HB 1293 -- Promotion of Childbirth

Sponsor:  Deeken

SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD ADOPTION TAX CREDIT

Currently, there is a $2 million aggregate cap on the special
needs child adoption tax credit.  This bill removes that cap.
This section becomes effective January 1, 2005, and applies to
all taxable years beginning after December 31, 2004.

PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER CONTRIBUTION TAX CREDIT

The bill also establishes a tax credit for contributions to
pregnancy resource centers.  An individual can claim a tax credit
of up to 50% of the amount the taxpayer contributed to a
pregnancy resource center.  The amount of the tax credit cannot
exceed the amount of the taxpayer's state tax liability, and the
taxpayer may not claim a credit in excess of $50,000 per year.
The credit can be carried over for four years until the full
credit is claimed.  The credit cannot be claimed unless the
taxpayer's contribution is at least $100.  The Director of the
Department of Social Services is responsible for determining the
facilities that can be classified as pregnancy resource centers.
The cumulative amount of tax credits that can be claimed in one
fiscal year may not exceed $2 million.  This section becomes
effective January 1, 2005, and applies to all taxable years
beginning after December 31, 2004.

ALTERNATIVES TO ABORTION EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

The bill requires physicians who perform or induce abortions to
provide geographically indexed educational materials to inform
the woman of alternatives to abortion agencies and services.  The
physician providing the materials and the patient must sign a
written statement certifying the delivery and receipt of the
materials.  The patient must be allowed a sufficient amount of
time to review the materials and to make a decision about whether
or not to proceed with the abortion.  Physicians are civilly
liable to the patient and any other person sustaining loss,
injury, or damages for failure to comply with this requirement.
A physician who violates the provisions of this section is
subject to discipline of his or her license, certificate, or
permit to practice medicine.  The commission is required to
develop geographically indexed educational materials that include
alternatives to abortion and will distribute these materials to
family planning clinics, abortion facilities, hospitals where
abortions are induced or performed, and to physicians who perform
or induce abortions.

RESPECT LIFE COMMISSION

The bill establishes the Respect Life Commission within the
Office of Administration.  It specifies the membership and terms
of the members, as well as the duties and responsibilities of the
commission.  The commission must submit an annual report of its
activities to the President Pro Tem of the Senate, the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, and the Governor before December 31
of each year.

RESPECT LIFE LICENSE PLATE AND ALTERNATIVES TO ABORTION SUPPORT
FUND

The bill allows for a special license plate.  The license plate
will bear the words "RESPECT LIFE" and an image of a single red
rose.

To obtain this plate, a person must get an emblem-use
authorization statement from the Missouri Alternatives to
Abortion Support Fund, which is created, upon the payment of a
fee of $25 per set of plates if annually registered or $50 if
biennially registered.  The authorization statement will be
presented to the Department of Revenue at the time of
registration.  The fee charged for personalized plates will not
apply to this plate, and there will be no limit on the number of
sets of plates issued.

The General Assembly may appropriate moneys annually from the
fund to the Department of Revenue to offset costs incurred for
collecting and transferring contributions.  Until the amount in
the fund exceeds $1 million, not more than half of the money
credited to the fund plus all investment earnings credited to the
fund during the previous fiscal year will be available for
disbursement.  When the State Treasurer certifies that assets in
the fund exceed $1 million, all earnings plus future credits to
the fund from all sources will be available for disbursement.
The bill spells out how the fund will be used.

Missouri House of Representatives
92nd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 23, 2004 at 11:15 am