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By
Otto Fajen
MNEA Legislative Director
Number
13
April 9, 2009
BUDGET
The Senate Appropriations Committee completed debate
on key open items in House Bill 2 (Allen Icet), the
fiscal year 2010 K-12 education budget, on Apr. 6. The
Senate committee restored the governor’s recommendation
of $10 million in state funding for professional development.
While even the $10 million level represents a significant
cut from the current year level of $15 million and the
$20 million level last year, the Senate committee action
was expected and, unless changed in floor debate, will
set the upper limit for professional development funding
when the issue is debated in budget conference.
The Missouri
NEA appreciates the support of the Senate Appropriations
Committee on the issue and will need to work to support
the Senate position and maintain the $10 million investment
in professional development when H.B. 2 goes to conference
within the next few weeks. Final action on the budget
bills must be completed by May 8.
On another
key item, the 10 percent cut to Parents as Teachers
funding was retained by the committee despite objections
by Sens. Kurt Schaefer and Frank Barnitz. The committee
action virtually assures that the loss of PAT funding
will occur next year.
SENATE
DEBATES MORE BUSINESS TAX CREDITS
The Senate again engaged in extended floor debate on
Senate Substitute for Senate Committee Substitute for
House Committee Substitute for House Bill 191 (Tim Flook)
relating to business tax credits on Apr. 8. However,
numerous amendments and the ongoing filibuster of Sen.
Jason Crowell again prevented the bill from coming to
a vote. The House version of the bill lifts or raises
the cap on several business tax credits and reinstates
some that have expired. The exact impact of these tax
credit changes is unknown since some currently capped
programs, such as the Quality Jobs Program, would no
longer have any limit on the amount of tax credits.
Sen. Brad
Lager’s Senate substitute version of the bill
limits most current tax credits by imposing caps but
does not limit the amount of credits annually allocated
to the program through the appropriations process as
per his prior S.S. for this bill. Sen. Crowell seeks
to ensure that all tax credits will be annually regulated
and limited through the appropriations process. The
Missouri NEA supports the efforts of Sens. Crowell,
Lager and others to maintain limits on all tax credits
and to ensure that all tax credit programs are transparent,
properly documented and accountable for meaningful results
in return for the public investment of the tax expenditures
given.
TEACHING
STANDARDS
The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee
voted “do pass” on House Bill 73 (Sara Lampe)
on Apr. 8. The bill received a unanimous vote in favor.
It requires the State Board of Education to establish
state teaching standards. The Missouri NEA supports
the bill. Every child deserves a well-prepared, caring
teacher. Teaching standards ensure state policy is clear
on what teachers are supposed to know and be able to
do and how those standards are assessed. Teaching standards
also provide a consistent structure to define how mentoring,
beginning teacher assistance programs and other professional
development will help teachers meet those teaching standards.
MSTA ANTI-BARGAINING BILL
The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee
voted House Bill 805 (Kevin Wilson) “do pass”
on Apr. 8. The bill is a rewrite of last year’s
MSTA anti-bargaining bill for teachers. The bill still
prevents K-12 teachers from having the same right as
other public employees to elect an exclusive bargaining
representative. The bill also makes many other changes
that would weaken or undermine an effective bargaining
process, such as unnecessarily limiting the scope of
what can be bargained and giving exclusive control to
school districts of many issues which could be handled
by mutual agreement, such as setting bargaining timelines
and establishing impasse procedures. Rep. Sara Lampe
was able to amend the bill to allow supervisory employees
to also be included in the bill, but no covered employees
are guaranteed their constitutional right to bargain
collectively through representatives of their own choosing,
since the bill would leave them at the mercy of school
board policy regarding designation of a bargaining representative.
