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By
Otto Fajen
MNEA Legislative Director
Number
6
Feb. 12, 2009
BUDGET
The House Appropriations-Education Committee met again
on Feb. 10 to continue to hear the Department of Elementary
and Secondary Education presentation of the governor’s
budget proposal. House Budget Committee chair Allen
Icet apparently gave each of the appropriation’s
chairs a budget target today, and the budget targets
do not factor in the roughly $800 million in federal
economic stimulus aid that the governor’s budget
includes. This decision will force all the appropriation’s
committees to go through the exercise of trying to cut
their share of another $800 million from the general
revenue budget. In elementary and secondary education,
the committee will focus on DESE’s proposed scenario
for cutting 25 percent from the budget, other than from
the basic equity formula and early childhood special
education.
Instead
of preparing to struggle through the economic downturn
with insufficient state services and investment, the
MNEA urges the governor and General Assembly to incorporate
federal economic stimulus revenues into next year’s
budget to maintain vital public services, address the
structural budget deficit, improve the fairness of the
state tax code and ensure adequate funding for public
education and other vital public services.
BUDGET
STABILIZATION
The Senate Financial and Governmental Organizations
and Elections Committee met on Feb. 9 and heard Senate
Joint Resolution 1 (Matt Bartle). The SJR would create
the Missouri Savings Account and require a portion of
state general revenue growth to be placed in the fund
if growth exceeds three percent per year. In years when
state general revenues decline or there is a budget
shortfall, up to one-third of the Missouri Savings Account
can be used each year to fund state programs. This SJR
addresses the challenge of maintaining adequate state
revenues during economic slowdowns and recessions and
creates a structure for a usable budget stabilization
fund.
Missouri
NEA spoke in favor of the concept of SJR 1, while suggesting
that the language be revised to correct a technical
defect that appears to be inconsistent with the sponsor’s
intent and also suggesting that the savings account
receive a portion of general revenue growth over the
three percent threshold, rather than the next two percent
of the increased growth.
The
Senate Governmental Affairs and Fiscal Oversight Committee
met on Feb. 12 to hear SJR 7 (Scott Rupp). The SJR would
create the Missouri Revenue Retention Fund and require
five percent of state general revenue growth to be placed
in the fund until the fund reaches 10 percent of total
general revenue expenditures for the preceding year.
Money in the fund could be appropriated to fund state
services in years when state general revenues decline.
This SJR helps address the challenge of maintaining
adequate state revenues during economic slowdowns and
recessions and creates a structure for a usable budget
stabilization fund. Missouri NEA supports the concept
of SJR 7.
TABOR
The House Budget Committee met on Feb. 11 to hear House
Joint Resolution 23 (Allen Icet). HJR 23 is a constitutional
spending limit similar to the Colorado provision known
as “TABOR,” or the so-called “Taxpayer
Bill of Rights.” The HJR would impose a permanent,
constitutional spending limit on state government and
would limit annual growth in state appropriations to
a cost-of-living-adjustment factor plus a population
growth factor. The HJR even includes requirements for
imposing further, permanent state income tax cuts if
the spending limits are operational.
Missouri
NEA strongly opposes this unneeded restriction. Legislators
should be able to construct a consensus revenue estimate
and appropriate according to that estimate. HJR 23’s
limit would cause Missouri government to shrink year-after-year
relative to the size of the overall economy. This measure
will permanently diminish the state’s capacity
to provide appropriate levels of public service and
will ultimately make the state a less desirable place
to live and reduce the state’s ability to attract
desirable employers.
QUALITY
RATING SYSTEM FOR EARLY CHILD CARE
The Senate Health, Mental Health, Seniors and Families
Committee voted Senate Bill 4 (Charlie Shields) “do
pass” on Feb. 10. S.B. 4 would establish a quality
rating system for child care facilities. Missouri NEA
strongly supports this effort to evaluate programs and
provide parents with information that will improve the
quality of early child care and education programs across
the state.
In
the committee’s debate on the bill, Sen. Jolie
Justus offered her S.B. 94 as an amendment to the bill.
