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Missourinet

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You are here: Home / Archives for Jeff Grisamore

Legislature sends proposed transfer fix to Gov. Nixon

May 15, 2014 By Mike Lear

The state legislature has passed a bill meant to fix the state law that lets students transfer out of failing school districts. The proposal has been a priority for many lawmakers who say that law is bankrupting unaccredited school districts, particularly Normandy and Riverview Gardens in the St. Louis area.

Representative Rick Stream (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Rick Stream (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

The bill contains a controversial “private option” for Jackson County, St. Louis and St. Louis County that could result in it being vetoed by Governor Jay Nixon (D). It would have the state accredit school buildings as well as districts. Students in an unaccredited school within an unaccredited district would first have the option to transfer to an accredited building in the same district. If no slots were available in those, one option would be for students to transfer to a nonreligious private school with local tax revenue from the sending district used to pay tuition. 

Nixon has suggested he would veto any bill that includes any mechanism sending tax dollars to private schools, saying that is where he had to “draw a line.” The bill received a strong enough vote in the Senate to overturn a veto, but fell 20 votes short of that mark when the House passed it on Thursday. Neither chamber’s vote followed party lines.

See how House members voted on the legislation

Representative Clem Smith (D-Velda Village Hills) said he was the only lawmaker in either the House or the Senate who represents the Normandy School District, and he opposes the bill. He says it shouldn’t be called a transfer bill, joining other critics who said it was really an attempt to break the barrier keeping tax dollars from going to private schools.

“You’ve got kids in Normandy and Riverview that have been used to push vouchers,” said Smith. “And it’s a forced voucher, because you can vote it down in an unaccredited district but after three years it’s forced, it’s rammed down your throat … in my view, that’s all this bill is about.”

Some Republicans were also opposed to the private option. Representative Jeff Grisamore (R-Lee’s Summit) says he campaigned against using tax dollars in private schools when he first ran for the House, but said he was “torn” on how to vote on the bill.

“Public schools should be publicly funded and private schools should be privately funded, period,” said Grisamore. “And why would we take away funding from public education, give it to private education, when we are not meeting our obligations fully for the formula for public education.”

Proponents argued that the private option was a small piece of the legislation and called the bill a compromise that would stave off disaster in failing schools. Representative Kevin Engler (R-Farmington) says opponents of the bill including Nixon don’t have a plan of their own that would pass the Senate.

Engler argued if the bill does not become law, school districts in danger of becoming bankrupt would have to be supplemented from state General Revenue.

“We’re going to have to put money in the budget that’s going to come from my school district to keep them alive,” says Engler. He says opponents of the bill including Nixon don’t have a plan of their own that would pass in the Senate.

Representative Vicki Englund (D-St. Louis) worked on the conference committee that came up with the final version of the bill. She urged Nixon to sign the bill but said whether he signs or vetoes it, he should act quickly.

“Get it over with, get it done, because then we need to call a special session to fix it,” said Englund. “Because if we are truly about solving these problems we need to come up here and do it.”

See the legislation here

Filed Under: Education, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Clem Smith, Jay Nixon, Jeff Grisamore, Kevin Engler, Missouri House of Representatives, Missouri State Senate, student transfer, transfer, Vicki Englund

Proposed jury duty exemption stirs discussion of breastfeeding age limit

January 28, 2014 By Mike Lear

After a Lee’s Summit woman was faced with a $500 fine for contempt of court for bringing her breastfeeding infant to jury duty, some called for a change in Missouri law to exempt breastfeeding women from jury duty.   The judge in that case has delayed fining her $500 until the end of the legislative session, to see whether lawmakers approve a specific exemption.

Representative Rory Ellinger (D-University City)

Representative Rory Ellinger (D-University City)

Representative Rory Ellinger (D-University City) is the sponsor of legislation to do just that, and he has told the House Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities he was hopeful the bill could make the House consent calendar, for bills that have no opposition.

It did meet some bipartisan resistance, however, from lawmakers who asked whether such an exemption should be limited to apply only to mothers of children up to a certain age.

Representative Rick Brattin (R-Harrisonville) suggested the language could be strengthened even more than that to avoid such an exemption being abused.

“I could almost see an amendment to make (an exemption be contingent) on sustainment of life of the child to where it’s necessary for the child’s life and that’s the only means of life for that child,” Brattin said.

Representative Genise Montecillo (D-St. Louis) also wants to see a limit to the age of children involved in order for a mother to get an exemption.

“I would think as they get older there’s going to be other food sources,” Montecillo said. “I doubt that a 5-year-old is only nursing.”

The Committee heard from Columbia midwife Sara Davis, who told the committee there is no recognized maximum age at which a child can breastfeed.

“The Advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and also the World Health Organization is only minimums … no health organization has ever set a maximum age limit.”

Representative Jill Schupp (D-Creve Coeur) was not convinced that an age limit is a good idea.