The Missouri
NEA strongly opposes H.B. 805. An effective bargaining
process must have a unified employee voice, and all
school employees have a fundamental right to choose
their own bargaining representative, not have it dictated
for them or denied by the school board. MNEA supports
legislation that would treat all public employees fairly
and that is built on broad consensus among public employee
groups and public employers. An effective bargaining
law must ultimately provide for exclusive bargaining
representation, a clear duty for both employees and
employers to bargain in good faith, binding agreements
with a clear ratification process and a fair process
to resolve impasse and grievances.
SUPPRESSION
OF UNION ORGANIZING EFFORTS
The House Workforce Development and Workplace Safety
Committee completed hearing testimony on House Joint
Resolution 37 (Mike Cunningham) on Apr. 6 and voted
the bill “do pass” on a strict party-line
vote.
The HJR is
a proposal brought forward by the opponents of House
Resolution 800, the federal Employee Free Choice Act.
The EFCA is pending legislation before Congress that
would allow designation of an exclusive bargaining representative
of a private sector bargaining unit after the filing
of a petition or signature cards indicating that a majority
of the members of a bargaining unit support the election
of the designated union. The EFCA is intended to reduce
employers’ ability to intimidate employees and
undermine union support in representation elections.
HJR 37 is a state-level effort to negate the effect
of the EFCA in Missouri.
Missouri
NEA strongly opposes HJR 37. The arguments for the resolution
ring hollow in Missouri, especially for public employees
who would not even be affected by the federal EFCA,
if it passes, but who may be affected by HJR 37. For
teachers and other employees exempted under Chapter
105, RSMo, the state law does not provide for a process
to fulfill their constitutional right to bargain collectively
through a representative of their own choosing. Rather
than passing this harmful, anti-union measure, the Missouri
NEA urges the legislature to enact an effective bargaining
law that treats all public employees fairly.
TABOR
The Senate Ways and Means Committee was scheduled to
hear House Joint Resolution 23 (Allen Icet) on Apr.
8, but the sponsor did not attend the hearing and the
bill was not heard. 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. Missouri NEA
strongly opposes HJR 23. TABOR-style limits are a proven
failure and will permanently diminish the state’s
capacity to invest in public education and provide appropriate
levels of public service.
WAYS
AND MEANS
The House Ways and Means Committee voted House Committee
Substitute for House Bill 64 & 545 (Scott Lipke)
“do pass” on Apr. 9. The original version
of H.B. 64 would reduce the top bracket of Missouri’s
state income tax from six percent to five percent, reduce
or eliminate taxes on the lower income brackets and
increase the allowable deduction for federal income
taxes paid. The bill would have reduced state revenues
by over $1.2 billion per year. The HCS version reduces
the six percent rate only on income from $8,000 to $50,000
and leaves the rate above $50,000 at six percent. The
bill also increases the dependent deduction by $400
per child. The HCS version of the bill would reduce
state revenues by $180 million per year.
Missouri
NEA opposes the bill, as it would make the state’s
tax policy less fair, less adequate and less sustainable.
In a session where the legislature is facing a difficult
budgeting process due to declining state revenues, this
bill would significantly compound the budget shortfall
and require even more permanent cuts to state services.
SCHOOL
FUNDING
The Senate gave first round approval (perfection vote)
to Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bills 453
& 24 (Rob Mayer and Victor Callahan) on Apr. 9.
The bill revises the use of the Proposition A gambling
revenues. The bill moves the funding out of the “state
adequacy target,” the per pupil amount in the
formula, and uses it to fund removing the five percent
per year revenue growth cap on “performance district”
revenues and also adds in a 25 percent pupil weight
in the formula for gifted students. The bill also runs
all gambling funds through the existing Classroom Trust
Fund while ensuring that any increases over next school
year’s CTF amount will go to school operating
funds, not capital projects.
PHYSICAL
EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS
The House gave final approval (Third Reading vote) to
House Committee Substitute for House Bill 509 (Rick
Stream) on Apr. 9. The bill requires school districts
to have physical education programs meeting certain
requirements. The bill struggled before making it through
the fiscal review process due to fiscal concerns regarding
the increased amount of required physical education
instruction and an amendment that limits school vending
machine beverages to real fruit juices and low-fat milk.
