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By
Otto Fajen
MNEA Legislative Director
Number
18
May 20, 2009
2009 SESSION HIGHLIGHTS
Missouri NEA fought throughout the 2009 legislative
session for its priorities for children and public education.
A key focus was to protect collective bargaining rights
for all education employees. The other key effort was
to maintain and improve funding for public education
and to ensure the state maintains a fair, adequate and
sustainable tax policy to support investment in public
education and other vital services.
Missouri NEA members built relationships with legislators
in support of a consensus to support children, adequately
fund public education and respect the rights of education
employees. Over 1,000 members supported the Association’s
efforts by keeping up to date on legislative events
via the daily Legislative Update, attending MNEA Capital
Action Days at the Capitol, calling legislators or sending
e-mails in response to legislative-action alerts.
SESSION AT A GLANCE: WHAT PASSED
Property tax rollbacks fix – House Bill 148 (Ward
Franz), Senate Bill 485 (David Pearce) correct errors
in S.B. 711 (2008) and grant taxing entities continued
ability to levy 1984 tax rate.
Budget – “Full” funding of formula;
Professional Development funds cut to $7 million; Title
I and Special Ed increases due to stimulus; special
funds created for stimulus and stabilization revenues.
Immigration – H.B. 390 (Jerry Nolte) fixes H.B.
1549 (2008) problem for enrollment of international
students, does not include state law ban on public higher
education enrollment by undocumented aliens.
Tax Credits – H.B. 191 (Tim Flook) expands and
enacts various business tax credit increases, will have
significant fiscal impact.
School Retirement – H.B. 265 (Ward Franz), S.B.
411 (Jason Crowell) PSRS cleanup provisions.
Nursing Student Loans – S.B. 152 (Dan Clemens),
H.B. 247 (Tom Loehner) expands eligibility for loans
to doctoral students.
Disabled Student Graduation – H.B. 236 (Scott
Lipke) allows disabled students to participate in graduation
and still receive services.
GED – H.B. 373 (Maynard Wallace) creates state
fund and fees to fund General Equivalency Diploma tests.
Allergies in schools – H.B. 922 (Joe Smith) requires
school districts to establish policies on allergy issues
in schools.
Autism – S.B. 157 (Eric Schmitt) codifies existing
regional autism projects to support parents and students.
Foster student tuition waiver – H.B. 481 (Tim
Jones) establishes tuition waiver for former foster
students attending public institutions.
Omnibus bill – S.B. 291 (Charlie
Shields) includes the following bills:
Senate Bill 42 (Jane Cunningham) – mandates merit
pay for St. Louis City schools, but teachers must give
up tenure to participate.
S.B. 55 (Rita Days) – allows digital school permanent
records.
S.B. 60 (Yvonne Wilson)/H.B. 73 (Sara Lampe) –
adds a district-level requirement for teaching standards.
S.B. 64 (Scott Rupp) – increases charter school
sponsor accountability and revises charter school study.
S.B. 76 (Yvonne Wilson) – creates Volunteer and
Parents Incentive Program.
S.B. 78 (Yvonne Wilson) – creates Missouri Senior
Cadet Program.
S.B. 96 (Jolie Justus) – creates Foster Student
Bill of Rights.
S.B. 116 (Joan Bray) – creates Persistence to
Graduation Fund.
S.B. 117 (Tim Green) /H.B. 542 (Gina Walsh) –
Riverview Gardens formula fix.
S.B. 175 (Eric Schmitt) – creates special education
Parents Bill of Rights.
S.B. 233 - (Jane Cunningham) – creates an alternative
certification for personal finance instructors.
S.B. 253 (Jolie Justus) – Kansas City School
Board vacancies must be filled by special election.
S.B. 291 (Charlie Shields) – allows state aid
for virtual courses by school districts and charter
schools for resident students.
S.B. 314 (Jeff Smith) – creates the Missouri
Preschool Plus Grant Program.
