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Missouri House gives green light to bill letting drivers turn left on red

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The Missouri House of Representatives has passed a bill that would let drivers turn left after stopping at a red light on a one-way street.

State Rep. Chuck Basye speaks on the Missouri House floor in February 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Representative Chuck Basye’s bill would allow left turns during a red light when the vehicle is in the left-most lane on a one-way street turning onto another one-way street. Drivers would be required to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and other vehicle traffic.

The measure would still let state and local authorities ban left on red turns for safety reasons.

Basye, R-Rocheport, has filed this legislation in previous years.

The measure moves to the Senate for consideration.

To view House Bill 570, click here.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri bill would lower school immunization requirements

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Missouri children attending daycares, K-12 public schools, or public higher education schools might not be required to get vaccinated against certain illnesses – if they have a “conscientious belief” opposing the immunizations. State Representative Suzie Pollock, R-Lebanon, is proposing the change for vaccinations against polio, rubella, rubeola, mumps, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, and hepatitis B.

Current state law allows student vaccination exemptions for religious and medical reasons.

Her bill would also mean the state’s roughly 120,000 K-12 private, parochial, and parish school students would not have to get those vaccinations.

Missouri Capitol (Photo by Alisa Nelson)

Pollock says the state needs to reign in schools and local health departments.

“They require forms. Some schools and health departments require that the form be put on card stock or have a certain seal, or that they have to make an appointment with a nurse and watch a video. The difficulties just keep mounting and they make it more and more difficult every day,” Pollock says.

The legislation would only require the meningitis vaccination for Missouri college students living in publicly owned housing.

During a House committee hearing, Pollock, a registered cardiovascular invasive specialist, says more than 72 vaccination doses are required of students by the time they are 18, but most in the first four years.

“In 1982, there were 24 doses. And today, there are over 72 doses. There are no studies that they (vaccinations) are making them better,” says Pollock.

Linda Neumann, with the Missouri Association of School Nurses, says 31 doses are required before age 18 – not 72. She tells Missourinet the bill would weaken the state’s immunization requirements for kids at a time when other states are strengthening theirs.

“We believe that childhood immunizations are safe and effective. This is a real pivotal time for us. I hate to see us loosen our requirements,” she says. “Children in – it doesn’t matter what their setting is – whether it’s public, private, or parochial, they all deserve to live healthier and be free of communicable diseases. We have seen what’s happened with COVID-19 and what can happen with a communicable disease.”

Another example she points to is the measles.

“It’s extremely contagious and can lead to all kinds of things that you don’t want like blindness or brain damage, which is possible from the very high fevers. But thanks to the measles vaccine, we went from four million cases annually to in the year 2000, we were declared measles free in our country. But unfortunately the decline in the vaccination rate has led to a return to a measles outbreak,” she says. “In 2019, we had 1,282 cases, I believe, in the United States.”

Neumann cites a study saying about 40% of parents against vaccinations oppose them for philosophical reasons and another 60% oppose them due to inconvenience. She says there has been a huge effort, especially in Missouri, to increase access to students whose parents might not have the means to get their children to an immunization appointment.

“There are schools that have immunization vans come out during the summer to help run kids through before school starts,” says Neumann. “We’re doing everything we can to make it easier on parents, but we need parents’ help too. We understand that there are truly religious exemptions, but we also understand that not having your child immunized just because it’s an inconvenience leads to a bigger population that’s not immunized and we start losing herd immunity. We know that herd immunity works.”

Pollock calls the legislation a freedom bill.

“It separates and weakens government overreach into our private schools, businesses, and property,” says Pollock.

Neumann says she understands that people have rights and liberties.

“But we all have those rights and liberties. We have a right to feel protected from communicable diseases when we have vaccine to prevent these things,” says Neumann.

The Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee has voted 10-6 in favor of the bill. The House Rules Committee is considering Pollock’s measure.

To view House Bill 37, click here.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

(AUDIO) Missouri representative charged again – this time in alleged $900k COVID-19 fraud scheme

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A southwest Missouri state representative has been charged again – this time in an alleged 900-thousand dollar coronavirus fraud scheme. Alisa Nelson reports.

