Jefferson City — With a May 9 budget deadline on the horizon, the Missouri Senate spent the week discussing several bills that will set the state’s budget for fiscal year 2009, beginning July 1, 2008. Passing a state budget is a constitutionally mandated tasks the General Assembly is required to complete each year by a certain date.
The Senate Appropriations Committee received a House-approved budget in late March and began working on revisions to bring before the full Senate this week. The initiatives, House Bills 2001 through 2013, each allocate funds to specific departments and areas. For instance, HB 2002, appropriates money to elementary and secondary education, and provides a $121.3 million increase to fully fund the state’s Foundation Formula. The bill also increases funding for the A+ Schools Program by $3.5 million.
Other highlights of this year’s proposed budget include a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment for state employees, a $10 million increase in spending for biodiesel subsidies, a $7.6 million increase for life sciences research, and increased funding for maintaining our roads and infrastructure. As it stands, the total budget is $22.6 billion, with increases totaling $356.4 million. Now that the full Senate has weighed in on the budget bills, they will move to a conference committee where members of the Senate and House will iron out any differences before the budget moves to the governor’s desk.
This week Senate Bill 1066, sponsored by Sen. Luann Ridgeway (R-Smithville), became the first Senate bill to be approved by the General Assembly. The legislation creates an alternative teacher certification process where an individual may be certified in Missouri by receiving certification from the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) and verifying the ability to work with children by completing 60 contact hours in the classroom. Certification through ABCTE does not grant state certification in the areas of early childhood education, elementary education or special education. Also included in the act is a provision that grants the state auditor the power to audit any Missouri school district in the same manner as any agency of the state. Finally the bill requires that any disbursement by the Commissioner of Education to address critical needs must be first approved by the Joint Committee on Education.
Senate Bill 1139, sponsored by Sen. Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles), received final approval from the Senate this week. The legislation establishes a state organ and tissue donor registry. Any individual who agrees to have his or her name in the registry gives full legal consent to the donation of any of his or her organs or tissues upon death. Missourians are under no obligation to add their names in the registry and may withdraw their consent at any time.
Senate Bill 1081, a bill that standardizes regulations for facilities and programs assisting the disabled, also received final approval. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Gary Nodler (R-Joplin), would add mental health workers to the state’s Family Care Safety Registry, allowing families to get background information on these workers before placing a developmentally disabled family member in their care. Any employee of a group home or residential facility for the developmentally disabled that has been placed on the state’s disqualification registry — which consists of individuals with substantiated charges of sexual abuse, neglect, or physical abuse — would be terminated under SB 1081. The final component of the legislation requires each Intermediate Care Facilities-Mentally Retarded Facilities (ICF-MR) in this state to pay, in addition to all other fees or taxes required by law, a ICF-MR provider reimbursement based on a formula created by the Department of Social Services.
The Senate also adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 40 this week, sponsored by Sen. Luann Ridgeway (R-Smithville). The resolution seeks to minimize the risk of furniture tip-over accidents and urges Congress and the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to enact regulations that strengthen incentives for furniture manufacturers to use certain furniture safety standards to decrease the risks of a tip-over. The resolution encourages the use of warning labels and wall anchoring devices for certain furniture and appliances and promotes public education on furniture tip-over dangers and prevention methods.
Senators continued debate this week on SB 1234, sponsored by Sen. Charlie Shields (R-St. Joseph). The measure creates a “mega-project’ component under the Enhanced Enterprise Zone program, which could provide tax credit incentives for companies like Bombardier, to build a $375 million airplane assembly plant at Kansas City International Airport. Bombardier is considering KCI as a potential site for the plant, which would employ approximately 2,100 workers paying an average annual wage of $55,000. Companies that qualify as a mega-project, such as Bombardier, would be allowed an income tax credit equal to a percentage of its new annual payroll for employees. To qualify, the company’s investment must be projected to exceed $300 million dollars and to create at least 1,000 new jobs over a period of eight years.
Senate Bill 711, sponsored by Senate leader Mike Gibbons (R-Kirkwood), was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee this week. The property tax reform legislation requires all taxing jurisdictions, regardless of whether they are operating at or below their tax rate ceiling, to roll back their tax rate to offset reassessment increases. It also closes a loophole that has allowed taxing districts to apply new voter-approved levies to future and unknown assessments.
Senate Bill 1105, sponsored by Sen. Maida Coleman (D-St. Louis), was passed by the House Special Committee on Tax Reform, and creates a check-off on the Missouri individual and corporate income tax forms for contributions to the breast cancer awareness trust fund. Funds collected will be used by the Friends of the Missouri Women's Council for breast cancer services.
Senate Bill 1038, sponsored by Sen. Charlie Shields (R-St. Joseph), was passed by the House Elections Committee. The bill repeals the campaign finance limits allowing individuals to contribute as much as they would like to a political campaign. Individuals and committees required to file campaign disclosure reports would be required to electronically file contributions exceeding $5,000 within 48 hours of receiving the contribution.
Senate Bill 885, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Graham (D-Columbia), was passed by the House Special Committee on Family Services. Among other provision relating to children, the legislation provides immunity from any civil or criminal liability to any person who reports a case of suspected child abuse, neglect, or assault to the proper authorities.
To follow these and other issues facing the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov. Visitors can track legislation as it passes through the General Assembly, learn more about their Senate district, or listen to streaming audio of legislative debate as it happens.
The Missouri Senate will reconvene at 4 p.m. Monday, April 21. The Second Regular Session of the 94th Missouri General Assembly will run through Friday, May 16.
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