For fiscal year 2013 and each fiscal year after that, the act modifies how money from the Gaming Commission Fund is allocated. This act removes the specific funding for the Early Childhood Development, Education and Care Fund from this fund, and provides the net proceeds of the fund remaining after distribution to the specified funds go to the Veterans' Commission Capital Improvement Fund. The Early Childhood Development, Education and Care Fund is to receive at least thirty-five million dollars from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement each year.

The amount of specified annual funding for the Missouri National Guard Trust Fund from the Gaming Commission Fund remains four million dollars. The general assembly may appropriate additional money from the Gaming Commission Fund to the Missouri National Guard Trust Fund, up to one million five hundred thousand dollars each year.

In addition to other statutory purposes, the Missouri Veterans' Commission may use the funds in the Veterans' Commission Capital Improvement Fund for administration of the Missouri Veterans' Commission.

This act prohibits colleges, universities, governmental entities, and quasi-governmental entities from establishing, operating, maintaining, offering incentives to participate in, or mandating participation in a quality rating system, training quality assurance system, or similar system for early childhood education, unless authority to operate, establish, or maintain the system is enacted into law. Quality ratings system or training quality assurance system is defined in the act. Colleges, universities, governmental entities, and quasi-governmental entities are prohibited from creating rules or establishing programs, policies, or guidelines to establish, operate, or maintain a quality rating system, training quality assurance system, or similar system for early childhood education. These prohibitions also apply to any system that links funding to a quality ratings system, awards higher child care subsidy payments to programs that achieve higher quality levels, or offer tax incentives or professional development opportunities tied to a tiered rating system. The act shall not be construed to limit the content of early childhood education courses, research, or training carried out by any public institution of higher education. The act also prohibits a course on quality rating systems or training quality assurance systems from being a requirement for certification by the state as an individual child care provider or any licensing requirement that may be established for an individual child care provider. Any taxpayer or member of the General Assembly will have standing to enforce this act.

This act requires the Joint Committee on Education to develop a comprehensive funding formula for Missouri public institutions of higher education by December 31, 2013. The general assembly shall implement a funding formula beginning in fiscal year 2015.

This act has an emergency clause.

This act has a nonseverability clause.

This act is similar to SB 793 (2012).

EMILY KALMER