 

 

They’re back: Seersuckers in the Missouri Capitol

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When the Missouri Legislature gets back to work this week, a lightweight cotton tradition is expected to make a comeback – Seersucker Wednesdays. The style, especially popular in the South, has been in full force for several years throughout the great halls of the Missouri Capitol.

Former House Speaker Elijah Haahr, Reps. Tracy McCreery and Travis Fitzwater (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

Beginning the first Wednesday after the General Assembly’s spring break, many lawmakers proudly fashion the striped ensemble. The practice has been to wear seersucker outfits every Wednesday until the regular session ends in May.

The weekly showing is about as united as you can get. Lawmakers from both parties, Capitol staffers, and even lobbyists dig out their seersuckers and are seen proudly strutting around in the clothing. Some enthusiasts have branched out from the earlier days of wearing the traditional blue striped pattern to wearing yellow, brown, pink, and other colors today.

Occasionally, you will find a lawmaker who wears a seersucker suit on a day other than Wednesday – instilling confusion (and maybe disappointment) among some people in the Capitol.

The Missouri Legislature’s seersucker craze dates back several years. How far back is unknown. But there is one notable moment in its history of wearing the airy trend.

In 2013, the Missouri Legislature made national headlines after former state Sen. Ryan McKenna, D-Crystal City, offered an amendment to an education bill that would have banned the wearing of seersucker suits by anybody older than eight.

Former state Rep. Craig Redmon, R-Canton (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

“Any person living in this state aged 8 and under may wear seersucker suits at their leisure. Any person over the age of 8 living in this state may not wear seersucker suits because adults look ridiculous in seersucker suits with the exception of Koolaid,” the handwritten amendment said.

People not familiar with the Senate might be puzzled by the reference to Koolaid. McKenna was referring Matt Michelson, the aide to former state Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, who was known for wearing an orange seersucker explosion on Wednesdays.

McKenna’s despise for the fabric fueled a playful clash among some seersucker-loving lawmakers. Not long after his attempt to ban the fashion, former state Sen. Eric Schmitt, Missouri’s current attorney general, was the ringleader of an effort to give some love to the summer wear. He and other lawmakers dressed to the seersucking nines and posed for pictures. They blasted the photos on social media. Members of the Capitol press corp joined in promoting the friendly fued online.

So, for the newcomers to the Missouri Capitol, you have been warned. The breezy wardrobe is a thing here on Wednesdays.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri reviews whether it can give teachers a bonus. There’s good news and bad news

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The Missouri K-12 Education Department has been reviewing whether the state can use federal coronavirus aid to give teachers a bonus next school year if they stay on the job. The idea was first brought up last October by state Board of Education President Charlie Shields as a way to keep teachers around.

The state already has a persistent shortage of teachers and COVID-19 has made the problem even worse. The pandemic has added a great deal of stress to the workload of Missouri’s roughly 70,000 pre-K-12 public school teachers.

During Tuesday’s board meeting, Deputy Commissioner of Finance, Kari Monsees, says there’s good news and bad news on the bonus front.

“The challenge for us in Missouri is we have case law in statutes that are fairly limiting us in terms of incentives or bonuses,” says Monsees. “But we do have a wide range of flexibility to try and support teachers for all the extra things that they are doing that are covid related.”

Dr. Monsees says the department is also discussing whether to use some of the federal relief to build a grant program for long-term teacher recruitment and retention efforts.

Shields, of northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph, suggests finding bills with momentum in the Legislature and adding language to include even greater flexibility. He is a former state Senate president.

“If there are barriers in statute, obviously we can’t fix the Constitution. We can’t undo case law,” says Shields. “But if there are barriers in statute, there are pieces moving. I would think there would be some receptivity to doing things around this area.”

Board member Peter Herschend, of southwest Missouri’s Branson, suggests asking for Gov. Mike Parson’s help.

“I remember very specifically the governor looking us in the eye and saying, ‘If you have something that needs to be changed that will make a difference for educators, let me know.’ I wouldn’t go after the whole loaf of bread but if we can get exactly what Charlie is saying. If we can define an area – let’s just say it’s an emergency change in statute just in the compensation area.”

Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven says the department continues to review its options.

“I agree and I’ve had every member of this board look me in the eye and say they are concerned about teacher salary and I’ve had the governor look me in the eye and say, ‘Figure out something with teacher salary.’ Now we are getting additional funds. We have to figure it out. We understand. We are just have to figure out the best way. We absolutely need to do it. But it’s going to take a bit of a creative solution but one that is manageable and also again continues to be something that is sustainable. That’s the hardest part as well. It’s a one-time shot. It’s not like we are going to get this funding and continue with it,” she says.

Dr. Vandeven says the funding can be used for additional services provided.

“I think there are ways we can do this. It’s not as simple as you get hazard pay. It has to be very specific. Some industries have been able to write people checks for hazard pay, for example. This funding expressly states that you cannot do that, but you can pay them for extended learning time, or for extra services, which they have done. Bringing them back as a sign on component, it would have to be eligible for everyone to do that. It can’t just be certain teachers. It has to be everybody,” says Vandeven.

In other board news, Missouri K-12 public schools will have a little more time to complete statewide MAP tests this year. Assistant Commissioner Blaine Henningsen says the spring testing period has been extended an extra two weeks – to June 15.

“We’ve shared with this board many times how critical we think it is for state assessments to take place this year because we need to know where kids are based upon the experiences that they’ve had with instruction this year,” says Dr. Henningsen. “We will use assessment data to identify learning gaps among students, to inform decisions on how to best serve those students, and to provide additional supports and resources. This will also help provide meaningful information for students, parents, educators, and policy makers.”

Missouri could offer a fall MAP testing period if districts cannot meet the state’s requirement of holding 85-percent of onsite testing this spring.

MAP test results for this year only will not count against districts for funding and accreditation purposes.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri Senators, K-12 community work to navigate underperforming school problems

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The coronavirus pandemic’s increased challenges in education have fueled the Missouri Legislature’s efforts this session to make school choice measures a priority. Debate about these bills have been very heated at times.

Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications

On Tuesday, the Missouri Senate Education Committee and representatives of the state’s K-12 public education world instead had a heart-to-heart about ways to address academic achievement levels within public schools. Their discussion centered around a legislative bill that could close some underperforming K-12 public schools in Missouri.

The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, involves any public school performing within the bottom five percent of schools for more than three years over a five-year period. Districts would be required to close these schools and transfer students to a higher-performing one within the district; create a partnership to open an in-district charter school; or reimburse a district or charter school for taking in the transfer students.

Additionally, any district with more than two schools falling into the bottom five percent for more than two years would be classified as provisionally accredited.

O’Laughlin wants to require the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to publish online each year a list of Missouri schools performing within the bottom five percent of schools for more than three years and designate them as a “persistently failing school”.

 

Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, said there will always be a school and a district in the bottom five percent:

 

Eric Scroggins with St. Louis-based Opportunity Trust, a nonprofit organization funding charter schools, spoke in support of the plan:

 

Ron Berry, a lobbyist for the American Federation of Teachers, cited the towns of Lesterville, Calhoun, and Windsor. He said the communities have many low-income individuals with a revolving door of students moving in and out of those districts:

 

O’Laughlin, the committee chair, asked Berry for suggestions:

 

Sen. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, agreed with Berry. He recommended adding another step in the process to help prevent schools from closing:

 

Scott Kimble, with the Missouri Association of School Administrators, spoke in opposition to the bill:

 

Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, said some districts are not investing their funding where they should:

 

Steve Carroll, lobbying for Kansas City area schools and St. Louis Public Schools, said he does not think the bill addresses the heart of the problem:

 

Razer agreed with Carroll:

 

Schupp said boosting teacher pay is not for its own sake:

 

Tammy Henderson with the North Kansas City School District said the district has 21,000 students with about fifty percent of them getting free or reduced-price meals. She shared some solutions that have worked in her district:

 

O’Laughlin and Schupp agreed the group should put their heads together:

 

O’Laughlin told Kimble the tone of the conversation needs to change:

 

The committee has not voted on Senate Bill 133.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri voters could decide who sits on the state board of education – not the governor

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Missouri voters could be asked to change the way state board of education members are selected. Representative Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka, wants to let voters decide who sits on the board, instead of letting the governor appoint all members. In order to be a board member, the Missouri Senate is also currently required to sign off on the governor’s appointees if the Legislature is in session.

