It's hard to believe that I have been in office for nearly a year now. I have learned a lot during this past year, and I look forward to learning even more during the upcoming legislative session. I've met many of my constituents, helped a lot of them with a lot of different issues and look forward to working with more during the next year.
This is the last newsletter of 2009. Around the end of January you will start receiving newsletters once a week again. If there is anything you would like to see addressed in the newsletter that I am not addressing please let Cheri know.
I also wanted to let you know that my office will be closed from December 23 through January 4, 2009 for the Holidays. Please feel free to leave messages or send us an e-mail because Cheri will be checking those occasionally throughout that time.
For now, I hope you enjoy this newsletter, and wish each and every one of you a joyous and blessed Holiday Season.
STATE RELEASES NOVEMBER 2009 GENERAL REVENUE REPORT
State Budget Director Linda Luebbering announced today that 2010 fiscal year-to-date net general revenue collections declined 7.7 percent compared to fiscal year 2009, from $2.93 billion last year to $2.71 billion this year.
Net general revenue collections for November 2009 increased by 6.9 percent compared to those for November 2008, from $522.0 million to $557.8 million.
GROSS COLLECTIONS BY TAX TYPE
- Decreased 6.3 percent for the year, from $2.09 billion last year to $1.96 billion this year.
- Increased 2.0 percent for the month.
Sales and use tax collections
- Decreased 7.9 percent for the year from $788.9 million last year to $726.2 million this year.
- Increased 5.1 percent for the month.
Corporate income and corporate franchise tax collections
- Decreased 12.9 percent for the year, from $164.0 million last year to $142.9 million this year.
- Decreased 19.8 percent for the month.
All other collections
- Decreased 1.8 percent for the year, from $167.3 million last year to $164.4 million this year.
- Increased 25.8 percent for the month.
Refunds
- Increased 2.7 percent for the year, from $278.2 million last year to $285.7 million this year.
- Decreased 19.3 percent for the month.
STATE HAPPENINGS
by Marc Powers, Assistant Minority Floor Leaders OfficeINFLATED FOOD STAMP NUMBERS COULD COST STATE
The Missouri Department of Social Services on Dec. 14 informed the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the state has significantly over-reported the number of Missourians receiving food stamps since 2002. The revelation could force the state to repay at least part of the $14.1 million in bonuses it has received for having a high rate of participation in the program.
In a letter to the USDA, the director of the Missouri Family Services Division said a computer programming error inflated participation totals by continuing to count former food stamp recipients no longer receiving benefits. The error only inflated the participation figures Missouri reported to the federal government and didn't result in ineligible people receiving benefits.
Because of the error, the state reported that more than 1.1 million Missourians received food stamps in September, while the actual number was about 855,000. USDA officials haven't yet determined if or how soon Missouri would have to repay the performance bonuses.
MORE DISCLOSURE ADDED TO JUDICIAL SELECTION PROCESS
The Missouri Supreme Court on Dec. 14 modified court rules governing the judicial selection process to expand the amount of information made public regarding candidates under consideration for open judgeships. The process has faced criticism in recent years for being overly secretive.
Under the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, special nominating commissions consider applications for openings on the Supreme Court, state Court of Appeals and circuit courts in the St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield areas. The relevant commission selects three finalists for each vacancy, and the governor must appoint one of them or forfeit the decision to the commission.
Previously, only the names of the three finalists were released, with the names other all other applicants kept confidential. Under the revised rule, the names of all applicants interviewed by the commission will be made public.
TAX COMMISSION RAISES VALUES FOR PRIME FARM LAND
The Missouri State Tax Commission on Dec. 15 set new "productive values" for agricultural land that would increase the base property values for the best land while reducing values for poorer quality land. Agricultural land values haven't been adjusted since 1995.
Agricultural land is divided into eight classifications, with Grade 1 being of the highest quality and Grade 8 the worst. The commission approved raising values for Grades 1-4, lowering values for Grades 5-7 and keeping Grade 8 the same. The biggest increase is for Grade 1, which would go from $985 per acre to $1,270 per acre. The biggest decrease is for Grade 5, which would go from $195 per acre to $147 per acre.
