The House Budget Committee Chairman is proud of a budget proposal that would accomplish what’s been his top goal since taking that job.
House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Shell Knob Republican Scott Fitzpatrick said in August when he became the budget chairman that his number one priority was to fully fund Missouri’s public schools. He recently unveiled budget bills that included fully funding the K-12 school formula.
If that part of the budget were to become law, it would be the first time the formula’s current form has had full funding since it was created by Senate Bill 287 in 2005.
Some have noted that the full funding would come one year after the legislature reinstated a cap on how much the formula could grow, year-to-year. Fitzpatrick said without those caps, the growth in the formula was unsustainable.
Fitzpatrick’s budget is based in part ON passage of a bill that would end a tax break for low-income seniors and disabled renters. The money the state would save from that repeal would go to a program that provides in-home care for the elderly and disabled.
Fitzpatrick believes a property tax credit should be for people who own their homes and are working to pay it off, “especially because people who are receiving nursing home services being completely paid for by Medicaid are eligible to receive the renter’s portion of the credit, so somebody could be in a nursing home that’s already being completely paid for by the state and then on top of that the state will write a check to them for what’s supposed to represent a credit for property taxes that they paid, and that seems to me to not make a lot of sense.”
The House has passed the legislation repealing that portion of the credit. It must next be considered by the Senate.
Fitzpatrick’s budget also restores some of the state aid to colleges and universities that the governor proposed reducing. Fitzpatrick said he wanted to minimize the impact reductions would have on students in Missouri.
When legislators return next week from spring break, the full House Budget Committee will debate changes to Fitzpatrick’s proposal before sending it on to the full House, which could make further changes. It then faces debate in the Senate before going to Governor Greitens, who could sign it into law, veto it in part or in whole, or make spending restrictions.
Bipartisan legislation in the Missouri House seeks to help families stave off what’s called the “cliff effect,” with child care.
Representatives Cryscal Quade (left) and Dan Shaul decided to work together, across party lines, on a bill to help working parents keep needed child care subsidies when they earn a pay increase, while the two were on the state tour for freshmen legislators. (Photo; Chris Moreland, Missouri House Communications)
The “cliff effect” refers to a person receiving a pay increase that puts him or her over the income limit for receiving a state benefit.
Shaul, whose wife is a social worker, and Representative Crystal Quade (D-Springfield), who herself is a social worker, are sponsoring identical legislation that would launch a pilot program in Green, Jefferson, and Pemiscot Counties. It would allow individuals to participate in an existing transitional program.
That program offers tiered levels of childcare subsidies based on the individual’s income level, but requires participants to start at its lowest income level. Under Quade and Shaul’s bills, a participant could enter the program at his or her current income level, rather than have to take a lesser-paying job.
Quade said the program would keep working parents from having to make tough choices about whether to accept better pay, or to decline it because it would not offset the cost of losing government assistance.
The House Committee on Children and Families held a hearing on those bills, House Bill 712 (Shaul) and House Bill 713 (Quade). They heard testimony from several Missourians including Leann Seipel of Sparta, who told representatives she had to turn down a 15-cents per hour raise to avoid losing her child care subsidy. She still lost the subsidy for one month.
Meghan Roetto of Republic moved from Montana to Missouri after her husband returned from serving in Iraq and left her and her daughter.
She told lawmakers she was frustrated when after going to college and getting a bachelor’s degree, she was offered a $10 an hour job, and that meant she would not be eligible for child care assistance.
Shaul said he and Quade decided to work together on the issue after discussing it, “somewhere between Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Rolla,” during the tour for freshmen legislators, held between the November election and before the start of session.
Missourians would be asked to remember children killed by violence in the state, and to work to prevent more such deaths, under a bill passed out of the state House.
Representative Bruce Franks, Junior, asks fellow legislators to support a bill filed in the name of his brother, who was shot to death at the age of 9. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Franks told his fellow legislators about how his brother was killed on that day in 1991, while the two were playing baseball on the street they grew up on.