S.B. 325 (Luann Ridgeway)/H.B. 829 (Jerry Nolte) –
allows school board agreements with political subdivisions
for joint facilities.
S.B. 345 (Brad Lager)/H.B. 242 (Gayle Kingery) –
allows four-day school week.
S.B. 394 (Brad Lager) – codifies P-20 Council.
S.B. 445 - (Scott Rupp) – requires school policies
on special education and seclusion rooms.
S.B.s 543 & 24 (Rob Mayer and Victor Callahan)
– removes state aid formula base per pupil amount
growth cap and Prop A formula revisions.
H.B. 304 (Rodney Schad) – clarifies significant
school travel time for purposes of boundary changes.
H.B. 490 (Rodney Schad) – A+ Schools eligible
institution definition technical cleanup.
H.B. 509 (Rick Stream) – requires more physical
activity time in elementary schools.
H.B. 659 (Gary Dusenberg) – provides for lapsed
district governance transition to elected board.
H.B. 682 (Terry Swinger) – permanent, inclement
weather make-up day provisions.
H.B. 689 (Rachel Bringer) – allows background
check transferability between districts.
H.B. 1102 (Maynard Wallace) – allows flexible
high school student schedules and changes compulsory
attendance from 16 years to 16 credit hours.
H.B. 1115 (Rodney Schad) – removes summer school
state aid penalty.
Senate Amendment 13 for Senate Substitute for S.B.
291 (Rita Days) – allows low-income students to
keep computers and supplemental educational materials.
S.A. 17/S.S./S.B. 291 (Charlie Shields) – requires
a joint committee study of open enrollment.
S.A. 19/S.S./S.B. 291 (Eric Schmitt) – authorizes
funding for educational services to students staying
in hospitals.
S.A. 33/S.S./S.B. 291 (Luann Ridgeway) – revises
timelines for public access to education materials and
records of State Board of Education.
(Yvonne Wilson) – requires a joint committee
study of governance in urban school districts.
Allows an election day in November 2009 with four-sevenths
approval of school debt.
(Rick Stream) – provides state aid for school
districts serving private school students on Individual
Service Plans.
(Gary Dusenberg) – conditional authority for
Blue Springs school district to have school police officers.
(Rick Stream) – removes tenure for newly-hired
non-certified staff in St. Louis City schools.
SESSION AT A GLANCE: WHAT DID NOT PASS
Early Childhood – Quality Rating System –
S.B. 4 (Charlie Shields)/H.B. 387 (Wayne Cooper), S.B.
94 (Jolie Justus) increases childcare subsidy eligibility.
“Scarlet letter”/employee misconduct –
S.B. 41 (Jane Cunningham).
Charter Schools Expansion – S.B. 64 (Scott Rupp)
expands sponsors, areas for schools.
Cyber-bullying – S.B. 79 (Yvonne Wilson) requires
school board policies to include cyber-bullying.
MU Curators – S.B. 255 (David Pearce)/H.B. 515
(Gayle Kingery) revises selection of curators if congressional
seat is lost in redistricting.
School Accountability Portal – S.B. 287 (Kurt
Schaefer) provides comprehensive, searchable database
of school-related information.
Healthcare for Working Poor – S.B. 306 (Tom Dempsey)
increases eligibility level for healthcare to 50 percent
of Federal Poverty Level.
Open enrollment – S.B. 373 (Rob Mayer) statewide
public school open enrollment, H.B. 959 (Shane Schoeller)
district open enrollment by contract.
PSRS contribution cap – S.B. 383 (Tom Dempsey)
caps employee contribution rate.
Due Process – S.B. 441 (Kurt Schaefer) provides
substantive due process for tenured teachers, H.B. 1030
(Rick Stream) allows school board option to adopt substantive
due process.
Collective Bargaining – S.B. 486 (Green), S.B.