The new values will take effect on Jan. 1, 2011, unless the General Assembly passes a concurrent resolution rejecting the changes by March 8, 2010. When the State Tax Commission last approved increasing agricultural land values in 1997, the General Assembly rejected the changes.
FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER JETTON CHARGED WITH ASSAULT
The Scott County prosecuting attorney on Dec. 7 charged former House Speaker Rod Jetton with second degree assault, a felony, for allegedly beating a Sikeston woman during a sexual encounter on Nov. 15. The incident report by the Sikeston Department of Public Safety indicates that the encounter wasn't consensual and that the woman may have been drugged, although Jetton hasn't been charged with a sex offense.
Jetton, 42, turned himself into the Cole County Sheriff's Department the evening he was charged and was released after posting a $2,500 bond. He hasn't publicly commented on the charges, but his attorney, Stephen Wilson of Cape Girardeau, issued a statement proclaiming his client's innocence. Jetton is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 6.
Jetton, R-Marble Hill, served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009, when he was forced out due to term limits. He spent the last four years of his tenure as House speaker and served as speaker pro tem, the chamber's No. 2 post, for two years prior to that. While still in office, Jetton started a for-profit political consulting business that listed about a dozen Republican lawmakers as clients. Wilson said on Dec. 15 that Jetton will immediately close his consulting firm, through which he has received more than $400,000 from Republican lawmakers in the last three years, according to a review of campaign finance records by The Associated Press.
SUPREME COURT SAYS PUBLIC DEFENDERS CAN REJECT CASES
The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Dec. 8 that the Missouri Public Defender System can refuse to accept any new cases in order to keep caseloads from exceeding recommended limits, although the court said defenders can't single out certain types of cases for rejection. Given that the public defender represents about 80 percent of criminal defendants who face incarceration and that the Sixth Amendment bars defendants from being tried for crimes that carry the penalty of imprisonment if they don't have access to legal representation, the decision could bring prosecutions in the state to a virtual standstill if the state doesn't substantially increase funding for the system, which is considered unlikely since massive cuts throughout the state budget are looming due to lack of revenue.
The system currently has about 370 lawyers but needs an additional 200 lawyers just to adequately handle its existing caseload. The system represented indigent defendants in about 88,000 cases last year. The Missouri Public Defender Commission, which oversees the system, sought to alleviate caseloads by allowing defenders to refuse to accept certain types of cases, such as probation violations or when a defendant originally had a private attorney.
While the court said public defenders lack the legal authority to pick and choose cases in which they will represent indigent defendants, the commission can close the system to all new cases until caseloads fall below recommended limits. The court, however, encouraged judges and prosecutors to help avoid that outcome by working with the defender system to reduce the number of cases that would require representation by public defenders.
NIXON CALLS FOR STRENGTHENING DWI LAWS
In response to a recent investigative series by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that revealed lax enforcement and prosecution of drunken driving cases, particularly those involving repeat offenders, Gov. Jay Nixon on Dec. 9 said he is asking lawmakers to pass a package of reforms to address the situation during the upcoming legislative session that begins Jan. 6.
One of Nixon's proposals would require DWI cases involving a driver who refuses to take a Breathalyzer test or a driver with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 – well above the state's legal limit of 0.08 – to be prosecuted in state court instead of municipal court, where critics of the existing system say judges and prosecutors tend to go easier on defendants. Other proposals include making it a crime to refuse to submit to a breath test, eliminating expungement of DWI convictions and improving statewide tracking of DWI offenses.
COURT RULES AGAINST STATE IN IMMIGRATION STING CASE
Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan on Nov. 25 ruled that the administration of former Gov. Matt Blunt improperly voided the state contract of a janitorial firm accused of hiring illegal immigrants to clean state buildings. Callahan ordered the state to pay the company $152,000 in damages and to lift a ban against the firm bidding on future state contracts.