The amendment would have raised the income eligibility
criteria for state child care subsidies. The MNEA strongly
supports S.B. 94. The amendment was defeated on a 4-3
vote, primarily because the added cost would reduce
S.B. 4’s chance of passage.
SENATE
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The Senate Education Committee met on Feb. 11 to hear
the following Senate Bills:
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S.B. 64 (Scott Rupp) relates to charter schools.
The committee began the hearing on S.B. 64 on Feb.
4 and will continue to hear opposition testimony.
The bill would expand charter school geography and
sponsors while enacting standards for sponsors.
Missouri NEA believes that public charter schools
should be accountable for student learning, staff
member qualifications and financial integrity. Current
Missouri law is inadequate to ensure that accountability.
The MNEA opposes expansion of geography and sponsors
at this time and, thus, opposes S.B.64. The sponsor’s
standards language in S.B. 64 alone would make a
good first step, though the language should go even
farther and speak more specifically to the standards
by which sponsors will evaluate, discipline and,
if necessary, terminate charter schools.
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S.B. 175 (Eric Schmitt) requires the Department
of Elementary and Secondary Education to produce
and distribute a guidance document known as “The
Parents' Bill of Rights” for parents of children
with an individualized education program.
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S.B. 255 (David Pearce) modifies the composition
of the Board of Curators for the University of Missouri,
as needed, to prepare for the possible loss of a
Missouri congressional seat as a result of congressional
reapportionment in 2010.
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S.B. 78 (Yvonne Wilson) creates the Missouri Senior
Cadet Program for mentoring of kindergarten through
eighth grade students by high school seniors and
provides higher education scholarships to such mentors.
The MNEA supports the bill as an effort to promote
student leadership, retention and graduation in
high school and higher education access and affordability.
In
addition to hearing the scheduled bills on Feb. 11,
the Senate Education Committee voted S.B. 55 (Rita Days)
“do pass” as a Consent Bill. The bill allows
school districts to keep records in digital form. The
committee also voted Senate Committee Substitute for
S.B. 152 (Dan Clemens) “do pass.” The bill
revises the Nursing Student Loan Program to allow students
to use the loans to pursue doctoral degrees in either
nursing or education and to allow part-time students
to use such loans.
HOUSE
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee
met on Feb. 11 to hear several House Bills:
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H.B. 236 (Scott Lipke) requires school districts
to allow certain students with disabilities to participate
in graduation ceremonies after four years of high
school attendance.
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H.B. 290 (Don Wells) requires the board of education
of each school district to adopt a policy for the
random testing of the district’s teachers
and other employees for the unlawful use of controlled
substances. Missouri NEA believes in a drug-free
and alcohol-free workplace. However, the MNEA opposes
any mandatory drug and alcohol testing of employees
as an unwarranted and unconstitutional invasion
of privacy.
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H.B. 456 (Sue Allen) requires registered professional
school nurses to be paid on the same pay scale as
teachers in their district with equivalent work
history and working hours. The MNEA supports the
concept of pay parity for professional school nurses.
In
addition to hearing the scheduled bills on Feb. 11,
the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee
voted H.B. 289 (Maynard Wallace) “do pass”
as a Consent Bill. The bill requires the designation
of an agent for a binding signature on a special education
placement settlement and makes the five-business-day
notice applicable to all special education due process
hearings. This bill is a federal compliance bill requested
by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The
committee also discussed the concerns of schools hard
hit by recent ice storms. Rep. Terry Swinger filed H.B.
682 on Feb. 11 after the committee’s discussion
of the need for such a bill. H.B. 682 would provide
that schools that closed for more than 10 days this
year due to inclement weather would only be required
to make up 10 of those days. Rep. Maynard Wallace, the
committee chair, indicated his desire to hear the bill
at next week’s hearing.
SCHOOL
BOARD ELECTIONS
The House Elections Committee met on Feb. 10 to hear
House Bill 173 (Stanley Cox). H.B. 173 requires that
elections be held even if the number of candidates filing
for a position is equal to the number of positions available.