473 (Joan Bray), H.B. 1006 (Jeff Roorda), H.B. 1159
(Tim Meadows), H.B. 805 (K. Wilson).
Missouri Promise Scholarship – S.B. 558 (Rob
Mayer) establishes third- and fourth-year scholarship
for A+ eligible students.
State Budget Stabilization – SJR 1 (Matt Bartle),
SJR 7 (Scott Rupp) requires state savings during good
years, allows use of funds in bad years.
“Prop 13” assessment freeze – SJR
4 (Cunningham).
Non-Partisan Court Plan – SJR 9 (Jim Lembke),
HJR 10 (Stanley Cox).
Legislative Accountability Dodge – SJR 15 (Jane
Cunningham).
Big Tax Cuts – H.B. 64 (Scott Lipke), H.B. 178
(Brian Stevenson) and other bills cutting income tax
or repealing corporate income tax.
Fuel Tax Exemption for Schools – H.B. 87 (Maynard
Wallace) exempts fuel for school buses from fuel tax.
School Safety – H.B. 96 (Wallace) – provides
employee immunity, improves notification requirements
and includes other school safety provisions.
Petition circulators – H.B. 228 (Mike Parson)
– increases standards and accountability for initiative
petition signature gatherers.
Small Schools Grants – H.B. 356 (Maynard Wallace)
expands grants to schools with enrollment up to 450
pupils.
Vouchers/Autism – H.B. 417 (Dwight Scharnhorst)
special education tax credit voucher; S.B. 798 (Dwight
Scharnhorst) income tax deduction for educational expenses.
Discrimination in Workplace – H.B. 481 (Tim Jones)
banned punitive damages and weakened accountability
for unlawful discrimination (bill passed, but provision
was removed).
Lapse of Unaccredited District – H.B. 488 (Rodney
Schad) allows state board to select later date for lapse.
Petition to lower taxes – H.B. 591 (Mike Sutherland)
– allows for petition to vote on lowering school
tax rate.
Tax Justice – H.B. 567 (Jeanette Oxford) establishes
progressive state income tax.
Guns on Campus – H.B. 668 (Kenny Jones) allows
concealed weapons on campuses of colleges and universities.
Minimum Salary – H.B. 717 (Steven Tilley) raises
minimum salary levels and enacts state-level merit pay
program.
School Improvement – H.B. 1102 (Maynard Wallace)
punishes/penalizes “failing” schools.
Voter ID – HJR 9 (Stanley Cox) mandates that
all voters have government issued photo identification.
TABOR – HJR 23 (Allan Icet) limits state spending
growth to current level plus Consumer Price Index plus
population growth.
“Fair” sales tax hike – HJR 36 (Edgar
Emery) eliminates income tax and increases and expands
sales tax.
Union Suppression/Secret Ballot – HJR 37 (Mike
Cunningham) prevents union representation by majority
card check or petition.
School choice/NCLB notice – requires notice of
Adequate Yearly Progress status and NCLB choice options
at least 14 days prior to school start date.
DETAILED ACTION ON KEY TOPICS
Collective Bargaining
MNEA supports collective bargaining rights for all education
employees. An effective bargaining process must have
a unified employee voice. MNEA supports legislation
that would treat all public employees fairly and is
built on broad consensus among public employee groups
and public employers. An effective bargaining law must
provide for exclusive bargaining representation, a 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.
Senate Bill 473 (Joan Bray) and House Bill 1159 (Tim
Meadows) establish a comprehensive bargaining law for
all public employees, including all school employees.
The bills provide a simple, clear framework for a discussion
of all the key elements of a collective bargaining law.
The Association strongly supports both bills.
S.B. 486 (Tim Green) and H.B. 1006 (Jeff Roorda) provide
access to forming labor organizations and election of
exclusive bargaining representation for all public sector
employees, including K-12 and higher education teachers.