Blunt terminated nine contracts Sam's Janitorial Service had to clean state buildings following a March 2007 immigration sting conducted in Jefferson City by federal and state authorities. About two dozen employees of the firm were detained, though only a few were later found to be in the country illegally.
In suing the state for breach of contract, the company claimed it hadn't knowingly hired illegal workers and had done everything within its power to verify the legal status of its employees. Callahan agreed the company had taken all the steps legally required of it and noted that authorities used information that wasn't available to the company to establish that some of the employees were in the country illegally.
MoDOT TO LAY OFF 100 EMPLOYEES TO BOOST PENSION FUND
The Missouri Department of Transportation will lay off 100 of its 6,600 employees so it can shift the savings to boost payments to the department's pension fund, The Kansas City Star reported on Dec. 2. MoDOT Director Pete Rahn said the Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees' Retirement System currently has $1.6 billion in unfunded liabilities due in large part to losses incurred during the economic recession.
The layoffs will be spread statewide among MoDOT's 10 district office. The savings is expected to allow the department to contribute an additional $5.3 million a year to the retirement fund for the next 15 years.
ATTORNEY TO DROP LAWSUITS IN EXCHANGE FOR BILL
A Farmington attorney who has sued several Missouri cities for allegedly engaging in illegal tax stacking has agreed to drop the pending cases in exchange for a promise by House and Senate leaders to pursue legislation that would ban the practice in the future. At issue is a state law that allows cities, with voter approval, to impose a sales tax of up to 1 percent for general purposes.
Relying on a 1999 interpretation of the law by the Missouri Department of Revenue, many cities have won voter approval of multiple sales taxes. Attorney Tom Burcham, a former Republican state representative, contends the law allows for only one such tax and has sued several cities that have imposed multiple taxes.
The Springfield News-Leader reported on Dec. 2 that Burcham agreed to drop the lawsuits after House Majority Leader Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, and Senate Majority Leader Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, promised to push legislation that would clarify that cities can only impose one such tax in future but allow cities to retain multiple sales taxes that have already been approved by voters.
News of the deal came one day after The Associated Press reported that state Rep. Tim Jones, R-Eureka, said the FBI had questioned him in October about Tilley's role in killing a bill Jones had sponsored earlier this year that would have specifically authorized tax stacking and derailed Burcham's lawsuits. Burcham controls political campaign committees that have funneled more than $100,000 to Tilley.
STATE REVENUE COLLECTIONS STILL DOWN BUT IMPROVING
A strong November helped to improve the state's financial picture, although revenue collections are still down for the year. According to budget figures released on Dec. 2 by the Missouri Office of Administration, state general revenue collections for the first five months of the 2010 fiscal year were down 7.7 percent compared to the same period in FY 2009, dropping to $2.71 billion from $2.93 billion.
That change, however, marks a significant improvement from just one month earlier when year-to-date FY 2010 collections were down 10.8 percent compared to FY 2009. Net general revenue collections for November 2009 increased 6.9 percent compared to November 2008 collections, rising to $557.8 million from $522 million.
MISSOURI STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS OPEN H1N1 FLU VACCINE TO EVERYONE
Source: Missouri Department of Health and Senior ServicesContact: Kit Wagar, Office of Public Information
Officials cite increased vaccine supplies and success at vaccinating groups most at risk
With shipments of the H1N1 flu vaccine arriving daily, Missouri state health officials are encouraging local health departments to begin offering the vaccine to anyone who requests it.
The new policy make the vaccine available for the first time to seniors and other healthy adults. Until now, limited supplies of the vaccine forced local health departments to restrict the vaccine to groups that were hardest hit by the new flu strain, including infants, children and pregnant women.
The H1N1 virus has become the dominant strain of flu throughout the United States. In Missouri, it represents at least 90 percent of the flu cases reported in the current flu season, which began Oct. 4. The highly contagious strain has caused the number of flu cases to skyrocket.