Rep. Steve Brown amended the bill to require that school
vending machines offer only healthy beverage choices
such as real fruit juices and low-fat milk and school
lunches be low in trans-fats.
The HCS version
limits the physical education portion of bill to elementary
schools and removes some of the more detailed requirements
of the bill. While the Missouri NEA supports the intent
of the bill, a strong commitment from all schools to
support a comprehensive program of student wellness,
including emphasis on good nutrition and physical activity,
the MNEA continues to have a concern that the use of
another state mandate for physical education may create
unintended consequences for other instructional disciplines,
such as fine arts and social studies. The HCS was amended
by Reps. Margo McNeil and Joe Aull to allow school districts
additional flexibility in meeting the additional physical
activity requirements by using other staff and instructional
time (beyond designated physical education classes and
instructors) so long as the students are engaging in
additional physical activity during the school day.
VOTER
ID
The House Elections Committee voted House Committee
Substitute for House Joint Resolution 9 “do pass”
on Apr. 7 on a strict 7-5 party-line vote. HCS/HJR 9
would add to the Missouri Constitution a requirement
that any person seeking to vote in a public election
must provide election officials a driver’s license
or other government-issued photo identification. Missouri
NEA believes voting is a fundamental right that should
not be restricted by unnecessary voter photo identification
requirements or other additional barriers to the voting
franchise. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan has reported
that a comprehensive review of the last election cycle
in Missouri did not reveal even one allegation of voter
impersonation, where someone sought to vote while pretending
to be someone else, much less a documented or confirmed
case of such a practice.
The Missouri
Supreme Court struck down the photo voter identification
requirements enacted in Senate Bill 1019 (2006) as an
unconstitutional restriction on voter access and found
that this measure would have disproportionately suppressed
voter turn out of the poor, minority and elderly voters.
The Missouri NEA opposes any attempt to enact further
voter I.D. restrictions or other measures that would
have the effect of suppressing voter turn out among
the most vulnerable of our citizens.
In order
to make the HJR appear less onerous, the HCS would also
add to the Missouri Constitution a detailed mandate
to establish early voting. Rep. Chris Kelly offered
an amendment to strike that portion from the HJR, arguing
that there is no need to detail such provisions in the
Constitution and the provisions are clearly being inserted
to add a popular legislative idea to mask the unpopular
and unneeded voter I.D. requirement. However, Rep. Kelly’s
amendment was defeated on a party-line vote.
SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS
The House Elections Committee voted House Committee
Substitute for House Bill 613 “do pass”
on Apr. 7. The HCS contains various elections provisions,
including H.B. 173 (Stanley Cox). This portion of the
HCS requires that elections be held even if the number
of candidates filing for a position is equal to the
number of positions available. The Missouri NEA supports
the bill as a step in support of equal opportunity and
democracy.
Currently,
no election is held in an uncontested school board race,
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.
HIGHER
EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS
The Senate perfected Senate Substitute for Senate Committee
Substitute for Senate Bill 558 (Rob Mayer) on Apr. 6.
It establishes the Missouri Promise Program and expands
the current A+ Schools Program. The bill provides A+
scholarships for use at public community colleges, vocational
or technical schools and at certain two-year private
vocational or technical schools, such as Ranken Tech.
Attendance at an A+ high school is no longer required,
but qualifying students must meet essentially all the
same criteria that A+ Students must meet, including
grade point average, attendance, tutoring or mentoring,
citizenship and avoiding drugs and alcohol. A+ Schools
grants will cover tuition, fees and up to 50 percent
of the cost of books, and the grants will be “last
dollar” aid covering expenses after all other
aid has been applied to the costs.