The bills reflect MNEA’s work in coalition with
other public sector labor organizations and have the
support of some public employer organizations. The Association
strongly supports this bill as an important first step
in fulfilling the constitutional collective bargaining
rights of all public employees. S.B. 486 was heard in
the Senate Small Business Committee, but there was no
vote.
Again, MSTA supported legislation that would have denied
all Missouri teachers the opportunity to select a bargaining
representative of their choosing through a free and
uncoerced election. House Bill 805 (Kevin Wilson) specifies
that school boards will establish a policy to determine
who represents teachers in a district, but a majority
of teachers would not be guaranteed the right to elect
a unified employee voice. Missouri NEA opposed the bill.
H.B. 805 was amended onto House Committee Substitute
for Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 291, but was not
included in HCS #2 which eventually passed.
An effective bargaining process must have a unified
employee voice. Piecing a bargaining team together from
various groups builds a communication gap into the process
and leaves teachers scrambling for a cohesive voice.
Missouri NEA believes every child has the basic right
to attend a great public school, and nothing should
dilute the voice of teachers in how that is accomplished.
Budget
The House and Senate completed action on all budget
bills by late evening on May 7, one day ahead of the
constitutional deadline. The House took up and passed
the Conference Committee Report on each of the operating
budget bills, House Bills 2-12 (Allen Icet), except
for H.B. 11, the social services budget bill, on May
6. However, final House action on those bills was delayed
until May 7, as each bill was laid over before the Conference
Committee Substitute was given final approval. This
procedural move allowed the House to hold onto all of
the other budget bills until conference committee action
was completed on the remaining budget bills.
H.B. 2 (Allen Icet), the K-12 education budget bill,
was given final approval (third reading vote) on May
7 by a largely party-line vote of 94-58 in the House
and a nearly unanimous 31-1 vote in the Senate. The
respective floor votes are illustrative of the way the
respective budgeting committees in the two chambers
work: more partisan in the House and less partisan in
the Senate. H.B. 2 reduces state professional development
funding from $15 million this year to only $7 million
next year.
H.B. 3 (Allen Icet), the higher education budget bill,
was given final approval (third reading vote) on May
7 by a vote of 144-13 in the House and 29-4 in the Senate.
H.B. 11 (Allen Icet), the social services budget bill,
was the most controversial of the operating budget bills.
The House took up and then defeated Conference Committee
Report #1 on H.B. 11 by a 75-85 party-line vote after
lengthy and, at times, heated debate over a proposal
to restore healthcare services for low-income working
parents at or below 50 percent of Federal Poverty Level.
The proposal was supported by both caucuses in the Senate,
the House minority caucus, most major business and social
services advocacy groups across the state and was supported
by Missouri NEA; but, the House majority caucus was
able to block the funding for this essential healthcare
service for low-income, working parents. The bill was
sent back to conference and the conferees agreed to
a new report (CCR#2) that called for funding for the
healthcare for low-income parents only if S.B. 306 (Tom
Dempsey) passes this session. The House and Senate finally
passed CCR#2 for H.B. 11 on May 7. However, S.B. 306
did not pass.
The Senate gave final approval to Senate Committee
Substitute for House Committee Substitute for House
Bill 21 (Allen Icet) on May 6. The House agreed to the
Senate version and finally passed the bill late on May
7. H.B. 21 contains over $2.2 billion in federal stimulus
funding, including about $500 million in additional
funding for public schools, primarily through federal
Title I and special education funding formulas.
The Senate passed Senate Substitute for SCS/HCS/H.B.
22 (Allen Icet) on May 6. The S.S. version of H.B. 22
contains about $380 million in federal stabilization
funding over the next two years, with about $348 million
allocated for the first year.
The House gave final approval to SCS/HCS/H.B. 17 (Allen
Icet) on May 7. The bill contains about $560 million
in capital spending for various agencies over the next
two years, including about $247 million in capital projects
for public higher education institutions.
