Senate Committee Substitute

SCS/SB 590 - This act renders several alterations to the state's higher education policy.

SECTION 160.730: This act requires the Commissioner of Higher Education, the chair of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, the Commissioner of Education, the president of the State Board of Education, and the director of the Department of Economic Development to meet and discuss ways in which their respective departments may collaborate in order to achieve a more efficient and effective education system that more adequately prepares students for the challenges of entering the workforce. The act contains several policy objectives intended to accomplish this end.

The aforementioned persons shall jointly report to the general assembly and to the Governor the actions taken by their agencies and their recommendations for policy initiatives and legislative alterations to achieve the policy goals of this act.

This section is identical to the SCS/SB 580.

SECTION 172.287: Under section 172.287, RSMo, the University of Missouri annually requests an appropriation under capital improvements for a program of grants established for the engineering colleges of the University system. Currently, the aforementioned section contains a terminate date of June 30, 2007. This act seeks to extend this termination date to June 30, 2017.

This section is identical to SB 679.

SECTION 173.005: This act grants the Commissioner of Higher Education the authority to impose a fine on higher education institutions that willfully disregard board policies. Such a fine shall not exceed one percent of the institution's current fiscal year state appropriation. The board shall hold such funds until such time that the institution, as determined by the Commissioner of Higher Education, corrects the violation, at which time the board shall refund such amount to the institution. Should the commissioner determine that the institution has not redressed the violation within one year, the fine amount shall be deposited into the general revenue fund unless the institution appeals such decision to the full coordinating board, which shall have the authority to make a final decision regarding the matter.

This section is identical to SCS/SB 857.

SECTION 173.125: The act requires that every public institution of higher education submit to binding dispute resolution with regard to disputes among institutions of higher education that involve jurisdictional boundaries or the use or expenditure of any state resources whatsoever, as determined by the Coordinating Board. In all cases, the arbitrator shall be the Commissioner of Higher Education or a designee, whose decision shall be binding on all parties. In other respects, such arbitration shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 435, RSMo. The Coordinating Board shall establish, by rule, an appeals process for any institution aggrieved by a decision of the commissioner. Such appeals process shall include, at a minimum, that the Coordinating Board for Higher Education review the commissioner's or designee's decision.

This section is identical to SCS/SB 857.

SECTION 173.234: The Coordinating Board for Higher Education will provide tuition grants to any member of the military of United States, whether active duty, reserve, or national guard, who served in Iraq during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and who is a citizen of the state of Missouri.

The act delineates specific eligibility criteria for both the recipients and the higher education institutions. Grant awards are limited to the actual tuition charged to the student or the highest amount of tuition charged a Missouri resident for attendance as a full-time student at any campus within the University of Missouri system, whichever is lower. The Coordinating Board will administer the program.

This section is identical to SB 708.

SECTION 173.272: This act establishes the "Community College Associate Degree Transfer Incentive Scholarship Program" to be administered by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. The program will distribute funds to participating public four-year Missouri colleges or universities in order to provide scholarships for Missouri residents who graduate from a Missouri public community college and transfer to a participating public four-year Missouri college or university. Funds for the scholarship program will be distributed to participating institutions on a pro-rata basis according to the number of eligible two-year transfer students at each institution. Eligibility criteria are delineated in the act. Participating institutions are required to submit an annual report to the General Assembly.

The act establishes the "Community College Associate Degree Transfer Incentive Scholarship Program" fund in the state treasury.

The program will sunset in six years.

This section is identical to SCS/SB 654.

SECTIONS 174.450, 174.453, & 174.500: This act specifies that the term of office of the governors of Missouri State University shall be six years. The voting members of the board of governors serving on August 28, 2005, shall serve until the expiration of the terms for which they were appointed. For those voting members appointed after August 28, 2005, the term of office will be established in a manner where no more than three terms shall expire in a given year.

If a voting member of the board of governors of Missouri State University is found by unanimous vote of the other governors to have moved such governor's residence from the district from which such governor was appointed, then the office of such governor shall be vacant.

Should the total number of Missouri congressional districts be altered, all members of the board shall be allowed to serve the remainder of the term for which they were appointed. Should the boundaries of any congressional districts be altered in a manner that displaces a member of the board from the congressional district from which the member was appointed, the member shall be allowed to serve the remainder of the term for which the member was appointed.

The act renders other technical alterations by removing the "Southwest"” from Missouri State University in certain sections omitted from the name change bill last session.

These sections are identical to the SCS/SB 650.

DONALD THALHUBER


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