May 20, 2026
Letter from the Advocacy Director
Thank you, MODDC advocates, for paying close attention and helping during the Missouri Legislative Session. It has been a busy time! Because of your help, we sent thousands of emails to lawmakers to explain why cutting services for people with developmental disabilities would be harmful. We also met with important leaders to protect Medicaid and Home and Community-Based Services. We built even stronger relationships at the Capitol.
Below is an update on what happened this session and where the state budget stands as it goes to Governor Kehoe. He can sign the budget or veto (remove) parts of it.
We also want to share an action alert about a court case called Texas v. Kennedy, also known as the 504 Lawsuit. Missouri and seven other states are part of this case. We know the state wants to protect states’ rights, but we worry this case could hurt people with disabilities and their right to live in their communities and get services there.
It is very important to talk with your state and federal lawmakers even when the state legislature is not meeting. Now is a great time to reach out to them.
To help with this, we are starting a new event called Coffee for Change. The first one will be in Perryville, MO, on June 3rd at 10 a.m. We will also visit Kansas City and other parts of the state. These meet‑ups are friendly, educational, and give people a chance to take action together. Find a location near you, including how to register, at https://moddcouncil.org/coffee-for-change/.
MOving onward,
Christina Ingoglia
Policy Advocacy Director
2026 Missouri Legislative Session Recap
The Missouri Legislative Session ended on Friday, May 15, 2026. This is the latest information obtained by MODDC. All budget bills have been passed.
State Budget Bills
House Bill 2 (HB 2002) – Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
- Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Funding – passed a funding increase for the VR grant so that Missouri can draw down 100% of the federal funding available.
House Bill 10 (HB 2010) – Department of Health
- The pay rates for personal assistance and medical personal assistance will stay the same as they are right now. However, the Governor can still remove or change this item, which could bring back his earlier proposed pay cut.
- The legislature reversed the proposed cuts to Day Program rates. The Department of Mental Health (DMH) hired a company called MERCER to study what the rates should be. The rates might change after MERCER releases its report on June 15.
- After the legislature finished its work, some waiver slots were funded. These include:
- slots for people moving from the child waiver to an adult waiver
- slots for people leaving institutions
- slots for people needing to move between waivers
- Lawmakers approved funding for 50 “crisis residential” waiver slots. These are for people who are new to waivers and entering services. It’s still unclear whether these slots apply to home and community‑based waivers as well.
- In the Self‑Directed Support Program, the Community Specialist service and the Individual Goods and Services option were not funded. This means these services will no longer be available in Missouri.
MODDC will not know for sure what stays, changes, or gets vetoed until Governor Kehoe signs the budget bills. He has until June 30th to make any changes. MODDC will provide an update if anything changes.
Non-budget Bills and Joint Resolutions
House Bill 2304: Parental Consent of Individualized Education Program (IEPs) (Rep. Philip Oehlerking)
- Status: Did not pass.
- Helpful for next session: The bill received overwhelming support in the House during a roll call vote as an amendment to another bill. This is good “proof” that it can pass with broad support.
House Bill 1840: Purple Alert – Trains and allows law enforcement to send out alerts for people with IDD who are missing. (Rep. Sherri Gallick)
- Status: Passed with HB 2408 attached to it.
House Bill 2408: Support Service Provider Funding Cap Elimination – lifts the cap on funding for a specialized PA program for Deaf Blind Missourians to access the community (Rep. Brenda Shields)
- Status: Passed as an amendment to HB 1840.
House Bill 2183: Seclusion Ban in all Missouri Schools (Rep. Ian Mackey)
- Status: Attached as an amendment to another bill (HB 2933 – Rep. Christ). Neither passed.
House Joint Resolution 154: Increases Medicaid Work Requirements above the requirements of HR 1 or the One Big Beautiful Bill. Would enshrine these requirements in the state constitution, so Missouri must follow them even if the federal government later reverses work requirements. (Rep. Darin Chappell)
- Status: Did not pass.
- Work requirements will still occur under federal law, but this resolution to put the issue on the ballot will not happen.
House Joint Resolutions 173 and 174: Elimination of Income Tax (Rep. Bishop Davidson)
- Status: These joint resolutions will phase out the state income tax. They also give the legislature the power to increase sales taxes in the future to an unknown amount, without stating which goods and services could be taxed in the future to make up state revenue.
- You will get to vote on this issue on your ballot in August or November. The Governor will decide.
504 Lawsuit – Texas v. Kennedy
The Council’s Olmstead Committee, along with MODDC Executive Director Emily Hartley, Project Coordinator Katheryne Staeger-Wilson, and advocacy staff, has been talking with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. We are explaining how staying in this lawsuit could hurt people with disabilities.
The lawsuit has some facts that are not correct for Missouri. If Missouri and the other states win the suit, it could also weaken the Olmstead decision. Olmstead is a Supreme Court ruling that says people have the right to live in their communities and get services in their communities, instead of only in state institutions or nursing homes.
Please think about doing our action alert on this issue. You can learn more and complete the alert at https://fastdemocracy.com/campaigns/i9dEeSbKI/MO-Needs-to-Avoid-Unintended-Outcomes-of-the-Texas-v–Kennedy-Lawsuit/.
Saying Goodbye to Our Fellow
Lydia Olmsted’s last day with MODDC is June 15th. While it’s possible she will be around for our next newsletter, we wanted to thank her for all she’s done at MODDC throughout the legislative session. Lydia was able to:
- Offer accessibility feedback for screen readers to the MO House Staff. They have already implemented some of the changes and plan to do more.
- Offer accessibility feedback for screen readers to Senate Staff. She is still working on this and hopes to see some improvements before her departure.
- Educate us and lead our advocacy efforts on a bill (HB 2408) that lifts the funding cap for support service providers. These are specialized personal assistants who are trained to assist Deafblind Missourians to access their communities. This bill passed as an amendment to HB 1840.
- Work in partnership with our Operations Manager, Danielle Eads, to make the state’s procurement system, called Moves, do direct deposits to ABLE accounts.
- Travel to the Capitol to advocate about the impact the budget has on her own services
- Take on any administrative task assigned with professionalism and accuracy.
Network, Learn, and Advocate at MODDC’s Coffee for Change!
Join the conversation at MODDC’s Coffee for Change networking event! Meetups are taking place in cities across Missouri. Find a location near you and register! For more information: https://moddcouncil.org/coffee-for-change/
Help Us Reach More People in the IDD Community
Like this newsletter? Share with others to increase awareness and to educate and inform people on public policy issues impacting people with IDD. Share and ask them to subscribe!