Union Suppression
House Joint Resolution 37 (Mike Cunningham) prevents
employees from selecting union representation by majority
support via signature. The HJR narrowly passed the House
on May 4 by a vote of 82-76, but did not pass the Senate.
The HJR is a proposal brought forward by the opponents
of HR 1409, the federal Employee Free Choice Act. 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 opposed HJR 37. 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.
Tax Credit Vouchers
MNEA opposed the out-of-state extreme agenda to impose
tax-credit vouchers, also known as “charitable
scholarships.” House Bill 417 (Dwight Scharnhorst)
and Senate Bill 85 (Jason Crowell) would have created
a tax credit for donations to private scholarship funds
providing payments for disabled students to attend private
or religious schools or out-of-district public schools.
MNEA opposed both bills.
Teaching Standards
Missouri NEA supports establishing state teaching standards,
so that state policy is clear on what teachers are supposed
to know and be able to do, how those standards will
be assessed, and how mentoring, beginning teacher assistance
programs and other professional development will help
teachers meet those teaching standards. Senate Bill
60 (Yvonne Wilson) and House Bill 73 (Sara Lampe) would
have enacted teaching standards. Sen. Wilson offered
S.B. 60 as an amendment to S.B. 291. The language was
enacted into law in a revised form that requires every
school district to establish teaching standards that
include the core topics included in S.B. 60 and H.B.
73.
Professional Development Funding
One of the largest disappointments in H.B. 2 (Allen
Icet), the K-12 education budget bill, was the reduction
in funding allocated annually to address statewide areas
of critical need. The current year funding is $15 million,
down from $20 million in Fiscal Year 2008. Next year’s
appropriation is cut to $7 million and will result in
the loss of funding for several key programs.
Alternative Certification for Finance Instructors
Senate Bill 233 (Jane Cunningham) creates an alternative
certificate for personal finance instructors. The bill
did not pass, but the language was amended onto S.B.
291 and did pass. The language allows the State Board
of Education to define the background requirements to
be eligible for the certificate and applicants must
pass the Praxis II test. One feature that may tend to
reduce the appeal of this alternative certificate is
the fact that the bill will not allow teachers using
this certificate to become tenured. Missouri NEA is
concerned that the bill may further weaken teaching
standards.
Accountability Portal
The Missouri NEA supported an expansion of school accountability
using the Missouri Accountability Portal to provide
Web access to board policies, salary schedules and other
compensation information and school budgets for every
district in the state. Senate Bill 287 (Kurt Schaefer)
requires all such information to be provided to the
state by school districts and made available online
in a searchable database, but the bill did not pass.
“Scarlet Letter”/Employee References
Senate Bill 41 (Jane Cunningham) revises several provisions
affecting school employees, including a provision to
grant civil immunity on job references. The language
was amended into the first House Committee Substitute
for S.B. 291 but was not included in HCS #2 and did
not pass. Missouri NEA opposed the bill. The bill requires
districts to maintain data on unsubstantiated reports
of employee sexual misconduct and requires districts
to report this data to other districts upon request
if the employee waives the right to keep such information
confidential. Failure to waive such rights will automatically
serve as a “red flag” to a potential employer,
even if the information is related to a false allegation
or wrongful termination. This “guilty until proven
innocent” presumption will be profoundly unfair
to education employees.
School Retirement
H.B. 265 (Ward Franz) and S.B. 411 (Jason Crowell) make
several changes regarding the Public School Retirement
System of Missouri and the Public Employee Retirement
System of Missouri. The bills make minor changes regarding
investment of funds and purchase of service credit;
specify the order in which benefits are paid to survivors
after the death of a member, prohibit additional nonprofit
education organizations from joining the systems; and,
allow the systems to indemnify their board members and
employees. Both bills passed.
S.B. 383 (Tom Dempsey) capped employee contributions
into PSRS, but the bill did not pass.