In the first eight weeks of the current flu season, physicians reported 26,307 cases of flu in Missouri. In the first eight weeks last year, they reported 56.
Unlike seasonal flu, the new virus has also disproportionately afflicted young people. Just less than half of Missouri's flu cases have occurred in children age 5 to 14, which contributed to the 61 school closings so far this school year. Nearly 77 percent of Missouri's flu cases have been among people 24 years old and younger.
Flu infections peaked in late October, when 6,283 cases were reported in a single week. But health officials warned that flu tends to come in waves and flu season usually peaks in January and February. Therefore, health officials continue to urge people to get vaccinated now, particularly if they have an underlying health problem such as asthma or diabetes that puts them at risk for complications from the flu.
Because the situation can vary across the state, each local health department will decide whether to make the vaccine available to anyone. Some local health departments might continue emphasizing vaccine for young people and adults with chronic health problems if not enough of those groups have been vaccinated in that particular county.
Therefore, Missouri residents should call their local health department to find out about eligibility or to check when a vaccination clinic will be held. A county-by-county schedule of vaccination clinics is available at http://www.dhss.mo.gov/missouriflu/_provider_listing.html.
Local health departments provide the H1N1 flu vaccine for free. Private providers may charge a fee for administering the vaccine.
FLU VACCINE RECALL HAS LITTLE EFFECT ON VACCINATION EFFORTS AGAINST THE H1N1 FLU
Contact: Kit Wagar, Office of Public Information, DHSS, 573-751-6062Officials call loss of potency a minor glitch that shows extraordinary attention to vaccine effectiveness
This week's recall of four batches of flu vaccine will have little effect on efforts to vaccinate Missourians against the H1N1 flu because adequate alternative supplies of the vaccine are now available, state health officials said.
Vaccine maker Sanofi-Pasteur voluntarily recalled some 800,000 doses of vaccine designed for children because testing showed that the vaccine in four production groups had lost strength after it was packaged. The vaccine remained safe, but no longer met potency standards.
Health officials said the vaccine was still potent enough to give children immunity. But it was recalled as a precaution while vaccine makers tried to determine the reason that those vaccine batches were losing effectiveness. The recall involves certain batches made without preservative.
Margaret Donnelly, director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, said the recall showed the extraordinary lengths that vaccine makers and regulators are taking to ensure the effectiveness of the H1N1 flu vaccine. The vaccine had adequate strength before it was packaged. But later tests on the packaged version showed that some batches had a small decrease in strength, she said.
"Vaccine makers repeatedly test their products to ensure that they remain safe and strong enough to cause the body to develop immunity to the flu virus," Donnelly said. "These vaccines still remained potent enough to protect children against the H1N1 flu. But they no longer met the very high standard set by the federal government. Therefore, they are being recalled and replaced."
The recall involves only pre-filled syringes of vaccine designed for children under three years old. Children who received the vaccine will still be protected, health officials said, because the decrease in potency was so small.
In addition, all children less than 10 years old need to get two doses of vaccine to achieve the immunity that adults and older children develop with one dose. The first dose primes the child's immune system and the second, given 28 days later, causes the body to develop immunity.
Health officials said children would be protected even if they received two doses of the vaccine subject to a recall because the lower-potency vaccine is still strong enough to create immunity. All parents, including those whose children might have received the lower-potency vaccine, should make sure that their children under 10 receive a second dose of vaccine.
Missouri received 22,200 doses of the vaccine now subject to the recall. Those doses were shipped last month to about 75 counties throughout the state. Sanofi-Pasteur will send health care providers directions for returning unused vaccine from the affected batches.
For more information about the H1N1 flu, check out the health department's web site at http://www.dhss.mo.gov/missouriflu/_H1N1Flu.html
To find flu vaccination clinics scheduled in your area, go to http://www.dhss.mo.gov/missouriflu/_provider_listing.html
ENERGIZE MISSOURI APPLIANCE REBATES PROGRAM TO LAUNCH IN APRIL 2010
$5.6 million to be available for rebates that target heating, cooling and water heating systems.Source: Missouri Department of Natural Resources
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 9, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy has approved the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' plan for a new Energize Missouri Appliance Rebates program, which will begin in the spring of 2010. The department will implement the program using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or Recovery Act.
