The Missouri House of Representatives seems to be repeating a cycle that has become familiar in recent years. As we consider legislative proposals (bills), our year starts out very, very slowly, then lurches forward in an uncontrollable manner. Until Spring break and Easter, we hardly spent measurable time in the House chamber and we processed a limited number of bills. Things have changed now; we’re really pushing legislation from our side to the Senate for their consideration.
One day we considered over 70 bills for Third Reading and I believe only two failed to get the required number of 82 or more "yes" votes for passage. Nearly all of those were identified as "consent bills" which, by House rules, are non-controversial and have less than $100,000 of impact on the budget. Many of the "consent" proposals relate to: naming memorial highways and bridges, public employee retirement systems, policies governing flag display at public buildings, etc.
Some members of the General Assembly always slip in a surprise or two and this year maintained that tradition. Rep. Theodore Hoskins (D) St. Louis County, introduced HCS HB 1676 that would require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to establish policies allowing students from unaccredited schools to enroll in accredited schools of their choice. The issue turned out to be something different than "non-controversial". In fact, the bill failed by a vote of 78 yes and 72 no.
Apparently this is a very heated issue in and adjoining both the St. Louis and Kansas City school districts. Schools there have reached "unaccredited" status and students are attempting to be accepted by neighboring schools on a volunteer basis. The neighboring schools are not accepting any students and the State Representatives want to remove the choice provision and mandate student acceptance by accredited districts. It was a wild night during debate, tempers flared, racist remarks were cast about, several Representatives from outside the metro area felt this would be too rapid a movement toward "open enrollment" and discussion ended with a failing vote.
It is unfortunate this all happened on a bill labeled as "consent" because that classification doesn’t allow for amendments or the perfection process. It is a "take it or leave it" format and this issue deserves better. This state cannot allow metro students to continue with an unsatisfactory education program. I don’t know the answers but our political process failed to improve the situation during an evening session that lasted until after midnight when members were not at peak performance.
There were some other bills which passed the House with divided support that you may want to study because they are still in play at the Senate. They include HB 1393, allowing motorcycle riders, over 21, a choice of wearing helmets; HJR 43, a proposed constitutional amendment regarding property assessments and "levy rollbacks"; HJR 41, another constitutional amendment that would limit authority of state courts; HCS HB 1715, which changes several laws regarding watercraft and the state water patrol and HB 1832 which establishes the Missouri County Planning Act.
Please share your thoughts on these or any other legislative issues that are of importance to you. You can contact me at jim.whorton@house.mo.gov or 573-751-1649 or my district office at 660-359-3988.
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