Substantive Due Process
Legislation to establish substantive due process for
tenured teachers was filed as Senate Bill 441 (Kurt
Schaefer) and House Bill 1030 (Rick Stream). Neither
bill passed. S.B. 441 establishes substantive due process
as an option for either the school board or the teacher
in all districts, while H.B. 1030 allows each school
district to establish substantive due process for all
tenured teachers in the district. Missouri NEA supports
both bills. Substantive due process takes the politics
out of the tenure process by providing for a preliminary
hearing by an impartial hearing officer on a teacher’s
status, rather than a politically-charged hearing before
the school board.
“Merit” and Differential Pay
Senate Bill 42 (Jane Cunningham) creates a state program
of incentive pay, but requires any participating teacher
to permanently give up tenure to participate. The bill
did not pass, but a version of the language limited
to only St. Louis City schools was amended onto S.B.
291 and did pass. MNEA opposes mandatory merit pay.
Any employee compensation features, such as incentive
pay, should be bargained locally and should only be
adopted with the approval of the affected employees.
Early Childhood Education
MNEA supports statewide universal access to quality
pre-kindergarten instructional programs for all children.
Senate Bill 4 (Charlie Shields) and House Bill 387 (Wayne
Cooper) establish a quality rating system for early
child care programs. MNEA supported the bills as a first
step to improve the quality of early childhood education
programs; however, neither bill passed.
Senate Bill 94 (Jolie Justus) increases eligibility
for child care subsidy benefits for the working poor.
Missouri NEA supported this effort to improve access
to quality early childhood education, but the bill did
not pass.
Education of Foster Children
Senate Bill 96 (Jolie Justus) establishes the “Foster
Care Education Bill of Rights Act.” The bill did
not pass, but the language was amended onto S.B. 291
and passed on that bill. The bill requires each school
district to select a staff person to ensure and facilitate
the proper educational placement, enrollment in school,
and checkout from school of foster children. Missouri
NEA supports the intent of S.B. 96 in improving continuity
of placement and school district involvement in the
planning of educational service for foster care students.
The bill provides that a child placing agency shall
promote educational stability for foster care children
by considering the child’s school attendance area
when making placement decisions. The foster care child
shall have the right to remain enrolled in and attend
his or her school of origin pending resolution of school
placement disputes. In addition, each school district
shall accept for credit full or partial coursework satisfactorily
completed by a foster care pupil while attending a public
school, nonpublic or nonsectarian school. A school district
may permit access of pupil school records to any child
placing agency for educational case management needs
and to assist with the school transfer or placement
of a pupil.
S.B. 96 also contains language relating to education
decision making for foster children placed in private
residential care facilities by the Department of Social
Services. The bill creates a mediation process when
the child’s family support team does not agree
with the local school district’s determination
of the amount of educational service to be provided
to the student.
Foster Child Tuition Waiver
Language amended onto House Bill 481 (Tim Jones) and
passed on the last day of session provides that qualifying
children who age out of the foster care system will
receive tuition and fee waivers at public colleges and
universities. The students must graduate from high school
or get a General Equivalency Diploma, apply and be accepted
at the institution before age 21, apply for all grant
aid under federal financial aid rules and complete at
least 100 hours of community service.
School Safety
House Bill 96 (Maynard Wallace) extends employee immunity
to all school board policies, not just the discipline
policy; broadens the reporting of acts of school violence
under the Safe Schools Act; allows school boards to
commission certified law enforcement officers for local
violations and certain crimes committed on school premises,
at school activities or on buses; and, makes many other
changes related to school safety. Missouri NEA generally
supports the provisions in the bill, but the bill did
not pass. The bill passed the House by an overwhelming
majority, but did not get taken up for floor debate
in the Senate.