The program will help Missourians buy appliances at lower costs, reduce home utility expenses and benefit Missouri businesses by stimulating sales of energy efficient appliances. The Department of Natural Resources plans to launch the program concurrent with Missouri's second annual "Show Me Green Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday," which begins on April 19, 2010.
The Energize Missouri Appliance Rebates program will provide Missouri citizens a rebate when they purchase a qualified ENERGY STAR gas furnace, air source heat pump, central air conditioner, clothes washer, dishwasher or one of many qualifying kinds of water heaters, including solar water heating equipment.
U.S DOE will provide a total of more than $5.6 million in federal funding to Missouri for the rebates. The Energize Missouri Appliance Rebates program is administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Energy Center. Each state and U.S territory was allowed to design its own unique rebate program and select eligible products and rebate amounts.
A Missouri household can save more money and energy by replacing inefficient heating, cooling and water-heating equipment than any other appliances in the home," said DNR Director Mark Templeton. "More than half of a typical home's energy bill generates from inefficient appliances such as those the Energize Missouri Appliance Rebates program will cover."
Rebates will be for the following items and amounts:
- Gas Furnaces - $125
- Air Source Heat Pumps - $250
- Central Air Conditioning - $100
- Water Heaters-Gas Condensing- $150
- Water Heaters-Gas Storage - $100
- Water Heaters-Gas Tankless- $100
- Water Heaters-Solar (With Gas Backup) - $500
- Water Heaters-Electric Heat Pump- $150
- Water Heaters-Solar (With Electric Backup) - $500
- Clothes Washers - $75
- Dishwashers - $75
Interested Missouri residents should also check with their utility providers for other rebates that may be available for these appliances as well as for other ENERGY STAR appliances not included in Missouri's program. Many utility companies offer rebates for purchasing energy efficient home appliances and equipment. When other utility rebates or incentives exist, the addition of the new Energize Missouri Appliance Rebate will increase the total amount a Missouri household may receive for replacing their qualified appliances or systems. In areas of the state where utility-based rebates are not offered, the Energize Missouri Appliance Rebate will stand alone.
The Energize Missouri Appliance Rebates program requires homeowners to purchase ENERGY STAR qualified appliances to be eligible for the rebate program. The ENERGY STAR rating requires appliances to have certain minimum energy efficiencies before they can qualify for the ENERGY STAR label. Rebates will be based on documentation of the purchase and other eligibility criteria. Rebates will be made on a first-come, first-served basis and will be discontinued when the rebate fund has been exhausted. The program will not be retroactive, so to be eligible for rebates any purchases must be made after the 2010 starting date of the program.
For more information about the ENERGY STAR rating system, and for a list of ENERGY STAR qualified appliances and equipment, visit the Web site www.energystar.gov. Information and updates on Energize Missouri Appliance Rebates are available on DNR's Web page at http://dnr.mo.gov/transform/energizemissourirebate.htm
GOVERNOR NIXON, TREASURER ZWEIFEL UNVEIL PLAN TO INCREASE HOME OWNERSHIP AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY BY PAYING MISSOURIANS' PROPERTY TAXES FOR A YEAR
Gov. Jay Nixon and State Treasurer Clint Zweifel, chairman of the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC), today announced a proposal to pay the first year of property taxes for income-eligible Missourians who buy a new or existing Missouri home after Jan. 1, 2010. They will take the proposal before the MHDC at its Dec. 18 meeting.If approved by the commission, Missouri families making less than $98,000 a year who enter into a contract to purchase a new or existing Missouri home after Jan. 1 would have their property tax paid up to $1,250. Those families would be eligible to have an additional $500 paid towards the tax bill if the homeowner purchases a energy efficient home or items, such as Energy Star appliances, to make the home more energy efficient.
