JEFFERSON CITY — The 2010 legislative session may be more than two months away, but lawmakers continue to maintain a busy legislative schedule, including attending committee meetings that help them gather public input and research specific issues as they prepare for the upcoming legislative session.
Two of the three Missouri Senate 2020 Committees, which are assigned the task of developing long-range strategies in key policy areas, met this month. The Job Creation 2020 (10/28) and Healthy Missourians 2020 (10/29) committees both held meetings in St. Louis. The Educated Citizenry 2020 Committee will meet next week (11/5) at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg to begin hearing public testimony, which will focus on answering specific questions, such as what it means to be an educated citizen in 2020 and what employers will need from their employees in the year 2020.
The 2020 committees were created after the Missouri Senate passed three resolutions during the 2009 legislative session. Senate Resolutions 302 (job creation), 303 (health care) and 304 (education), introduced by Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields (R-St. Joseph), each established the 2020 committees, whose members are responsible for defining where Missouri should stand in these respective areas in the year 2020. The committees will serve through December 31, 2010.
Listen to the Senate Minute’s report on the Senate 2020 committee hearings.
The Joint Committee on Education , which is responsible for reviewing and monitoring the progress of education in the state's public schools and institutions of higher education, also met this month. The meeting focused on gathering public input for its study on open enrollment, which is when a student may enroll in a school district other than the district in which he or she resides. The study is required as part of the omnibus education bill passed this year, SB 291 , and the committee must present its findings to the General Assembly by the end of the year.
Senator Jane Cunningham (R-Chesterfield), Sen. Rob Mayer (R-Dexter), Sen. Scott T. Rupp (R-Wentzville), Sen. Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia), Sen. Rita Heard Days (D-St. Louis) and Sen. Yvonne Wilson (D-Kansas City) all serve on the committee.
Listen to the Senate Minute’s report on the open enrollment hearings.
Also meeting this month was the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight , which is required by law to put together a report each year detailing all state revenues and expenditures relating to transportation in Missouri as well as any other information requested. During the meeting, the committee focused on the state’s multi-modal transportation needs, including rail, aviation and ports.
Senator Bill Stouffer (R-Napton), Sen. Joan Bray (D-St. Louis), Sen. Dan Clemens (R-Marshfield), Sen. Days, Sen. John Griesheimer (R-Washington), Sen. Delbert Scott (R-Lowry City), and Sen. Wes Shoemyer (D-Clarence) all serve on the joint committee.
Listen to This Week in the Missouri Senate’s description of the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight’s latest meeting.
With another legislative session a little more than two months away, senators will be allowed to begin pre-filing bills for the 2010 legislative session as of Dec. 1. The pre-introduction of bills may continue up to, but not including, the first day of session, which begins Jan. 6, 2010.
The Missouri Senate General Column is written on a regular basis. To follow these and other issues being addressed by the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov . Visitors can research legislation and learn more about their Senate district and the legislative process. For more legislative news, please visit the Senate Newsroom . There you will find various audio and video programs, such as:
- Missouri Legislative Update (MLU) A video program produced periodically throughout the year that provides an overview of the news in the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives. The program features news interviews with lawmakers and stories on issues concerning Missourians.
- Capital Dialogue Missourinet's Bob Priddy hosts this monthly half-hour roundtable program bringing legislators together from the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives from different political parties to discuss their positions on specific issues and legislation.
- This Week in the Missouri Senate A weekly five-minute audio program that wraps up the week’s news in the Missouri Senate. Programs are posted online every Friday in .mp3 format. Listeners have the option of subscribing to the program via podcast.
- Senate Minute A condensed, one-minute audio report of current Senate news. Programs are posted in .mp3 format and available through podcast.
- Daily Audio / Video Clips Throughout the year, the Senate Newsroom posts audio and video highlights from Senate committee hearings, floor debate, press conferences and other legislative events.
- Daily News Clips The Senate Newsroom compiles daily news clips on issues relating to the Legislature and state government. An archive of past clips is maintained online.
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