Immigration and Higher Education
House Bill 390 (Jerry Nolte) contains several provisions
relating to undocumented aliens. The House version bans
all undocumented aliens from attending public institutions
of higher education. Missouri NEA opposed the House
version. The Association believes that denial of state
education services is not a substitute for comprehensive
immigration policy reform at the federal level. The
Senate version corrects problems created by H.B. 1549
(Bob Onder) from 2008 and allows international students
to continue to attend public colleges and universities
in Missouri. The Association supported the Senate version
and that version was enacted.
Charter Schools
Senate Bill 64 (Scott Rupp) makes several changes regarding
charter school laws. Provisions of concern include expansion
of the regions in which charter schools may be operated,
and these provisions did not pass. Positive changes
include specific standards for conduct on the part of
charter school sponsors and a mandate that at least
90 percent of sponsor funding actually be used for the
work of sponsoring charter schools. The positive provisions
were incorporated in S.B. 291 and passed.
Open Enrollment
Senate Bill 373 (Rob Mayer) creates procedures for open
enrollment of public school students across school district
boundary lines. The bill was heard in the Senate Education
Committee, but did not pass. Missouri NEA believes the
bill may undermine local accountability for ensuring
equitable access to at-risk students and special needs
students and may create opportunities for student athletics
and activities recruitment. The bill does not fund the
true costs to both the sending and receiving districts,
including the cost of facilities in the receiving district,
and has not been demonstrated serve the best interests
of all students and schools.
House Bill 959 (Shane Schoeller) creates procedures
for school districts to establish open enrollment of
students across school district boundary lines to either
public or private schools. The bill allows the decision
to be made by the school board or by an initiative petition
process and district-wide vote. The bill did not pass.
Missouri NEA believes that the petition process could
undermine local board leadership in the district. Missouri
NEA also strongly opposes any measure to transfer public
funds to private, religious or home schools that are
not accountable to all standards placed on public schools.
Finally, the bill does not fund the true costs to both
the sending and receiving districts, including the cost
of facilities in the receiving district, and has not
been demonstrated to serve the best interests of all
students and schools.
Property Tax Rollbacks
House Bill 148 (Ward Franz) and Senate Bill 485 (David
Pearce) correct an error created by S.B. 711 (Michael
Gibbons) in 2008. The bills grant taxing entities continued
ability to levy their 1984 tax rate.
Several harmful proposals were filed to arbitrarily
limit individual property assessments until a property
is sold. These proposals are similar to “Proposition
13” enacted many years ago in California. That
proposal has seriously undermined tax fairness and adequacy
in California.
Senate Joint Resolution 4 (Jane Cunningham) puts similar
rollback requirements into Missouri’s Constitution.
However, the SJR was defeated in committee and did not
pass.
H.B. 591 (Mike Sutherland) allows an initiative petition
in a school district to call for a vote on lowering
the school tax rate.
Local school property taxes are the largest single
source of funding for Missouri’s public schools.
Any proposal that affects the setting of tax rates and
the collection of property taxes will have a significant
impact on public schools. The reassessment process is
a crude approximation in determining the true property
value of each property which generally increases incrementally
every year, just like the cost to educate a child. Missouri
NEA worked to ensure that the property tax legislation
will allow school districts to maintain adequate and
stable revenues from property taxes.
Budget Stabilization
Senate Joint Resolution 1 (Matt Bartle) creates the
Missouri Savings Account and requires 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. SJR 7 (Scott
Rupp) creates the Missouri Revenue Retention Fund and
requires 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 can be appropriated to fund
state services in years when state general revenues
decline. Both SJRs address the challenge of maintaining
adequate state revenues during economic slowdowns and
recessions and create a structure for a usable budget
stabilization fund. Missouri NEA supports the concept
of SJR 1 and SJR 7, and urges that the language be revised
to create a workable structure for state budget stabilization.