Franks said the bill would make June 7, “Youth Violence Prevention Day,” in Missouri. He said it would be more than, “having another day where we name a day after somebody, but we spark a day of advocacy, a day of action, and a day against youth violence.”
Franks, as he has done with many other issues, urged his fellows not to think of gun violence as an issue limited to any one part or few parts of the state.
Missouri House members listen quietly as Representative Bruce Franks (yellow shirt near center) asks them to support increased education about youth violence, in a bill named for his brother, who was shot to death at the age of 9. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Franks asked that the legislators remember what happened to his brother and work to educate others statewide about youth violence prevention.
He recalled that when he and other freshmen members of the legislature toured the state, they saw the statue of his brother that stands outside of SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis.
Franks’ bill was passed out of the House 156-1. He received a standing ovation from the rest of the chamber’s members after presenting it on the floor.
The bill would encourage Missourians to observe June 7 through education related to safety and violence prevention. It now goes to the state Senate.
A state legislator has proposed making it a crime to block streets or highways during protests or riots.
State Representative Nick Marshall (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Parkville Republican Nick Marshall said he filed the bill in response to protests in recent years, such as those in Ferguson in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting and the decision by the St. Louis County prosecutor not to file charges against the Ferguson police officer that shot him.
House Bill 826 would create the crime of, “unlawful traffic interference,” for walking, standing, sitting, laying in, or placing an object on a street, highway, or interstate highway with the intention of interfering with traffic. Penalties would range from up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine for first offenses, to up to seven years in prison and a $10,000 fine for blocking traffic while part of an unlawful assembly.
The bill has the support of the Missouri State Trooper’s Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, and the Missouri Sheriff’s Association.
Brad Thielemier with the Trooper’s Association said it is concerned about safety issues raised by protests on roadways, for both drivers and protesters.
Ballwin Republican Shamed Dogan asked Mark Bruns with the Fraternal Order of Police whether protesters blocking traffic truly creates a substantial obstacle.
The legislature has passed a House bill that would toughen penalties for those who illegally apply herbicides.
Representative Don Rone says hundreds of farmers in the Bootheel suffered damage due to illegal herbicide use. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
House Bill 662, sponsored by Portageville Republican Don Rone, was filed in response to incidents last year in which farmers applied the product dicamba, resulting in damage to neighboring farmers’ crops that used seeds not resistant to that herbicide. With Thursday’s vote, the bill goes to Governor Eric Greitens (R) for his consideration.
Under the bill if the Department of Agriculture finds someone has used a particular herbicide on a crop for which its manufacturer did not intend its use, the Department can fine that person up to $10,000. If that person violates the bill’s provisions twice in three years, the fine can be up to $25,000.
The House had proposed fines up to up $1,000 per acre on which the herbicide had been applied and up to $2,000 per acre for what the bill terms “chronic violators.” The Senate changed those fines and the legislature adopted the Senate’s version.
Rone explained the Senate’s proposal could actually be tougher on a violator.
Rone said farmers whose crops are damaged by improper herbicide application could still go to court to seek civil penalties against those responsible.
After the House agreed with the senate and approved House Bill 662, House Speaker Todd Richardson signs it so it can be sent to Governor Eric Greitens for his consideration. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The bill includes an emergency clause, which means it would become effective immediately upon being signed by Governor Greitens. Normally legislation goes into effect on August 28 unless otherwise specified.
The bill also gives the Department additional powers to investigate claims of illegal uses. Farmers penalized for illegal uses would be liable to the Department for its expenses and for personal property affected.
Fines collected under HB 662 would go to the school district local to the effected farms.
A University of Missouri Extension plant sciences expert told lawmakers 150 or more farmers last year lost an average of 35-percent of the crops when wind and temperature changes caused illegally applied herbicide to spread onto nearby fields.
Though such improper use of herbicides is illegal, Rone said many farmers would still do it if it offered them an advantage because current fines are not enough of a deterrent.
