Phil Christofanelli

The legislation passed the Missouri House by the bare minimum on Thursday. It now goes to the governor’s desk.

The St. Charles County Republican also discussed some of the hot-button issues of the 2023 session, such as a measure to make constitutional amendments harder to pass.

A previous version of the legislation would have taken money away from public school districts to make up for a disparity in funding for public charter schools. Now, the state would handle that responsibility.

The budget includes raising the minimum pay for teachers, fully funding the state’s Medicaid program, including its expansion population, and income tax credits, as well as close to $3 billion in federal funding for projects across the state.

Members of the House also voted on Monday to advance a bill banning ballot drop boxes as well as one elevating 911 dispatchers to the status of emergency responders. All three bills now go to the Senate with three weeks remaining until the legislature adjourns.

The St. Peters Republican also discussed legislation that changes policy around HIV — and the special session over a critical tax that funds Medicaid.

Passage of a tax credit for donors of educational scholarships could open the door to other bills making it across the legislative finish line.

The legislation creates what is called the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Account and falls in line with the Republican effort of so-called school choice.

State Rep. Phil Christofanelli joins Politically Speaking for the first time to talk about some of his key priorities for the 2019 legislative session.The…

A bill moving through the Missouri General Assembly calls for mapping the state's more than 2,200 special tax districts. The number of such districts has…