Student-backed bill would create 20% tax credit to spur school robotics programs

A House committee heard testimony on House Bill 3359, a proposal to create a 20% state income tax credit for donations to registered school robotics programs that supporters say would expand access to STEAM opportunities across Missouri.

Representative Travis Wilson presented the bill on behalf of sponsor Representative Riggs, telling the Committee on Higher Education Workforce Development that the credit — capped at $10 million per year and scheduled to begin in the 2027 tax year — would cover donated cash, equipment, software, supplies and an imputed value for employee volunteer hours. “This bill creates a tax credit program beginning the 2027 tax year, for an amount not to exceed $10,000,000,” Wilson said, adding the program would include a six‑year sunset.

The bill’s student author, Sarah Waldron, a senior at Westminster Christian Academy and the CEO of her high school robotics team, urged passage and described how the credit would mobilize private investment into under-resourced schools. “House Bill 3359 was not written by a lobbyist or a policy organization,” Waldron told the committee. She said the credit is “simple, targeted and built around a model that actually works,” and argued the $10 million cap could leverage as much as $50 million in private investment if businesses meet the five‑to‑one donation requirement she described.

Committee members pressed the sponsor and the student on key details. Representative Hine asked whether the credit targets individuals or businesses and flagged a textual inconsistency in the bill about which state agency must submit an annual report — the bill text references both the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Economic Development. Representative Wilson agreed to “definitely clarify” which department would prepare and submit the required reporting.

Members also questioned how the program would treat volunteer time. Representative Haley and others worried that parents or casual chaperones might claim credits without an approval process; Wilson said the bill could be amended to define who qualifies as a coach or authorized volunteer. Representative Mansura said she supports equipment credits but is uncomfortable with broadly crediting volunteer hours and urged written guardrails to avoid concentrating benefits in districts that already receive corporate support. Waldron said she had drafted an amendment to award larger credits to schools with higher free‑and‑reduced‑lunch rates, proposing a graduated credit structure to favor under‑resourced school programs.

Fiscal impacts were disputed in the hearing. Waldron told the committee the fiscal note shows no cost in fiscal year 2027 because credits would not be claimed until 2028; she also characterized the program as fiscally conservative relative to Missouri’s budget. An opposition witness, Arnie C, praised Waldron’s initiative but said the state faces a roughly $2 billion deficit and cited a fiscal‑note figure of about $21.5 million over three years, plus administrative staffing costs, arguing Missouri cannot afford the credit now.

No vote was taken. Chairman Brown closed the hearing after the testimony and discussion, and the committee adjourned with questions left for the bill sponsor to resolve in drafting revisions.

The next procedural step for HB 3359 will be for the sponsor to revise the bill text as discussed — including clarifying the administering department, specifying eligibility for volunteer hours, and considering geographic or need‑based guardrails — before the measure returns for further committee consideration.