Rep. Dottie Bailey (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

During a House committee hearing, Bailey said her proposed Constitutional amendment would allow voters to choose board members during each general election of a presidential election year.

“We need this to be an accountable elected position because it’s so vital, especially right now. It was vital before COVID-19. Now it’s even more vital,” said Bailey. “It’s such a crucial job. Just like us, if we don’t do a good job, we get voted out. With the state of education in our state today, I just feel that this puts this into the mold of the rest of our state.”

Currently, no more than four of the eight board members can be from the same political party. That could change under the proposal. One member would be elected from each congressional district by the voters of the congressional district and one member would be elected by the voters of the state at large.

Rep. Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis, questioned Bailey about the intent of the proposal.

“Do you think partisanship in education overall is a good or bad thing,” asked Mackey.

“Well, lately I think it’s a bad thing,” said Bailey.

“But if it’s your partisanship, then it’s probably going to be a good thing because that’s what I’m hearing,” saud Mackey.

“No, I don’t necessarily think that at all. I think you need people that represent your constituents and their ideas and their wants,” said Bailey. “Not either Republican or Democrat. If it’s a fully Democratic Congressional district, fine. Send whoever you wish. I am all for that. No shade to the governor or past governors or future governors. It’s just a more complete representative type of government, which we have.”

“To me, that sounds like pretext for making the board more Republican leaning,” said Mackey.

“I get it. I guess in some instances that would be the case,” said Bailey.

Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, said he thinks school board races should be held during partisan elections.

“I don’t think it’s right that people can run for office and never declare what they subscribe to – what ideology they subscribe to, what they believe, how they think. They can just simply make a statement like, ‘I’m for the kids,’” said Baker.

Dr. Mary Byrne provided testimony for informational purposes. She suggested that members review information about Alabama’s elected state Board of Education.

“I would tell you that they are worse off than the state of Missouri,” she said.

Byrne said the committee should consider how much money lobbyists pour into U.S. Congress to pass education legislation. She also said foundations are seeding departments with former employees.

“You may think that you are getting power to the people but what you may be doing is opening the campaign contribution influence into elections of your state board members,” she said. “I don’t know if you are not going from the frying pan into the fire.”

Bailey’s plan does not currently lay out any campaign donation restrictions.

The measure would limit board members to two, four-year terms. Vacancies could be filled by the governor – as long as the Missouri Senate approves of them after appointed by the governor.

The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday morning on Bailey’s proposal.

To check out House Joint Resolution 47, click here.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

What we’re watching this week in the Missouri Legislature

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Missouri legislative committees will hear several bills this week involving education, elections, and celebrations with gunfire.

The Missouri Senate Education Committee meets Tuesday at noon to hear a bill from committee chairwoman State Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina. It requires the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to annually publish a list of schools on its website that perform in the bottom five percent of schools for more than three years. Under O’Laughlin’s bill, districts with any school falling in the bottom five percent of schools for three years over a five-year period that started in 2018 would close the school and transfer those students to a higher-performing school in the district.

State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport (photo A Byrd/Missourinet)

The Missouri House Emerging Issues Committee meets Wednesday at 4:30 to hold a hearing on legislation from State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, which involves transgender athletes in high school. Basye’s House Joint Resolution 53 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would go to Missouri voters in 2022. It would require that students who participate in sex-separated athletic contests only be allowed to participate in those events for the biological sex found on the student’s birth certificate.

The Missouri House Elections and Elected Officials committee meets Wednesday at noon to hear key election-related bills from State Reps. Justin Hill, R-Lake St. Louis, and Don Rone, R-Portageville.

