For those of us fortunate enough to have a mother living and guiding us, it is nothing less than a gift from above. I encourage you to take this day to celebrate the extraordinary contributions mothers make in the lives of their children and their families.
I also want to send a huge THANK YOU! to all our teachers, nurses and law enforcement officials! This week was also "their week".
Friday is Truman Day. I hope that if you don't know any background on this Outstanding Missourian, you will take a few moments and follow the link below to learn a little about Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, from Missouri!
During his few weeks as Vice President, Harry Truman scarcely saw President Franklin Roosevelt, and received no briefing on the development of the atomic bomb or the unfolding difficulties with Soviet Russia. Suddenly these and a host of other wartime problems became Truman's to solve when, on April 12, 1945, he became America's 33rd President.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/harrystruman
It has been a long week and a short week all in the same week! Not sure if anyone else has felt that way but I think all of us here, with session winding down, feel that way for sure! Things are moving fast with amendments being tacked onto anything that doesn't move fast enough! If you have any questions or would like more information on any bill listed below, just give my office a call and we will get you whatever you request.
We will be in session all of next week with session ending at 6pm on Friday. I will possibly be late getting the Capitol Report out due to I will finish it when session officially ends. I will also try to get an end of session report out as quickly as possible.
Until next week,
Tila
Capitol News:
Missouri’s Economy Continues to Grow
The state received good news this week as the latest economic numbers show Missouri’s revenues continue to increase at a rate faster than anticipated. To date, revenues have grown by 7.7 percent compared to last year. The number represents a considerable increase over what the governor had predicted, and based his budget on, with a 4.6 percent growth estimate.
The additional dollars prompted the governor to release some of the withheld funds he had kept back as he claimed revenues were insufficient to fund all of the items in the budget. Already the state has paid back $400 million it had borrowed from the state’s reserve fund. In addition, this week the governor released another $67 million in withheld funding. These dollars will go to building projects on college campuses around the state, college scholarship programs, transportation funding for K-12 schools, and several other vital programs.
Even with the significant uptick in state revenues, the governor continues to withhold approximately $269 million in funding for the Fiscal Year 2015 budget, which ends June 30.
General Assembly Overrides Governor’s Veto of Welfare Reform Bill (SB 24)
The members of the Missouri House and Senate worked together this week to override the governor’s veto of legislation meant to reform Missouri’s system of welfare so that it does a better job of moving folks out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency. The override motion cleared the House by a vote of 113-42 and the Senate by a vote of 25-9.
The legislation will lower the lifetime benefits for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients to 45 months from the current limit of 60 months. In addition, it will add Missouri to the list of 37 other states that require welfare recipients to take immediate steps to seek employment in order to receive benefits. The legislation then takes the savings generated by the reforms and invests them in child care, education, transportation and job training assistance for participants in the TANF program.
Following the override of the bill in the House, Speaker John Diehl issued the following statement, “The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is meant to be a short-term bridge back to self-sufficiency rather than a system that condemns Missouri families to a lifetime of poverty and dependence on government assistance. This legislature has put much-needed, common sense reforms in place that will move the program back toward its intended purpose to help Missourians in need to get back on their feet and back into the workforce.”
With the successful veto override, the bill is now set to become law on August 28. However, most of the provisions in the bill will not take effect until January 1, 2016.
Legislature Takes Action to Address School Transfer Crisis (HB 42)
Legislation meant to give kids in struggling schools more options to obtain a quality education is now on its way to the governor. The House and Senate this week approved a compromise version of what has commonly been referred to as the school transfer bill.
At its core, the transfer bill is meant to clarify and improve an existing state law that allows kids to transfer from poor-performing schools to better-performing ones. The law has created a great deal of financial hardship for unaccredited districts such as Normandy, which has been forced to pick up the tab for hundreds of kids who have transferred into surrounding districts.
To help improve educational outcomes for young people in these districts, and for kids around the state, the bill includes a number of provisions that would:
I also want to send a huge THANK YOU! to all our teachers, nurses and law enforcement officials! This week was also "their week".
Friday is Truman Day. I hope that if you don't know any background on this Outstanding Missourian, you will take a few moments and follow the link below to learn a little about Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, from Missouri!
During his few weeks as Vice President, Harry Truman scarcely saw President Franklin Roosevelt, and received no briefing on the development of the atomic bomb or the unfolding difficulties with Soviet Russia. Suddenly these and a host of other wartime problems became Truman's to solve when, on April 12, 1945, he became America's 33rd President.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/harrystruman
It has been a long week and a short week all in the same week! Not sure if anyone else has felt that way but I think all of us here, with session winding down, feel that way for sure! Things are moving fast with amendments being tacked onto anything that doesn't move fast enough! If you have any questions or would like more information on any bill listed below, just give my office a call and we will get you whatever you request.
We will be in session all of next week with session ending at 6pm on Friday. I will possibly be late getting the Capitol Report out due to I will finish it when session officially ends. I will also try to get an end of session report out as quickly as possible.
Until next week,
Tila
Capitol News:
Missouri’s Economy Continues to Grow
The state received good news this week as the latest economic numbers show Missouri’s revenues continue to increase at a rate faster than anticipated. To date, revenues have grown by 7.7 percent compared to last year. The number represents a considerable increase over what the governor had predicted, and based his budget on, with a 4.6 percent growth estimate.
