JEFFERSON CITY — With only five weeks left in the legislative session, Sen. Nasheed is pressing forward with her own legislation, while also fighting back against legislation being pushed by the majority-controlled senate.  Sen. Nasheed’s legislation designed to increase teacher accountability – Senate Bill 125 – which passed out the Senate, was heard in the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee this week. Sen. Nasheed appeared before the House Committee and fielded questions about the bill, making the point that the bill was requested by the St. Louis School Superintendent to enable him to effectively manage the school district and ensure quality education for students.  Sen. Nasheed also made the point that her bill brings St. Louis in line with the other school districts in the state in terms of holding teachers accountable.  Once SB 125 has been voted out of the House committee, it can be brought up on the floor for debate.

In sponsoring SJR 10, which proposes a change in the term limits law that has been in place for almost two decades, Sen. Nasheed stated, “Right now, the institutional knowledge lies with most of the lobbyists.”  Senate Joint Resolution 10, sponsored by Sen. Nasheed, would, upon approval by Missouri voters, modify the current term limits law, which permits a person to serve eight years in either the Missouri House or Senate or both, for a total of 16 years.  SJR 10 will allow an individual to serve the total of 16 years in either the House or the Senate. This measure received a hearing this week under the Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Senator Nasheed’s sponsoring this law, and to read the article click here.

For more information on this or any other of Sen. Nasheed’s sponsored legislation, or the committees on which she sits, please visit her official Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/nasheed.

One of the priorities of the Senate this session is to address an overhaul of the Missouri Criminal code, last updated in 1979. The Senate Judiciary Committee wrapped up hearings this week on this massive rewrite. Senate Bill 253, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, reorganizes the code, introduces gender-neutral language to update the state criminal code and creates a new class of felony and misdemeanor – a Class E felony and a Class D misdemeanor. Chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, says he does not want to rush the process and that there may not be enough time left in the session to approve the bill. Sen. Justus says despite the amount of attention the issue has received over the past year, she would be willing to wait until next year to tackle the overhaul of the criminal code.

In other Senate action this week, Sen. Nasheed and her colleagues sent a measure to the House that makes a number of technical changes to the Port Improvement District Act. Senate Bill 257, co-sponsored by Sen. Justus, allows Clay County to create a port improvement district and change the way port improvement districts are established. It also requires the port authority to repeal the continuation of any real property tax when all obligations of the port improvement project have been met.

Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, finally received a committee hearing on her bill to require parents who own firearms to notify their children’s schools.  Senate Bill 124 also creates the crime of negligent storage of a firearm.  As well, the Senate gave first-round approval to Senate Bill 251, co-sponsored by Sen. Chappelle-Nadal, which prohibits recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits from using their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards in any liquor store, casino, any adult-oriented establishment or in any place or for any item that is primarily marketed for or used by adults 18 or older or is not in the best interests of the child or household.

Also this week, senators passed a bill which would change eligibility criteria for energy efficiency incentive programs offered by electric companies. Currently, a customer of an electric company is not eligible to receive a monetary incentive offered by the company for an energy efficiency program if the customer has received a tax credit for low-income housing or historic preservation. Senate Bill 275, sponsored by Sen. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, makes an exception to the restriction for low-income customers.

There are five weeks remaining in the First Regular Session of the 97th Missouri General Assembly, which ends at 6 p.m. on May 17.

Below is a list of job fairs, recruitment events and business expos coming up during the month of April in the St. Louis area for anyone interested in employment opportunities. Please be aware that this schedule is subject to change at any time. You are encouraged to call the event organizer or contact person prior to attending.

The St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) is a government agency in St. Louis that offers job seekers and businesses a variety of no-cost services related to employment, job training and career advancement.

SLATE is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request.

Please take a moment to review the following opportunities from SLATE. The first concerns businesses that would like to assist with on-the-job training, and the second is in regards to a meeting for individuals wishing to participate in on-the-job training scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, 2013.