Rupp: Nothing Less Than the Best for Education

There may be no bigger issue at the State Capitol than education.  The 2011 fiscal year budget calls for more than $3 billion to fund Missouri's K-12 classrooms, which is a record amount for our state. As vice-chairman of the Senate Education Committee, it's my job to make sure that we're smart and efficient with that money, because our children and our schools deserve nothing less than the best we can provide to them.

That's why I've sponsored legislation that modifies the way our state approaches charter schools. Missouri's parents deserve to have all options on the table when it comes to their child's education. One measure, SB 838, amends the current law and allows charter schools to be set up in any school district that has schools that have been labeled as underperforming regarding school improvement. If your local school is sinking instead of swimming, then you, as a parent, deserve the right to have your child attend a school that meets your and our state's standards.

This proposed legislation would also allow any higher education institution to be a sponsor of charter schools within their district, and to have some of those costs defrayed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). It will set up policies and procedures for establishing the school and meeting academic guidelines, and it changes the performance goal review to an annual basis, rather than the current tri-annual measurement.

My other legislation relating to charter schools, SB 835, allows "high risk" or "alternative" schools the opportunity to make credit arrangements outside of the school. This includes off-campus instruction, students who work, independent studies, and performance-based credit options, as long as DESE studies the alternative arrangements and makes sure that the students are still graduating, going to college, or working.

Finally, I've introduced legislation that rewards our brightest for graduating high school and getting to college early. Senate Bill 907 creates the Early High School Graduation Scholarship Program, which gives the student 80 percent of that student's state aid (the amount the state would have spent on their fourth year of high school) to use toward college. The other 20 percent would go to the school district, so that the school is not penalized for letting their smartest students move on.

As we move our classrooms into the future, our schools must be as competitive and high-performing as we ask our students to be.  That means opening up the system to those who can meet the standards we desire, and making sure that no student is hindered from finding their way, no matter what that way may be.

"Question of the Week" on my Senate Web Page

Starting today there will be a "question of the week" on my Senate home page each week during session.  Constituents of the 2^nd Senatorial District will be able to weigh in on issues that the legislature will be debating in the coming weeks.   Each question will remain on my web page for two weeks and then be tallied.  The results will be posted for each question on my web page as well as in this report.  I encourage you to go to http://www.senate.mo.gov/10info/members/mem02.htm and take the poll on this week's question.

Legislature Says "NO" to Farmland Tax Increase

A recommendation by the State Tax Commission that taxes increase on Missouri's most productive farmland and decrease on its least productive ground has been rejected by the Legislature.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 35 & 32, SCR 35&32, which I co-signed, passed the House yesterday by a vote of 143-to-11 to reject the Tax Commission recommendation.  The Senate approved the resolution by a 30-to-3 vote on January 28, 2010 and sent it to the House for consideration.  After yesterday's vote farmland tax rates will remain as they are.  The resolution does not have to go to the Governor for his signature.

House Passes Autism Bill

Yesterday the House passed their version of the autism bill by a vote of 135-18.  It is now in the Senate for consideration.

Alzheimer's State Plan Task Force Public Forum

Currently, there are 110,000 people with Alzheimer's in Missouri and there will be 130,000 by the year 2025.  The Alzheimer's State Plan Task Force is asking for the publics input, which is critical to their work.  On March 25, 2010 in the Greater St. Louis area there will be a community forum so you can share your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you.  It will be held at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Road, St. Louis, MO 63132.  You can register by calling 314-801-0403.

As the 2010 legislative session unfolds, I will continue to keep you, my constituents, apprised of all major developments, and I look forward to continuing to serve your needs and priorities in Jefferson City. As always, if you have any questions about this week's column or any other matter involving state government, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can reach my office by phone at (866) 271-2844.

Engler: Protecting Taxpayers: Senate Rejects Tax Increase on Farmers, Promotes Fiscal Responsibility

Missouri will not be like many other states in the country and take advantage of taxpayers in economically difficult times.  We remain committed to making sure that your tax dollars are spent wisely and that there are no job-killing tax increases.  This is a goal we continue to focus on as the legislative session progresses.

One legislative priority this session is to halt a tax increase imposed on Missouri farmers by the State Tax Commission. Late last year, the commission voted to raise the rate at which Missouri's most productive farmland is valued by 29 percent.  With the cost of production going up and the economy causing debt levels to rise, this is no time to add hardship to our farmers through a tax increase. The result of this tax increase would be an increase in the cost of grain for livestock producers and an increase in the cost of food Missouri families would pay at the grocery store.  We took the first steps to rejecting the tax increase this week as we passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 32 and 35.  We have 60 days to pass the resolution through the legislature, and I am pleased to see the legislation moving quickly through the process.

Last week, the governor released his proposed budget for the coming fiscal year, which failed to fully fund the foundation formula.  This week, I joined Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields in publicly stating that the Senate will fully fund the formula.  While the governor's budget makes promises and expands funding in other areas, it falls short in our core commitment to our classrooms. The legislature is going to have to sort through this budget that appears out of balance to make sure our commitment to education is fully funded so that we can avoid a massive tax increase imposed on us by the courts.

Another issue the Senate continues to address is our constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget.  The Senate Appropriations Committee met this week and many members expressed their concern that the governor's budget proposal is based on speculation rather than actual figures.  The governor's proposal uses $300 million in federal funding that has yet to even be debated on a federal level, let a lone passed.  We cannot be spending money we do not have, it's irresponsible.

My Senate colleagues and I remain committed to protecting Missouri taxpayers.  Whether this includes rejecting tax increases on farmers or insisting on fiscally responsible policies, we will continue our work to make sure that your tax dollars are spent wisely.