The additional dollars prompted the governor to release some of the withheld funds he had kept back as he claimed revenues were insufficient to fund all of the items in the budget. Already the state has paid back $400 million it had borrowed from the state’s reserve fund. In addition, this week the governor released another $67 million in withheld funding. These dollars will go to building projects on college campuses around the state, college scholarship programs, transportation funding for K-12 schools, and several other vital programs.
Even with the significant uptick in state revenues, the governor continues to withhold approximately $269 million in funding for the Fiscal Year 2015 budget, which ends June 30.
General Assembly Overrides Governor’s Veto of Welfare Reform Bill (SB 24)
The members of the Missouri House and Senate worked together this week to override the governor’s veto of legislation meant to reform Missouri’s system of welfare so that it does a better job of moving folks out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency. The override motion cleared the House by a vote of 113-42 and the Senate by a vote of 25-9.
The legislation will lower the lifetime benefits for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients to 45 months from the current limit of 60 months. In addition, it will add Missouri to the list of 37 other states that require welfare recipients to take immediate steps to seek employment in order to receive benefits. The legislation then takes the savings generated by the reforms and invests them in child care, education, transportation and job training assistance for participants in the TANF program.
Following the override of the bill in the House, Speaker John Diehl issued the following statement, “The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is meant to be a short-term bridge back to self-sufficiency rather than a system that condemns Missouri families to a lifetime of poverty and dependence on government assistance. This legislature has put much-needed, common sense reforms in place that will move the program back toward its intended purpose to help Missourians in need to get back on their feet and back into the workforce.”
With the successful veto override, the bill is now set to become law on August 28. However, most of the provisions in the bill will not take effect until January 1, 2016.
Legislature Takes Action to Address School Transfer Crisis (HB 42)
Legislation meant to give kids in struggling schools more options to obtain a quality education is now on its way to the governor. The House and Senate this week approved a compromise version of what has commonly been referred to as the school transfer bill.
At its core, the transfer bill is meant to clarify and improve an existing state law that allows kids to transfer from poor-performing schools to better-performing ones. The law has created a great deal of financial hardship for unaccredited districts such as Normandy, which has been forced to pick up the tab for hundreds of kids who have transferred into surrounding districts.
To help improve educational outcomes for young people in these districts, and for kids around the state, the bill includes a number of provisions that would:
- Allow the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to accredit individual schools within each district rather than the district as a whole;
- Allow students in unaccredited schools to transfer to other accredited schools in the district as a first option – a move designed to save districts from being bankrupted by paying for a mass exodus of students to other districts;
- Give students in urban areas the option to transfer to neighboring accredited districts if all slots are full in the accredited schools in their district. The bill also provides an option to transfer to an approved charter school or to enroll in a virtual education program;
- Help ease the financial burden on sending districts by giving receiving districts an incentive to accept lower tuition reimbursement for transferring students. The bill would allow districts that accept 25 or more students at the lower rate to be considered for accreditation with distinction; and
Supporters of the bill acknowledged that the plan doesn’t represent a perfect solution for the thousands of young people in poor-performing schools, but argued that it does provide a pathway forward for kids to receive the educational opportunities they need and deserve. They also pointed to the need to address the problem now rather than pass it along for future legislatures to solve.
Opponents of the idea took issue with the lack of a tuition cap to keep costs in check for sending schools. They also expressed concerns regarding the expansion of charter schools, and the virtual school option, which they said would be run by a private company rather than by the public school system.
The legislation now moves to the governor’s desk. The governor has already said he is unsure if he will sign or veto the bill, but indicated that he would give it a deep and thorough review before taking action.
Missouri House Gives Final Approval to Municipal Court Reform Bill (SB 5)
Another bill on its way to the governor’s desk would protect Missourians from some municipalities that have exhibited predatory practices to raise revenue through excessive traffic tickets. The bill approved by the House and Senate is designed to shut down “speed traps” by limiting the amount of revenue municipalities can generate from traffic violations.
The plan that is now just a signature from the governor away from becoming law would limit the amount of revenue municipalities can generate from traffic tickets to 20 percent, which is down from the current limit of 30 percent. The bill further limits municipalities in St. Louis County, which has been plagued by excessive traffic violations, so that only 12.5 percent of their total revenue can be derived from traffic tickets.
The bill also creates additional protections for Missourians by ending the process of courts issuing failure to appear charges against defendants for missing court dates on minor traffic violations. The bill also would prevent courts from ordering jail time for individuals who fail to pay traffic fines. In addition, the bill includes provisions to ensure accountability from municipalities in St. Louis County by requiring they meet minimum standards – police services, balanced budget, insurance, etc. – or possibly be dissolved.
Missouri House Approves Bill to Help Elderly and Disabled Missourians (SB 322)
The House approved legislation Wednesday that would allow elderly and disabled Missourians to possess more assets and still qualify for Medicaid.
Current law allows an individual to have only $1,000 in assets to qualify for Medicaid assistance. A married couple has an asset limit of $2,000. The bill approved by the House would steadily increase these limits to $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a couple by 2020. After that, the limits would continue to increase with the rate of inflation.
The bill received strong bipartisan support on the floor where the sponsor noted that Missouri’s assets limits haven’t changed since 1968. Supporters said the current limits prevent some of Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens from having enough in savings to adequately provide for themselves, or pay for things like emergency car or home repairs.
The bill now appears headed for a conference committee where selected members from the House and Senate will negotiate a final version of the bill.