Tax Cuts for Corporations and the Wealthy
None of the following bills passed. House Bill 64 (Scott
Lipke) allows full deductibility of federal income tax
on state income tax returns and lowers the individual
income tax rate. H.B. 178 (Bryan Stevenson), Senate
Bill 392 (Charlie Shields) and S.B. 367 (Luann Ridgeway)
eliminate the corporate income tax. These bills would
have significantly harmed the fairness and adequacy
of the state taxes that support public schools and other
vital services. Missouri NEA believes the taxes that
support great investments, such as our public schools,
should be fair, adequate and sustainable.
No Tax Justice in “Fair” Tax
House Joint Resolution 36 (Ed Emery) eliminates the
state income tax and replaces it with a state sales
tax. The HJR passed the House but did not pass the Senate.
The state needs a fair, adequate and sustainable tax
policy to fund investment in public schools and other
vital services. However, the joint resolution would
make Missouri’s tax code profoundly less fair,
less adequate and less sustainable. Missouri NEA strongly
opposes this type of regressive tax change that keeps
Missouri from obtaining the revenue it needs to invest
in public schools, public higher education and other
vital public services like healthcare.
The resolution is supposed to be revenue neutral in
the aggregate, but it shifts taxes from wealthier taxpayers
to the working poor and middle class. Also, based on
the fiscal note, the joint resolution would initially
fall at least $2.2 billion short of replacing the roughly
$6 billion in state income tax eliminated by the joint
resolution, and a higher sales tax rate will be needed.
Legislative Accountability Dodge
Senate Joint Resolution 15 (Jane Cunningham) prohibits
a state court from instructing or ordering the state
legislature or any local government to levy or increase
taxes. Missouri NEA opposed SJR 15. It is an obvious
attempt to avoid accountability for the failure to meet
the constitutional demand to adequately and equitably
fund public education. Also, it undermines the fundamental
balance of governmental powers and leaves the people
of Missouri with no legal recourse to hold the legislature
accountable for failure to live up to its Constitutional
obligations.
Voter Identification Restrictions
House Joint Resolution 9 (Stanley Cox) requires any
person seeking to vote in a public election to provide
election officials a driver’s license or other
government-issued photo identification. Missouri NEA
believes voting is a constitutional right that should
not be restricted by unnecessary voter photo identification
requirements or other additional barriers to the voting
franchise. The HJR was voted out of the House Elections
Committee but did not pass.
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 identification restrictions or
other measures that would have the effect of suppressing
voter turn out among the most vulnerable of our citizens.
Protecting Missouri’s Fair and Impartial
Courts
House Joint Resolution 10 (Stanley Cox) and Senate Joint
Resolution 9 (Jim Lembke) increase the number of governor-appointed
members of the Appellate Judicial Commission from three
to five. HJR 10 passed the House, but did not pass the
Senate. The Missouri NEA opposed both joint resolutions
and urged the General Assembly to refrain from any changes
in the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan.
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 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.
Standards for Petition Circulators
House Bill 228 (Mike Parson) enacts additional standards
for petition circulators. The bill passed the House
but did not make it through the Senate. The bill: prohibits
paying signature gatherers by the signature, a practice
that has been shown to lead to fraudulent practices;
requires signature collectors to be Missouri residents;
requires signature gatherers to register prior to collecting
signatures; prohibits any person convicted of forgery
from collecting signatures; and, increases penalties
for signing false names on petitions.
Missouri NEA supports the effort of H.B. 228 and similar
bills to reduce fraud in the signature-gathering process
for initiative petitions. These efforts will ensure
that the initiative process is truly reflective of issues
of concern to Missourians and not merely issues of concern
to well-heeled, out-of-state interest groups willing
to spend millions of dollars and engage in questionable
or fraudulent practices to get an issue on the ballot
in Missouri.
FOR MORE INFO...
More information on MNEA’s position and activity
on bills of interest can be found in the 2009 MNEA Legislative
Updates at: http://www.mnea.org/publications/legislative/index.htm.
Supporting detail about a specific bill can be found
on the official Missouri General Assembly Web site at:
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.
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