to prevent homelessness, and $5 million for the regional food banks to help people who rely on food assistance.

The bill will be taken up by the Senate next week. The Governor also announced on Thursday that he is adding a new bill regarding COVID-19 liability to the special session. He said that the legislation should include three parts: liability protection for health care workers, products liability protection, and premises liability protection.