Neth: "Fast And Furious Week" of Consent Bills, Significant Changes To Controversial Education Measure

A fast and furious week before taking off for spring break. We had a lot of floor time this week debating legislation and working through what we call "Consent" Bills. These are bills are passed unanimously out of committee and have no cost to the state. They are then put on the Consent Calendar and, since they are non-controversial and have no fiscal impact, there is often little discussion and they are usually passed unanimously. We work through these at a very fast clip, therefore, we don't get far from our seats, because we are constantly pressing the button to vote.

I will probably take a week off from my Capitol Report while on break. I hope to spend some good time with my family and connect with a few people in our district during the week.

Education Update

For those of that have been keeping up with the activity in the Education Committee, I thought I would give an update. The original HB 628 exists now as a second committee substitute that is much different from the original bill. There has been a lot of talk about the bill, and I have received an outpouring of mostly negative feedback via form letters.

As of now, the bill has not been brought to a vote in Committee. Recently, I have been involved in a lot of closed door discussion surrounding HB 628. The result of these meetings was the ultimate decision to temporarily put the brakes on this legislation. We will be talking extensively over the next few weeks to find language that is more effective. Hopefully, we will vote something out of committee right after the break so we can hear some broader debate on the floor. I am in agreement with the majority of our members that meaningful reform is needed with regards to teacher tenure and how school districts are able to determine pay for teachers. Other items that need to be addressed are questions of effective evaluations and ensuring student achievement. I am excited to be in the thick of this important process and am happy to discuss this or any other issue with you in the coming weeks as the plan comes together. Once a bill is passed out of committee, I will make a full statement on it at that point.

Visitors to the Capitol

My wife, Cammy (a teacher), son, Mitchell, and daughter, Kelsey, came down to visit me this week. They are on Spring Break and wanted to come and hang out in Jefferson City. I had the honor and privilege of announcing them on the House Floor.


My Field Representative, Chris Till, and our Intern, Rachel Hain (above), also joined us this week and I was able to introduce them on the Floor as well.

Floor Action

Two bills of interest covered this week were HJR 6 (also known as "card check") which deals with requiring unions to use secret ballots when voting on union positions and HB 89 (relating to ATM Fees) which came out of my Committee on Financial Institutions. For all other information on this week's legislative session, please visit the website for the house journal. Or just ask. I am always happy to discuss what we voted on and how I voted on any particular issue. The full journals of the house session can be found at http://www.house.mo.gov/journallist.aspx.

Currently in Missouri, we have what is known as "card check" where union votes must be open to all union members. This means that the union leaders know how you voted on any given issue. The intrinsic conflict in this process is evident. If you do not vote the way the union bosses want you to vote, your job can quickly become less pleasant. If HJR 6 passes, then the decision will be left to the voters to decide if secret ballots should be allowed in Missouri. If the people agree to make the union ballots secret then the change will come into effect upon the passage of the bill by the people at the next major election.
HB 89 deals with ATM Fees. If you want to travel the world and use an ATM in Europe, China, South America, etc. You are imposed a "foreigner" fee. In Missouri, we are not allowed to charge these types of fees. HB 89 would allow Missouri ATM's to charge additional fees to customers who bank outside the country.

Committee Action

Education

This week we heard HB 463 which changes laws relating to Virtual schools. There are a host of options in the market to offer online learning for those with learning challenges, gifted abilities, and those for whom a normal brick and mortar school does not work. The goal of the legislation is to allow a funding mechanism for these students through the existing funds used for education. I am a proponent of this legislation, but we need to work out a few details on the funding mechanism before I could support it.

Elections

In response to the crisis in Wisconsin, we heard HJR 33 which proposes a constitutional amendment requiring any office of a senator or representative to be deemed vacated if the member removes himself or herself from the state during session to avoid an official vote. Again, details need to be worked out before this bill could be passed.

We also heard both HB 72 and HB 39. These bills deal with prohibiting state legislators or senators from becoming lobbyists within two years of vacating public office. The legislation would prevent former representative and senators from using their experience gained in the legislature towards a future position. On the surface, this appears to be a great idea, however, the question of, "how far do we take this?" comes into play. There are jobs one can gain with as much or more power than lobbying upon concluding a term of elected office such as government appointments or jobs in the Executive Branch.

Financial Institutions

We heard HB 661 relating to debt adjusters and how debt collectors can work in Missouri.

We also heard HB 787 which relates to residential mortgage loan brokers and their licensing.
We did a lot of voting this week in the Committee on Financial Institutions. We voted on both bills we heard (HB 661 and HB 787) and we voted on nearly all the bills we heard in past sessions including; HB 550, HB 132, and HB 656.

Community Calendar

Mar 23 - Sleeping Beauty - Liberty Performing Arts Center

APR 4 - Jazz on the Square

Visit the Clay County Museum any time Tuesday through Saturday 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Click here for a list of events in the area.

Making Laws in Missouri

This week, I sent an article to the Liberty Tribune and Kansas City Star that spoke to the powers of checks and balances of the legislature and electorate. It dealt with the power of the petition initiative, Proposition B, and how at times we have to scrutinize our own language as well as the language offered by the public. To see a copy of the opinion piece, you can find it on my Facebook Page or you can click this link.