The MNEA supports the bill as a step in support of equal
opportunity and democracy.
Currently,
in an uncontested school board race, no election is
held, and the district is not required to incur a cost
for the election. In such a case, the filed candidates
are assumed to be elected, their names do not appear
on the ballot and the citizens do not have the opportunity
to express their support or lack of support for such
candidates. This situation also eliminates the possibility
for a write-in candidate to declare candidacy before
the election. As an unintended consequence in some circumstances,
prospective school board candidates may be discouraged
from filing, as this would cause the school district
to be required to share the cost for a contested election.
A citizen who runs for and serves on an elected school
board is performing a valuable service to the community,
and that opportunity for service should not be affected
by school district financial considerations.
PROPERTY
TAX PETITION
The House Ways and Means Committee heard House Bill
591 (Mike Sutherland) on Feb. 12. The bill would allow
voters to petition for an election to lower the tax
rate ceiling of a political subdivision when at least
10 percent of the registered voters within the taxing
authority’s boundaries sign the petition. If at
least 60 percent of the votes cast are in favor of lowering
the ceiling, the lowered tax rate ceiling will become
effective.
The
MNEA believes this is unneeded and may be a problem
for schools and students. School districts exist primarily
to guarantee the fundamental right to a free, quality
public education for every child. A tax-reduction petition
brought by a small number of voters may not be informed
by a full understanding of the financial status of the
district and would not be subject to the refinement
and adjustment of school board deliberations. The bill
thus creates a very crude tool for setting tax rates
and undermines school board governance and accountability.
CORPORATE
INCOME TAX REPEAL
The House Ways and Means Committee also heard House
Bill 432 (Doug Ervin) on Feb. 12. The bill would exempt
corporations from the corporate income tax if they do
not receive funding from Department of Economic Development
programs. Since no corporations actually receive direct
funding from DED programs, a literal reading of the
bill would translate into repeal of the entire corporate
income tax, similar to H.B. 178 (Bryan Stevenson), only
faster. The fiscal note indicates that the corporate
income tax raises over $350 million per year.
The
intent may be to exempt corporations that do not use
any state income tax credits. This would be a profoundly
unfair tax policy, since it would arbitrarily exempt
corporations with no tax credits from the entire income
tax, but would continue to impose the full tax on corporations
receiving tax credits, regardless of the amount of those
credits. This proposal seems likely to cause corporations
to abandon tax credits and thereby eliminate their corporate
income tax. In either case, this measure will reduce
state revenues significantly, perhaps by as much as
$350 million per year.
Among
the 46 states that actually have a corporate income
tax, Missouri already has the lowest effective corporate
income tax rate in the country, relative to the federal
corporate tax on corporate activity allocated to our
state. Corporations benefit from public investments
and public services in Missouri, just as individual
citizens do, and it is only fair that corporations doing
business in Missouri also help support those investments.
The MNEA strongly opposes this unfair tax change that
would undermine the revenue that supports public education
and healthcare services Missourians need.
TAX
CREDIT ACCOUNTABILITY
The Senate Governmental Affairs and Fiscal Oversight
Committee heard two Senate Bills affecting tax credit
accountability on Feb. 12:
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S.B. 155 (Jack Goodman) would establish the Missouri
Accountability Portal as a permanent program. The
portal provides online access to detailed information
about tax credits across the state. The MNEA supports
this effort to promote transparency and accountability
in tax expenditures.
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S.B. 274 (Jason Crowell) caps tax credits approved
by the Missouri Development Finance Board at $10
million per year. Currently, the cap can be raised
each year without legislative action. The MNEA supports
this effort to treat tax credits and other tax expenditures
with the same level of scrutiny, accountability
and control that the legislature exercises on direct
state appropriations.
WORKPLACE
DISCRIMINATION
The House Workforce Development and Workplace Safety
Committee met on Feb. 11 to hear House Bill 227 (Ed
Emery). H.B. 227 makes several changes to the state’s
anti-discrimination law in employment, disability and
housing. The MNEA opposes the bill.