“I just think that this is … talk about a sacred bond between a mother and a child and a great gift that a mother gives to her child in terms of good health and nutrition for the life of the child. I can’t believe that we’re thinking about putting what I would call some kind of arbitrary limits on this.”

Listen to Representative Schupp’s comments during the hearing:

http://cdn.missourinet.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Jill-Schupp.mp3

The Committee’s chairman, Representative Jeff Grisamore (R-Lee’s Summit), intends to bring the bill up for a vote but he wants to see amendments offered that could clear up what he sees as possible unintended consequences.

“I think it’s needed but we don’t want the unintended consequence of discrimination against nursing moms who may nurse their children until 2 or 3 years old, which is not uncommon. The other thing is there could be a mechanism of clarification for electronic notification to the court … to where a mom won’t have to go through a doctor visit just to get a note.”

Filed Under: Crime / Courts, Health / Medicine, Legislature, News Tagged With: breastfeeding, Genise Montecillo, Jeff Grisamore, Jill Schupp, Rick Brattin, Rory Ellinger

House advances bill aimed at barring U.N. sustainability agenda

April 9, 2013 By Mike Lear

The House has given initial approval to a bill meant to keep a United Nations’ policy regarding property use out of the state.

Representative Lyle Rowland (photo courtesy; Missouri House Communications)

Representative Lyle Rowland (photo courtesy; Missouri House Communications)

It’s called Agenda 21, a non-binding 1992 agreement from the United Nations on sustainable development. Conservatives widely oppose it saying it undermines U.S. sovereignty and individual property rights. Representative Lyle Rowland’s (R-Cedarcreek) bill would bar state and local governments from implementing it in Missouri.

“One of their statements is that personal property is not sustainable. They feel like the government can do a better job of controlling property.”

See Representative Rowland’s bill

House Democrats have not spoken in support of Agenda 21, but Minority Leader Jake Hummel (D-St. Louis City) questions the need to act against it.

“We’re wasting time on this, but yet this is something that’s never been voted on by the United States Congress. So, we’re trying to pre-empt laws that aren’t even passed yet?”

Representative Jeff Grisamore (R-Lee’s Summit) argues other policies have been enacted without Congressional action.

“When Congress failed to adopted Cap-and-Trade what did the White House do? They began to do an end-around on Congress and the Constitution and put in place Cap-and-Trade restrictions by rule making, executive order and regulation. They’ve done the same thing through Dodd and Frank and they have done the same thing now through Obamacare with the more than 20,000 regulations that are already on the books.”

The House bill needs another favorable vote to reach the Senate. The Senate has already passed such a bill.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Jake Hummel, Jeff Grisamore, Missouri House of Representatives

House Budget Committee approves $24.7 billion budget

March 13, 2013 By Mike Lear

The House Appropriations Committee has passed a proposed $24.7 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, and it does not include Medicaid eligibility expansion.

Representative Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood) chairs the House Appropriations Committee.  (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood) chairs the House Appropriations Committee. (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

The Committee rejected two amendments that would have reinserted federal dollars and projected revenue and savings tied to Medicaid expansion in the House budget proposal.

Representative Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) says the state won’t be able to sustain an expanded Medicaid program without cutting into other areas.

“We get out to 2020 when we become on the hook for some of this stuff, it is still my opinion that we’re going to have to pillage education funding to get to the point where we can make this work. For that reason and that reason alone I would be inclined to not support the amendment.”

Representative Jill Schupp (D-Creve Coeur) urged the Committee to let the full House chamber weigh in.

“We have an opportunity here to not only expand service but to provide an opportunity for more than 24,000 jobs to be created in the first year alone, to bring money into Missouri that would not otherwise be here and to help develop and build our economy.”

The amendments would have plugged in $46 million in projected savings and revenue and more than $800 million to pay for eligibility expansion. Both were defeated along party lines.

The Committee has put money in place to temporarily fill a gap left by the federal sequester cuts, to fund scholarships for National Guard members. Money pulled from several other places will fund the $2.5 million Show-Me Heroes fund.

Representative Jeff Grisamore (R-Lee’s Summit) says it was important not to leave National Guard soldiers behind.

“We will know possibly by the end of the month if there will be a continuing resolution in Congress that would possibly restore this federal side of tuition assistance for National Guard, but if the cuts of the sequester stick, we want to step up and assist and offset that loss so we can ensure that our student soldiers continue to have the funding they need to further their higher education.”

The Committee also voted to pull $85,000 from the administration of the Department of Revenue. That amendment was sponsored by Representative Robert Ross (R-Yukon), who says he is not satisfied with the Department’s response to questions about its scanning and retention of personal information from Missouri driver’s license and concealed carry permit applicants.

Ross withdrew another amendment that would have taken $3-million from the Department.

The budget proposal will go to the full House for debate when lawmakers return from Spring Break.

Filed Under: Legislature, News Tagged With: budget, Caleb Rowden, Department of Revenue, Jeff Grisamore, Jill Schupp, Medicaid expansion, National Guard, Rick Stream, Robert Ross



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