Rupp: The Real State of Our State

I had a strange experience during the State of the State speech on this week. It seemed to me that Governor Nixon was taking credit for many of the Republican accomplishments made during prior sessions – accomplishments like tuition caps, education funding, and one of my priorities this session that stalled in the House of Representatives last year, autism reform. I am glad that the governor has joined the Republican pledge to not raise taxes, but I’m a bit confused about how he expects that to happen when he cannot reign in his spending.

The budget he submitted to the Legislature for fiscal year 2011 is not balanced, as state law requires, and this year’s budget isn’t balanced either. This year’s budget is about $200 million short, and frankly, there is a good portion of it based on an additional $300 million in stimulus dollars and millions more on legislation that hasn’t even passed yet. Not only is the governor spending money the state doesn’t have and depleting our reserves, he’s now trying to spend money that doesn’t even exist. How many of the 60,000 unemployed Missourians get to buy groceries on money that may or may not be in their bank accounts? Our state’s citizens can’t balance their checkbooks that way and neither should our state government.

Missouri Republicans in the Senate have a plan to keep the governor’s spending in check. We are focused on making sure our schools are fully funded without tax increases. While Gov. Nixon’s job creation bill did not deliver, we’re working on creating and maintaining jobs through less government intervention and smart tax dollar investment. While we’re at it, we’re going to make sure that our state stays out the federal health care mess, and that we provide our own solution to make health care costs accessible and affordable. As of this writing, our governor has not promised to reject federal health care, like the voters of Massachusetts and so many other state governors already have done.

If all of these Republican goals sound like a daunting task, they are. I am expecting vigorous debate about the validity and efficiency of every level of state government. Our state had some serious belt tightening last year, but we are not out of the woods, and that means we must work harder and scrutinize every single penny. You’re doing it at home, and we’ll do it for your home state. I’m in Jefferson City working for you.

COMMITTEES

This week I presented the Autism Insurance Coverage bill [SB618] to the MO Senate Insurance Committee that I chair. (Bill updates can be found on the website at www.moautismbill.com.) The bill would mandate insurance coverage for families with a child on the spectrum, including ABA therapy among other therapies. We had EXCELLENT testimony from myself, Lauri Unumb, Policy Director of Autism Speaks, Dr. John Montovani, John Huff (the Director of Insurance for Missouri) along with several parents who gave compelling and convincing testimony as to their daily struggles and the need for this legislation.

The insurance industry has changed their tune since last year when they testified against the bill. Don't get me wrong they all lined up to testify against the bill, however they were no longer making claims such as ABA is "experimental", or that it’s an "educational issue". They have all come to the realization that we (thousands across Missouri) are demanding this to happen and understand that it will. Their attempts in the Capitol have been to weaken the bill at every turn.

We have many allies in the Capitol including Sen. Eric Schmitt who is a co-sponsor on the bill. We need to make sure that we are reaching out to the supporters of the bill and saying thank you, while at the same time contacting those who are undecided, unknown or against and asking them to help the thousands of Missouri families that deserve this coverage.

It is my plan to bring this bill up for a vote next Tuesday in my committee. Last year a similar bill passed 7-0 and I hope to get the same result this year. The earliest we could debate this on the floor of the Senate is Feb. 1, so that will give us a full week to reach out to fellow senators.

In other committee action, on Wednesday the Senate Education Committee received an update on Missouri’s application for the federal government’s Race to the Top program during its weekly meeting in the Capitol.

Race to the Top is a newly established, highly competitive $4.3 billion grant program that is challenging states to develop ambitious school-improvement proposals addressing four central areas of education reform. These areas are: developing standards and assessments, supporting instruction through data systems, cultivating great teachers and leaders, and turning around struggling schools.

At the committee hearing, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education presented an update on the state’s application, which was officially submitted Tuesday, Jan. 19—the deadline for first-round consideration for federal funding under the program. First-round awards are scheduled to be announced April 2010.

The Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee heard testimony this week on SCR 35 (sponsored by Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton) and SCR 32 (sponsored by Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau), both of which I co-sponsored. The resolutions ask the Legislature to reject a tax increase on some Missouri landowners. On Dec. 15, 2009, the Missouri State Tax Commission voted to increase land valuations on some grades of farmland in Missouri. If a resolution is not passed by the General Assembly rejecting the changes recommended by the commission within 60 days, the land valuation increases will take effect Jan, 1, 2011. We are working to move the resolutions forward in order to stop this tax increase.

And finally, the Senate Judiciary Committee this week heard testimony on a pair of identical bills that would regulate sexually oriented businesses in Missouri. Senate Bill 586, sponsored by Sen. Matt Bartle (R-Lee’s Summit) and SB 617, sponsored by Sen. Jack Goodman (R-Mt. Vernon) would, among other things, prohibit anyone from establishing a sexually oriented business within 1,000 feet of a pre-existing school, house of worship, state-licensed day care, public library, residence, or other sexually oriented business.

Session of The Missouri Senate reconvenes at 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 25. The Second Regular the 95th Missouri General Assembly runs through Friday, May 14, 2010.

MoDOT UPDATE

Below is a letter I received from Pete Rahn, Director of MoDOT, regarding Highway 94, Highways D, DD, F and Z.

As the 2010 legislative session unfolds, I will continue to keep you, my constituents, apprised of all major developments, and I look forward to continuing to serve your needs and priorities in Jefferson City. As always, if you have any questions about this week’s column or any other matter involving state government, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can reach my office by phone at (866) 271-2844.