The proposal is expected to pay the property taxes for 9,000 to 11,000 Missouri families using $15 million in unencumbered reserve funds at MHDC.
"Purchasing a home not only helps families achieve part of the American dream, but it also strengthens our economy and provides good-paying jobs," Gov. Nixon said. "Because this is so vital to our state's economic growth, we want to do everything feasible to encourage people to buy homes and make it easier for homeowners to save money and energy resources by installing energy-efficient features in their homes."
In a report earlier this month that identified Missouri as one of 11 states most likely to recover from this recession the quickest, Moody's listed Missouri's diverse economy and stable housing prices as one of the main reasons for a potentially quick economic recovery in comparison to other states.
"I appreciate Gov. Nixon and the panel's efforts on ways to reinvest in the economy and put Missourians back to work," Treasurer Zweifel said. "Putting Missourians back to work and renewing the promise of responsible homeownership have been two of my priorities on MHDC."
In August, Gov. Nixon formed the Home Building and Residential Energy Efficiency Advisory Panel by executive order to study how Missouri can both help increase home ownership and home building to improve the economy and increase homeowner access to energy-saving measures. The 19-member panel included representatives of the home building industry, banking institutions, real estate businesses, trade unions and community action agencies, along with experts in energy efficiency and "green" building.
The advisory panel analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the current new housing situation in Missouri, as well as the opportunities and threats being faced. The panel also examined the current home building market and the reasons to encourage energy efficiency home building in Missouri. Among the recommendations were proposals to use the MHDC to promote home ownership and incentivize energy efficiency. The panel's full report can be found online at http://www.mo.gov or click here to download the report.
Who is eligible?
Income eligibility is based on previously adopted MHDC guidelines. Depending on the county of the home sale, household income limit guidelines for low to moderate income persons or families approved by MHDC last spring range from $58,300 to $98,560. These grants are for owner-occupied purchases only.
When would it start?
If approved by the MHDC at its next meeting on Dec. 18, 2009, funds would be available for contracts entered into after Jan. 1, 2010, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Where is the funding for this program coming from?
The funding would come from a reserve fund held by MHDC earned through successful management of mortgage loans made to low- and medium-income individuals and families. These reserve funds are not from general revenue, nor subject to the legislature's appropriation process.
How much of the property tax bill could be paid?
Eligible homeowners could have up to $1,750 of their property tax bills paid. According to the State Tax Commission, the average residential real estate tax bill for a Missouri homeowner is $1,160. An income-qualified individual or family is eligible to receive $1,250 or the amount of their first year's real estate tax bill, whichever is highest, when they purchase a new or existing residential home. An income-qualified individual or family can enhance this base amount, up to $1,750, if they purchase an energy-efficient new home or make energy efficient improvements to an existing home that is purchased. These improvements must be made prior to closing or within 60 days of closing.
How do Missourians apply for these funds?
Forms and affidavits will be part of documents executed at the home sale closing. Additional receipts and documentation will be required for proof of energy efficient improvements.
What energy-efficiency upgrades would be eligible for the additional incentive?
Eligible improvements would include installing high-performance windows, house wraps, programmable thermostat controls, water-efficient toilets and faucets, and energy-efficient water heaters, lighting and appliances; sealing heating and air conditioning ductwork; caulking; insulating water heater pipes; increasing the R-value of insulation in crawl spaces and attics; and conducting on-site energy efficiency inspections and tests, including a blower door test, which tests the overall energy efficiency of the house, and a duct blaster test, which tests how much the air ductwork leaks.
GOV. NIXON LAUNCHES $12 MILLION INITIATIVE TO TRAIN MISSOURIANS FOR HIGH-TECH, HIGH-DEMAND CAREERS
'Training for Tomorrow' to expand programs that will enhance skills, get Missourians working quickly Governor Jay Nixon has launched 'Training for Tomorrow', a $12 million initiative to educate Missourians in high-tech fields and get them working in growing industries. These grants will help Missouri community colleges create or expand training programs to serve additional students.The Governor announced Training for Tomorrow during visits to Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield and Moberly Area Community College.
