Missouri committee advances bills to remove $150,000 cap on radioactive‑waste investigation fund

The Special Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs voted to advance a package of bills that would remove the $150,000 statutory cap on Missouri's radioactive waste investigation fund and expand the state's ability to investigate suspected radioactive contamination.

The bills heard together were House Bill 778, sponsored by Representative Chapel (sponsor) and House Bill 290, sponsored by Representative Rachel Prouty, who told the committee the existing cap — created by statute in 2018 and capped at $150,000 per year — is no longer sufficient to support meaningful testing and investigations.

The legislation would remove the statutory limit and allow the Department of Natural Resources to use larger sums for investigations when local governments request testing in an identified area. "This fund was created via statute in 2018 ... it had not been funded at all until last year," Representative Rachel Prouty said, adding that $150,000 in 2018 is roughly the equivalent of $190,000 today and would not cover meaningful sampling and analysis.

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