HCS/HB 471 - This act creates new provisions of law relating to public employee incentives.PERSONNEL PAYMENTS (SECTION 105.1750)
The act declares that personnel payments made to a public employee by a public employer to encourage retention or exceptional employment achievement, established by formally adopted policy or contract at least one year prior to the applicable employment achievement, shall not be considered a bonus for purposes of the Missouri constitutional prohibition on the granting of extra compensation, fee, or allowance. Personnel payments include payments that do not exceed 20% of base wages or salary, to be awarded on completion of the retention period in question and not more frequent than annually. Personnel payments shall be made according to specific, written criteria that is predetermined and approved by the public employer in writing at least one year prior to the exceptional employment achievement.
PAYMENTS FOR EXCEPTIONAL EMPLOYMENT ACHIEVEMENT (SECTION 168.093)
The act permits contracts between a school district and any individual school district employee, which may include a provision specifying that the school district may offer and award the school district employee payments for exceptional employment achievement or to encourage retention of such school district employee pursuant to the generally applicable public employee personnel payment provision of this act. Each school district providing payments pursuant to this provision shall adopt a written policy describing specific predetermined criteria approved by the school board at least on year prior to the exceptional employment achievement.
This provision is similar to a provision in HB 1268 (2023).
DIFFERENTIATED PLACEMENT OF TEACHERS - HARD TO STAFF SCHOOLS/SUBJECT AREAS (SECTION 168.110)
The act permits a board of education of a school district to include differentiated placement of teachers on the salary schedule to increase compensation in order to recruit and retain teachers in hard-to-staff subject areas or hard-to-staff schools, as such terms are defined in the act. Any schedule using differentiated placement must be set prior to approval by the board of education. Furthermore, school districts using differentiated placement must submit annual reports to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
This provision is substantially similar to a provision in HB 190 (2023), the perfected HCS/HB 497 (2023), and HB 1036 (2023).
SCOTT SVAGERA