"Earlier this fall, I toured many of Missouri's community colleges to hear directly about the needs of workers and businesses in their areas," Gov. Nixon said. "In those conversations, it became clear that to turn this economy around, more Missourians need access to training programs in high-tech, high-demand fields. Especially in growing industries like health care, technical training beyond high school is absolutely vital, but many of our community colleges simply don't have the equipment, instructors or resources to meet the needs of Missouri's workers. Training for Tomorrow will expand these programs quickly and help get Missourians ready to work as soon as possible."
Under Training for Tomorrow, member institutions of the Missouri Community College Association will partner with the government of the county in which they are located to apply for grant dollars to develop or expand programs to train Missourians in technical fields. Occupations specifically targeted by these funds could include veterinary and pharmacy technicians, nursing aides or skilled craftsmen.
Community colleges applying for competitive grants from Training for Tomorrow will be required to provide a detailed description of the programs they plan to develop or expand, including:
- Outlining the specific actions they will take to expand the capacity of high-demand programs;
- Detailing the market demand for the programs, both by students and employers;
- Identifying partners from business and industry who can help design the programs;
- Aligning the expansion of these programs with local economic-recovery efforts;
- Showing that the expansion will create or add pathways to specific high-demand careers in the local market; and
- Drafting an implementation plan for the programs.
Training for Tomorrow funds can cover all costs related to developing or expanding high-demand programs, but the funds cannot be used to replace existing salaries, pay for existing overhead costs, or cover "bricks-and-mortar" projects.
"This program will provide new opportunities for Missouri workers, meet critical needs for our businesses and help move our economy forward," said Marcia Pfeiffer, president of St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley and chair of the Presidents and Chancellors Council of the Missouri Community College Association. "Our institutions play a vital role in preparing Missouri workers for the careers of tomorrow. This funding will help us expand our highest-demand programs, serve more students, and get Missourians working quickly. We appreciate Gov. Nixon's support of Missouri's community colleges and his strong leadership on this vital economic initiative."
Application materials for community colleges and county governments are available online by visiting the state's Web portal, http://www.MO.gov, and searching for Training for Tomorrow. Completed applications are due Feb. 15, 2010.
MODOT: CHECK ROAD CONDITIONS BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
JEFFERSON CITY - With rain and light snow in the recent forecast, the Missouri Department of Transportation is reminding motorists that even light precipitation can cause roads to become slick with ice or snow. While MoDOT works hard to treat and clear roads to make them safe, it's still important to allow extra time for travel and to check out road conditions before you head out.That's where MoDOT's online Traveler Information Map comes in handy. Located at http://www.modot.org, the map gives drivers an up-to-the-minute view of weather-related road conditions for major Missouri highways. Conditions for major routes across the state are color-coded to give visitors the information they need at a glance.
The map shows road conditions for major Missouri cities, counties, MoDOT districts and other travel destinations. Individual routes can also be selected. A text report and links to road condition maps for surrounding states are also available.
Motorists can also call MoDOT's customer service center for road conditions at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (888-275-6636). The toll-free phone line is answered 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
HANDYMAN PROGRAM
| FOUNDATION - Tuck pointing - Minor brick repair DOOR - Repair/replacement - Non historic homes ELECTRICAL - Repairing exteriors - Security lights - Minor electrical - Installation smoke alarms FLOORING/CARPET - On occasion working on non permanent manner HEATING/COOLING - HVAC minor repairs - Filter - Cleaning outside compressor | WINDOWS - Panes (pure glass) - Occasional glazing putty PORCHES - Repair steps - Foundation - Planks/flooring GUTTER/DOWNSPOUTS - Single story homes PLASTURE - Dry Wall FENCING - Replace planks - Chain link (tighten up) PLUMBING - Minor plumbing WEATHERIZING - Storm doors & windows - Weather stripping - Caulking |
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