The bill
also provides Missouri Promise scholarships at four-year
schools for students who have received an A+ Schools
scholarship and have completed a designated Associate’s
Degree and enroll in an approved institution within
nine months of completion. Scholarship students at four-year
schools must maintain a 3.0 GPA, maintain a record of
good citizenship, avoid unlawful drugs and alcohol and
cannot receive a scholarship for more than six semesters.
The Missouri
NEA recognizes the value of the current A+ schools program,
both for the high schools that participate in a rigorous
review and alignment of curriculum and for students
who benefit from opportunities for student mentoring
and other aspects of A+ participation. MNEA also supports
the concept of the bill to invest in a strong program
to expand and improve access and affordability of higher
education for all Missouri students. A more comprehensive
guarantee of support for college attendance can serve
as a powerful tool in preventing high school dropout
by giving more students hope of having enough financial
support to attend a postsecondary program.
Sen. Scott
Rupp amended his Senate Bill 40 onto S.B. 558. This
amendment makes several changes to the Bright Flight
Scholarship Program. It specifies that a student must
be a Missouri resident and expands scholarship eligibility
to individuals with a General Equivalency Diploma and
to home school students. The amendment also increases
the amount of the award for certain students and allows
renewal for more than four years in some cases. The
amendment also allows continuation of the scholarship
if college attendance is postponed due to active military
service.
ACCESS
MISSOURI SCHOLARSHIPS
Sen. Kurt Schaefer offered a revised version of his
Senate Bill 390 as an amendment to Senate Substitute
for Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 558
on Apr. 6. Like the bill, the amendment equalizes the
maximum Access Missouri Scholarships at $2850 for all
students, regardless of whether they attend a public
or private institution. Currently, students attending
private institutions comprise less than 30 percent of
Access Missouri recipients but receive over 50 percent
of the funding due to the higher average tuition charged
at private institutions. The amendment also provides
a four-year “hold harmless” for current
Access Missouri recipients attending private institutions.
The Missouri NEA supported this effort to improve higher
education access and affordability. However, the amendment
was narrowly defeated by a vote of 14-16.
The House
Higher Education Committee heard opposition testimony
on the concept of this change on Apr. 7. The Senate
Education Committee heard opponent testimony on S.B.
390, the companion Senate bill, on Apr. 8. The MNEA
supports both House Bill 792 (Gayle Kingery) and S.B.
390 as efforts to improve higher education access and
make Missouri’s state funded scholarships more
equitable and more efficient in the use of all too scarce
state revenues.
HOUSE
HIGHER EDUCATION
In addition to hearing opponent testimony on the Access
Missouri change contained in House Bill 792 (Gayle Kingery),
the committee also heard Senate Committee Substitute
for Senate Bill 152 (Dan Clemens) on Apr. 7. The bill
revises definitions for the nursing student loan program.
It was voted “do pass” as a Consent Bill
on Apr. 9.
The committee
also heard S.B. 255 (David Pearce) on Apr. 8. It modifies
the composition of the Board of Curators for the University
of Missouri. The bill was voted “do pass”
on Apr. 9.
PROTECTING
MISSOURI’S FAIR AND IMPARTIAL COURTS
The House gave final approval (Third Reading vote) to
House Joint Resolution 10 (Stanley Cox) on Apr. 8. The
HJR revises Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan
in a number of ways, including increasing the number
of governor-appointed members of the Appellate Judicial
Commission from three to four by removing the Supreme
Court member from the commission and substituting an
at-large gubernatorial appointee.
The Missouri
Nonpartisan Court Plan is essential for the state to
select qualified judges in a way that limits partisan
politics in the selection process. This non-partisan
plan is so effective that a majority of states have
adopted some version of the “Missouri Plan.”
Fair and impartial courts are vital to democracy and
the preservation of our rights, including the fundamental
right of access to a great public school. The Missouri
NEA opposes the joint resolution and urges the General
Assembly to refrain from any changes in the Missouri
Non-Partisan Court Plan.