The
most problematic change in the bill is the change of
the definition of “discrimination.” Currently,
any “unfair treatment” based on race, color,
religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age in employment,
disability or housing is unlawful. The bill would limit
workplace discrimination to an “adverse action”
motivated by one of those characteristics. “Adverse
action” is a much narrower term that includes
hiring, firing, failure to promote and other significant
actions affecting an employee’s status. Thus,
the bill appears to legalize other unfair, discriminatory
treatment of employees in the workplace. Such unfair
treatment can create a hostile or unpleasant work environment
for an employee without legally constituting an “adverse
action.” Missouri NEA believes that unfair, discriminatory
treatment in the workplace should remain unlawful.
PUPIL
TRANSFERS
The House Urban Affairs Committee met on Feb. 9 and
heard House Bill 217 (Ted Hoskins) requiring the Department
of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish criteria
for the admission or rejection by adjoining accredited
schools of nonresident students from unaccredited districts.
The bill does not specify the criteria by which such
decisions would be made. Without further clarification,
the bill may have the effect of forcing districts to
increase class size by accepting a large number of nonresident
students without providing capital funding to increase
school classroom capacity.
HIGHER
EDUCATION
The House Higher Education Committee met on Feb. 10
to hear House Bill 247 (Tom Loehner). The bill revises
the Nursing Student Loan Program to allow students to
use the loans to pursue doctoral degrees in either nursing
or education and to allow part-time students to use
such loans.
CAPITOL ACTION DAYS RETURN
MNEA members from Governance District 4 came to the
first Capitol Action Day of the 2009 session on Feb.
11. Twenty members participated in the event, visiting
with legislators to begin a dialog on important education
issues. Capital Action Days will allow planned, face-to-face
contact with legislators throughout the legislative
session. Capitol Action Days will generally be on Wednesdays
starting with the first week in February and continuing
through the first week of May. Your MNEA calendar includes
the dates board members selected for your governance
district. If you are not able to attend on these designated
days, feel free to contact MNEA Legislative Director
Otto Fajen at otto.fajen@mnea.org
to let him know when you can attend on another Capitol
Action Day. Typical Capitol Action Day agenda:
10:00
a.m. Meet for briefing, 2nd floor Capitol rotunda, Senate
side alcove under the grand staircase
10:15 a.m. Visit with your legislator/watch floor debate
12:00 noon Invite legislator to lunch
1:00-4:30 p.m. Committee hearings, floor debate, visiting
legislators
MISSOURI
NEA’S COMPREHENSIVE GOVERNMENT RELATION PROGRAM
Missouri NEA needs a vigorous grassroots lobbying effort
this session. Our members must take the initiative to
contact legislators about the key issues affecting public
education. Here’s what you can do to support MNEA’s
legislative agenda:
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Be a part of your local Government Relations Team.
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Take the initiative to contact local legislators
now to discuss our key issues.
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Attend the legislative brunch or dinner in your
area.
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Attend the Missouri NEA Capitol Action Days for
your governance district. Capitol Action Days begin
on Feb. 11 and include most Wednesdays until the
first week of May.
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Receive and read the MNEA Daily Legislative Update
2009 via e-mail while the legislature is in session
from January to May.
FINDING
INFORMATION ABOUT BILLS
To find information about a specific bill currently
pending before the Missouri General Assembly, go to:
http://www.house.mo.gov/billcentral.aspx.
Type the bill number (example: HB1000) or sponsor name
in the “search” box to find a link to the
bill. This link will take you to a “home page”
for the bill that provides bill text, bill summaries,
fiscal notes and information on legislative action on
the bill.
PLAN
TO ATTEND YOUR MNEA LEGISLATIVE BRUNCH OR DINNER
Legislative involvement is close to home at your MNEA
legislative brunch or dinner. The event is a great opportunity
to visit with local area legislators and hear a legislative
briefing. Area legislative brunch schedule:
St.
Charles Feb. 26, 2009
Kansas City Feb. 28, 2009
Jefferson County Mar. 7, 2009
St. Louis Mar. 21, 2009
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