As promised, last week was a big week.
Many of the bills that were started in committee 9-10 weeks ago had finally made their way through committees, past fiscal reviews and through the rules committee, approved by the Speaker and made it onto the House calendar. There, the Floor Leader makes his choices on which bills he wants to debate and in which order and the fun begins!
He usually starts the day off with a fairly simple proposition that isn't likely to get too much opposition and gradually works up to the real doozies that take an hour or so of heated discussion. We had our fair share of doozies last week.
Common Core has been gradually gaining increasing opposition in some states and Missouri is no exception. One major objection was student data collection (that had nothing to do with education). Another was the provision that computers were needed by each student and this would create financial burden in some districts and yet another was that this would take away local control and put Missouri schools at higher risk of future federal intrusion. After hours of committee and subcommittee work, a compromise was reached.
HB 1490 creates work groups starting in 2014 whose job it will be to create new academic standards to replace common core standards in order to achieve an optimal learning environment for both students and teachers. All interested parties to education in the state will have a part in the selection of the work groups. The groups must convene by Oct. 1, 2014, and will present the results of their work to the state board of education within one year. Both public and educational input will be sought by the board and by the 2017-2017 school year will be implemented. The newly implemented common core standards will be used until implementation of the Missouri core standard.
The second elephant we tackled was the transportation tax bill. The bill proposes a constitutional amendment that, upon voter approval, would allow a temporary one-cent sales tax to be levied for road and bridge building and maintenance. The tax would have a 10-year sunset and revenues would be shared with counties and municipalities. Even though Missouri has more paved roads than Illinois and Kansas combined, our transportation budget was only one-third the size of that of Illinois.
What brought us to this point and what are our options? We have had a 17-cent fuel tax levied on a per gallon basis for many years. Before economic vehicles were in demand due to raising fuel prices, we all drove more miles and used lots more fuel. We were buying concrete for less than half the cost today just 10 years ago. Asphalt prices have skyrocketed due to the petroleum base and equipment costs have doubled and tripled. MoDOT has cut their workforce, sold buildings and equipment and been operating on a bare bones budget for the last several years.
We have now reached the point where we have to take some steps to remedy the situation. Creating a toll road system was discussed and discarded because soon every four lane in the state would have toll booths like Texas, Oklahoma, New Jersey and others. Increasing the fuel tax would be very costly and I can't imagine the voters approving it. We decided that the voters should make the decision and HJR 68, if approved by the Senate, will do exactly that.
That brings us to House Bill 1770, the Right-to-Work proposal. This referendum would, if approved by voters in August, protect individuals from having to join a labor union or pay dues as a condition of gaining or keeping employment. Currently, union dues cost about $600 to $900 each year and by a two-to-one margin, members say they do not receive enough value from the union to compensate for their contributions. If members have a mechanism to hold their unions accountable, labor groups will pay more attention to the needs of the individuals they are supposed to represent.
From 1993 to 2009, Right-to-Work states created jobs twice as quickly as other states. Southwest Missouri is surrounded by Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas, all Right-to-Work states. If we want to grow our industrial base in Missouri, we must take this step. This bill passed the first vote in the House on Wednesday and is currently on the calendar for a final vote.
More next week, until then I am and remain in your service,
Bill Lant
417-437-8223
573-751-9801
General News on 04/17/2014