Hill’s legislation requires the use of paper ballots marked by hand, starting in January 2022. Ballot marking devices could be used to assist disabled voters at any time, under the bill.

Rep. Don Rone (R), Portageville on House floor (photo Tim Bommel/MO House Communications)

The Rone measure repeals the 2020 legislation that allowed mail-in ballots during the COVID pandemic. Mail-in ballots were allowed during the August and November elections.

And the Missouri House General Laws Committee meets Monday at 5 p.m.to hold three public hearings on bipartisan legislation known as Blair’s Law, which is aimed at celebratory gunfire in Missouri.

The bills are sponsored by State Reps. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, Rory Rowland, D-Independence, and Mark Sharp, D-Kansas City. The bills are named for Blair Shanahan Lake, an 11-year-old Kansas City child who was struck and killed by a stray bullet in 2011.

While the three bills are very similar, there is language differences in them. Schroer’s bill would add the discharging of a firearm within or into city limits with criminal negligence to the felony offense of unlawful use of a weapon. The Rowland bill makes it a class A misdemeanor.

The Sharp bill has graduated penalties. Under his bill, the first offense would be a class A misdemeanor while a second offense would be a class E felony. A third or subsequent offense would be a class D felony.

Two high-profile bills are expected to be debated this week on the Senate floor. Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, tells our Sullivan affiliate KTUI that he expects Senator O’Laughlin’s school choice legislation to come up again this week. He also expects the Senate to debate his proposal to increase Missouri’s gasoline tax by 15 cents per gallon by 2027.

Copyright © 2021 · Missourinet

Missouri could soon catch up on its jail reimbursement debt

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Gov. Mike Parson’s FY2022 state budget proposal requests $58 million in hopes of getting Missouri completely out of debt in county jail reimbursements. For years, the state has not designated enough funding to pay counties and the city of St. Louis for part of a defendant’s entire local jail stay if the individual ends up going to state prison. Over the past couple years, the Missouri Legislature has been working to dig the state out of this hole.

Missouri Capitol (Photo courtesy of Alisa Nelson, Missourinet)

Missouri is the only known U.S. state that pays its counties and the city of St. Louis for pre-sentencing jail costs.

During a House Budget Committee hearing Wednesday, Trevor Foley, with the Missouri Department of Corrections, says the governor’s budget request would help the program catch up on overdue jail bills.

“That projection is based on looking at FY20 and the first two quarters of FY21 and then factoring in a COVID bounce back basically for the requests for reimbursement to go back up a little bit. And hopefully by the end of FY22, we will have the arrearage gone,” says Foley. “I will point out that this is a very volatile program. In FY21, we received $52 million in total requests. In FY20, we received $39 million in total requests. It is very difficult to project what we are going to receive in requests from a year-to-year basis.”

The state currently pays county jails about $22.58 per day, but the county’s overall daily cost to house a defendant is much higher. Karen Pojmann, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections, tells Missourinet the Missouri Sheriff’s Association conducted a survey a year ago and reported to the State Auditor that the actual cost ranged from $25.45 to $110 per day, with an average of $49 per day.

Rep. Peggy McGaugh, R-Carrollton, says she wants the state to pick up more of the local tab.

“The actual cost to house a prisoner is an average of $60 a day,” she says. “So, they go in the hole, every prisoner, every day, all year long. I would like to see that change.”

The governor’s request would also cover certain costs to transfer those offenders.

Previous stories:

Is Missouri sending the right people to prison? https://www.missourinet.com/2017/08/03/is-missouri-sending-the-right-people-to-prison/

(VIDEO) State owes counties $19 million in jail payments; Missouri sheriff feels the pain: https://www.missourinet.com/2017/09/25/video-state-owes-counties-19-million-in-jail-payments-missouri-sheriff-feels-the-pain/

Missouri falls six months behind in paying county jail bills: https://www.missourinet.com/2017/10/02/missouri-falls-six-months-behind-in-paying-county-jail-bills/

Legislator thinks Missouri should overhaul county jail payment system: https://www.missourinet.com/2017/10/09/legislator-thinks-missouri-should-overhaul-county-jail-payment-system/

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