The House voted to pass HB 662, 143-12. Governor Greitens could sign the bill into law, veto it, or allow it to become law without taking action on it. Rone and other legislators are hopeful he will sign it into law in time for farmers to begin work toward planting season.
The Missouri House has voted to end a tax break for low-income seniors and disabled residents who live in rental housing.
House Budget Committee vice-chairman Justin Alferman speaks in favor of HCB 3 on the House floor. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Backers say the proposal will allow the legislature to fund a Medicaid program that provides in-home care to poor elderly and disabled people. Opponents say there were other places to look for the approximately $55-million for that program.
House Committee Bill 3 narrowly passed the House, 85-72, and now goes to the state Senate.
The plan was a response to Governor Eric Greitens’ budget proposal that would cut the Medicaid program by adjusting a point system used to determine when a patient is eligible for in-home or nursing home care based on his or her needs.
Hermann Republican Justin Alferman is the vice chairman of the House Budget committee. He said ending the tax break was necessary to help people like a woman he visited at a nursing home in Hermann, who recently turned 100.
Lawmakers who opposed HCB 3 came from both parties. Many among them said they support restoring money to the Medicaid program but they believe there are other places from which to take money to do it.
Columbia Representative Kip Kendrick (D) said the legislature was being presented with a “false choice,” brought on by measures passed by the legislature in recent years.
The bill goes to the Senate which will consider whether to pass it and incorporate it into its budget plan. The House, meanwhile, will resume after the legislative spring break working on the budget proposal it will send the Senate.
The state House is close to passing another ethics reform proposal – this one aimed at the influence lobbyists have on local elected officials.
Representative Shamed Dogan has proposed banning lobbyist gifts to local government officials since 2015. In 2016 it was added to a proposed ban on gifts to legislators and statewide elected officials. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
House Bill 229 would bar gifts from lobbyists to local government officials, superintendents, school board members, members of charter school boards, and the staff and family members of such people.
The proposal is described as extending to local elected officials the same ethical reforms the House has proposed for members of the legislature and statewide elected officials, most recently in House Bill 60 which was sent to the Senate in January.
The bill originally extended its prohibitions only to governments and school districts with annual operating budgets of more than $10-million. It was amended to remove that cap.
Representative Deb Lavender offers an amendment removing a provision that extended the gift ban only to officials in local governments and school districts with annual operating budgets of $10-million or more. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Odessa Republican Glen Kolkmeyer said he is glad the proposal would extend to superintendents, after an incident he said happened in the Wellington-Napoleon School District.
Dogan said he’s seen similar situations unfold in St. Louis-area school districts.
Dogan has also cited, in promoting his bill, an experience he had while a Ballwin Alderman. He learned the city administrator had accepted World Series tickets from a trash company that had a no-bid contract up for approval with the city.
Just as HB 60 would allow lobbyists to contribute money to events to which all state elected officials and legislators are invited, HB 229 would allow lobbyists to pay for events to which all members of a political subdivision or all members of the General Assembly are invited.
HB 229 has broad bipartisan support. One more favorable vote will send it to the Senate.
A top Department of Corrections official has told a House subcommittee poor training, bureaucracy, and the Department’s growth have contributed to problems with harassment and retaliation among Missouri prison employees.
Dave Dormire is the Director of Adult Institutions in the Missouri Department of Corrections. After more than 40 years with the Department, he will retire April 1, amid allegations his department’s culture was rife with sexual harassment and retaliation against those who complained. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Dave Dormire is the Department’s Director of Adult Institutions and has been in the Department more than 40 years. He has announced he will retire April 1.
He talked to the House Subcommittee on Corrections Workforce Environment and Conduct after it had heard testimony from several other department officials, employees, and former employees.
The subcommittee was formed after news articles shed light on cases in which Department employees alleged they’d been harassed and, in some cases, retaliated against. Several of those cases have gone to court, and several of those resulted in settlements costing the state millions of dollars.
Since September, 2011, Dormire has been responsible for some staff appointments, overseeing the safety of staff and inmates, and for disciplinary decisions.