HOUSE
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee
met on Apr. 8 to consider four bills:
1. House
Bill 1115 (Rodney Schad) eliminates the penalty a school
district must pay on any reduction in its summer school
attendance from the 2005-2006 school year that is in
excess of 35 percent beginning in the 2009-2010 school
year. The Missouri NEA opposed the enactment of the
penalty in Senate Bill 287 from 2005 and supports Rep.
Schad’s effort to correct the provision. The bill
was voted “do pass.”
2. H.B. 222
(Brian Yates) changes the election procedures for school
board members of the Kansas City Missouri School District.
The bill imposes a term limit of two four-year terms
for board members and requires that the current subdistrict
members be elected district-wide, though they must still
live in the subdistrict. The MNEA testified in opposition
to the bill on Feb. 3 when the bill was heard. The hearing
was continued and held over until Apr. 8. Missouri NEA
is concerned that requiring all board members to run
costly, district-wide elections may discourage otherwise
interested and qualified low-income citizens from seeking
to serve on the school board. Also, the imposition of
arbitrary term limits is as troubling for school board
members as it is for legislators, since it takes away
a voter’s chance to elect the representative of
their choosing and undermines institutional memory and
expertise on the school board.
3. Senate
Bill 79 (Yvonne Wilson) modifies the definition of “bullying”
as used in school district anti-bullying policies to
include cyberbullying and electronic communications.
The Missouri NEA supports this measure to improve school
safety. The bill was voted “do pass.”
4. S.B. 55
(Rita Days) allows school districts to maintain permanent
records digitally or electronically. The Missouri NEA
supports this measure to improve efficiency of school
recordkeeping. The bill was voted out as a Consent Bill.
The committee voted “do pass” on the following
House Bills:
1. H.B. 829
(Jerry Nolte) allows school districts and other entities
to enter into joint ventures to fund certain educational
facilities.
2. H.B. 596
(Chris Molendorp) allows school districts to enter into
design-build contracts for construction projects costing
more than $1 million.
RETIREMENT
The Senate Veterans’, Pensions and Urban Affairs
Committee met on Apr. 9 to hear House Bill 265 (Ward
Franz). The bill is similar to Senate Bill 327 (Jason
Crowell) and makes several changes regarding the Public
School Retirement System of Missouri and the Public
Employee Retirement System of Missouri. It makes minor
changes regarding investment of funds and purchase of
service credit. The bill also specifies the order in
which benefits are paid to survivors after the death
of a member, prohibits additional nonprofit education
organizations from joining the systems and allows the
systems to indemnify their board members and employees.
The committee
voted a Senate Committee Substitute version of the bill
“do pass” as a Consent Bill on Apr. 9. The
SCS is similar to the original bill and adds several
provisions regarding individuals employed by school
districts after retirement from the system. The changes
specify that an individual must cease work for at least
one month before returning to part-time work in order
to be deemed to have retired and begin receiving a monthly
benefit payment. The current hourly limits will be applied
on a pro-rata basis if the employee retires during the
middle of a school year. If an employee is employed
in a capacity that would be eligible for membership
in the system, the employee shall not be considered
to be retired.
The Senate
gave first round approval (perfection vote) to Senate
Committee Substitute for S.B. 383 (Tom Dempsey) on Apr.
9. It establishes the Joint Interim Committee on the
Public School Retirement System of Missouri to function
during the legislative interim. The Joint Interim Committee
will study issues such as contribution rates by employers
and members, long-term solvency of the PSRS and issues
affecting other state retirement systems that may similarly
impact PSRS.
CAPITOL
ACTION DAYS
MNEA Capitol Action Days allow planned, face-to-face
contact with legislators throughout the legislative
session. This week’s Capitol Action Day was Apr.
8, when members from Governance District 9 visited the
Capitol. Capitol Action Days will generally be on Wednesdays
and will continue through the first week of May. Your
MNEA calendar includes the dates MNEA 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
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