SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 1323
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Reported from the Committee on Education May 5, 2004, with recommendation that the House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1323 Do Pass.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal section 160.254, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the joint committee on education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 160.254, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 160.254, to read as follows:
160.254. 1. There is hereby established a joint committee of the general assembly, which shall be known as the "Joint Committee on Education", which shall be composed of [five] seven members of the senate and [five] seven members of the house of representatives. The senate members of the committee shall be appointed by the president pro tem of the senate and the house members by the speaker of the house.
2. The committee [shall only] may meet and function in [the year 1988 and each fourth year thereafter. Members shall be appointed on the first day of the legislative session in January of every year in which the committee is to meet and function, and shall serve for a period of not less than six months nor more than one year] any year that the president pro tem of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives appoint members to serve on the committee. In the event of three consecutive absences on the part of any member, such member may be removed from the committee.
3. The committee shall [be first convened ten days after its appointment and shall] select either a chairman or cochairmen, one of whom shall be a member of the senate and one a member of the house. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. Meetings of the committee may be called at such time and place as the chairman or chairmen designate.
4. The committee shall:
(1) Review and monitor the progress of education in the state's public schools;
(2) Receive reports from the commissioner of education concerning the public schools;
(3) Conduct a study and analysis of the public school system;
(4) Make recommendations to the general assembly for legislative action; and
(5) Conduct an in-depth study concerning all issues relating to the equity and adequacy of the distribution of state school aid, teachers' salaries, funding for school buildings, and overall funding levels for schools and any other education funding-related issues the committee deems relevant.
5. The committee may make reasonable requests for staff assistance from the research and appropriations staffs of the house and senate and the committee on legislative research, as well as the department of elementary and secondary education [and], the department of higher education, the coordinating board for higher education, the state tax commission, all school districts and other political subdivisions of this state, teachers and teacher groups, business and other commercial interests and any other interested persons.
6. Members and staff of the committee shall receive no compensation but may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses associated with the performance of their official duties.