Dormire was asked why some of the people who had been involved in those incidents still work for the Department. He told lawmakers some allegations go unsustained, and some efforts are made to correct employees rather than fire them after a first incident.
Representatives Bruce Franks, Junior (left), and John McCaherty (right) (photo, Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Dormire told subcommittee member John McCaherty (R-High Ridge) the Department has not tolerated its employees committing harassment or unprofessional behavior repeatedly.
Dormire said the Corrections Department has grown to eight times the size it was when he started there, to more than 32-thousand inmates and roughly 8,000 staff throughout the prison system.
Committee members also asked Dormire about reports they’ve heard of nepotism in the Department’s hiring and promotion practices. At an earlier hearing, they heard from a former employee that wardens often ignore the recommendations of panels assigned to recommend employees for promotion. The system was described as one of “good ol’boys” hiring and promoting friends and relatives.
Dormire told lawmakers the Department used the state’s Merit system, created in state law to prevent favoritism, political influence, or arbitrary decisions in hiring and other employment decisions.
Representative Kathie Conway (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Committee members asked Dormire about allegations raised by recent articles by Pitch.com suggesting that he had been involved in retaliation against employees, and had been deceptive in his answers in some investigations. Dormire denied those allegations.
Committee members again indicated they are looking to those at or near the top of the Corrections Department’s hierarchy – wardens and administrative officials – as being largely at fault.
Hansen said of the cases of harassment he’s read about wardens seemed to be involved in some, and “totally incompetent,” in others.
The Missouri House has passed a trio of bills meant to put an end to “venue shopping” in lawsuits, particularly in the St. Louis area.
Representative Glen Kolkmeyer (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Proponents said House Bills 460, 461, and 462 would stop the practice of attorneys to seek to have cases involving people not from Missouri, alleging injuries that didn’t happen in Missouri, and against companies not from Missouri, heard in St. Louis based on the belief they’d have a better chance of winning there.
He said the bills aim to make sure more such cases are heard in venues more appropriate to their circumstances.
Each of the bills passed with 97 or more votes, but they faced bipartisan opposition. Parkville Republican Nick Marshall said it would hurt Missourians’ ability come together across county lines in cases against large companies.
The bills are the latest in a series of courtroom reforms passed out of the House this session, including new standards for who would be considered an expert witness in a trial.
House Republicans are fast-tracking bills meant to assert that only the state can set a minimum wage, while Democrats say the bills are a rushed effort that goes back on a promise legislators made two years ago to the people of St. Louis.
The state Supreme Court last week threw out 1998 language that prevented local governments from setting a minimum wage exceeding that set by the state. In response, Representatives Dan Shaul (R-Imperial) and Jason Chipman (R-Steelville) introduced on March 1 House Bills 1193 and 1194, respectively, both of which would bar political subdivisions from requiring a minimum wage exceeding that of the state.
House Bill 722, passed in 2015, also had language barring the setting of a higher minimum wage by local governments. It included a “grandfather clause,” allowing previous wage agreements between private vendors and the City of St. Louis to stand if they were enacted prior to August 28 of that year.
St. Louis enacted an ordinance on August 28, 2015, increasing its minimum wage first to $10 per hour this year and then to $11 per hour next year. Lawsuits delayed implementation of that ordinance, which is now set to take effect later this month.
Carpenter said lawmakers in 2015 agreed the grandfather clause would also allow to stand the new St. Louis minimum wage ordinance, and argued that pending pay hike is why the bills are being moved so quickly. Normally legislation goes through two committees before reaching the floor for debate, but these will go through only one. They also include “emergency clauses,” which would make them effective immediately upon being signed by the governor.
The House Committee on Rules – Administrative Oversight heard, too, from some St. Louis restaurant owners who said the minimum wage hike would force them to chair their business models and let go of some staff, as well as from some St. Louis workers who said they struggle to survive on their current salaries and said the wage increase is needed for many people to pay for basic needs.
The committee, after more than three hours of testimony and debate, voted 10-4 along party lines to advance the bills.
