December 1 is the date each year that prefiled bills are assigned numbers and prepared for introduction to the body of the Senate on the first day of the legislative session. Prefiling legislation is an important part of the process because the lower the number of a bill, the more quickly that bill is introduced, giving it more time and opportunity for debate.

Numbering of prefiled bills begins with the most senior lawmaker offering up to three measures. Then each of the remaining 33 senators may submit up to three bills as the roster is followed down the line. Once each senator is given the opportunity to put forth his or her measures, the list is repeated until no more bills are offered. It is important to note at this point that this procedure is only for the numbering of prefiled bills prior to the start of the legislative session on Jan. 8, 2014. Bills may still be introduced by any senator until Feb. 27.

With just a handful of weeks left until the first day of session, I have a number of legislative priorities on which I will focus my immediate attention. The first bill I will prefile relates to performance-based funding for higher education, a topic my colleagues and I debated last session. Performance-based funding, a concept currently in use by more than 30 states across the country, allows each school to earn its level of funding, letting hard work and effort determine funding for the institution. Performance-based funding also gives colleges and universities incentive to work with students, assisting them through the higher education process in a timely fashion in order to graduate students in the least amount of time and with the least amount of debt.

Another bill I will prefile for the 2014 session will deal with how the Missouri State Board of Education will work to turn around failing school districts. This issue has been in the headlines on both sides of the state, and it will be in the best interest of the citizens of Missouri to put a specific policy in place in order to treat these school districts fairly and ensure students are receiving the best possible education we can provide.

A third bill I plan to prefile will ask for a study to be conducted by the Joint Committee on Education to determine the efficiency and the return on our state’s investments from statewide scholarship programs, including A+, Bright Flight, and Access Missouri. I am proposing this study in order to ensure that funds are utilized in the most efficient way for both our students and our state.

These three measures are certainly not the only legislation I will sponsor this session. However, they represent topics I believe are critical for our state. To stay up-to-date on these or any other legislation I will introduce in 2014, please visit my Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/pearce and click on “Sponsored Bills” under the “Legislation” tab.