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| Capitol Report: Mid-Session Review | Contact: (573) 751- 3074 | ||||
What the State Senate has been Working On What the Legislature should be Working On the Rest of the Session |
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This week is our Legislative Spring Break. It has been nice to be back in Independence with family and friends. As your state senator, I wanted to provide a review of the first half of the session that began in January and will continue until May. |
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| What the State Senate has been Working On | |||||
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Fixing the Education Transfer Issue
The Senate passed SCS SB 493, 485, 495, 516, 534, 545, 595, 616 & 624 in an effort to clarify an existing state law that allows students in unaccredited public school districts to transfer to a nearby accredited district of their choice. Many students in unaccredited districts have already transferred to other schools, which highlights the need for the General Assembly to address the issue to stop these current and anticipated problems. The bill I filed, Senate Bill 624, is part of this legislation. I proposed a simple solution to address the student transfer issue in a way that helps both the accredited and unaccredited school districts. It is unfair to overwhelm accredited districts with transferring students. On the other hand, it is also unfair to turn students away if the district has room to accommodate them. Unfortunately, the bill still contains language allowing students to leave failing public schools for private, non-sectarian ones. I had supported this solution until the private school language was added. It is my hope that this provision is reformed as the legislation moves on to the House of Representatives. Massive Tax Cut Issue In January, SB 509 was introduced and would provide a massive tax cut for corporations reducing revenues by approximately $900 million. Then in February, Governor Nixon and Senator Will Kraus announced their agreement on tax cut legislation. Most senators were reluctant to support the Nixon & Kraus bill. Kraus responded by proposing a substitute bill that pairs tax credit reform with tax cuts. I still believe that we should be the ‘Show-Me State,’ not the ‘Me-Too State.’ Tax reform is a crucial part of our economic development policy, but we need to be able to pay for the things the state government has to do. We should not put our responsibilities to education, transportation, mental health, and all other priorities in jeopardy. Restricting Women’s Access to Health Care I believe this legislation is a pointless and cynical bill that we are only seeing because it is an election year. It shows that the majority in the General Assembly is more interested in politics then improving the lives of Missourians. |
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| What the Legislature should be Working On the Rest of the Session | |||||
Increase to the Minimum Wage
Increasing Missouri's minimum wage is a simple change that state government can make to raise the incomes of millions of working families in Missouri. For businesses, it would mean more customers. This makes sense to do at this time since corporations’ profits and CEOs’ pay have never been higher. This is why I filed legislation to increase the minimum wage to $9 per hour in Missouri. Progress has been made on this issue. A Senate committee has advanced legislation that could raise Missouri’s minimum wage to $10 an hour. SB 531 by Senator Jamilah Nasheed, of St. Louis, would raise Missouri’s minimum wage to $10 an hour in 2015 and continue to adjust it annually for inflation. Thanks to Senator Nasheed for her leadership on this issues. I will continue to work until we get a higher minimum wage for hard-working families in our state. Medicaid Expansion Fortunately, some progress has been made on this issue. A House committee heard legislation that would increase Medicaid eligibility to individuals at 100 percent of the poverty level. The state would then use federal Medicaid dollars to help individuals making up to 138 percent of the poverty level to purchase plans on the private-insurance marketplaces established by the health reform law. To be eligible for the state Medicaid program, the bill says applicants would have to provide “proof of workforce participation.” Access to affordable health care is one of the most important public policy issues that we face in Missouri. No other issue involves such deep moral and economic consequences for our state. Health care services delivery is far too important in terms of lives, jobs, and the overall economic well-being of the state for us to be complicit in the lack of seriousness in crafting meaningful health care policy. I will continue to work for an effective solution for Missouri. Super Bowl Resolution NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said he is open to hosting Super Bowls in cold-weather cities. I believe that our community has proven that we are ready to host with our success hosting the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2012. I also introduced SB 876 to designate the bridge on East Stadium Drive over Interstate 435 in Jackson County as the “Len Dawson Bridge” to honor the former Chiefs quarterback, who helped lead the franchise to its only Super Bowl victory in 1970. Mr. Dawson played a major role in sports history and it makes sense to honor him. |
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Senator Paul LeVota |
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