HCS HB 456 -- PUBLIC SCHOOLS

SPONSOR:  Fitzwater

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on
Education-Elementary and Secondary by a vote of 21 to 0.

This substitute is a clean-up of school law.  Its revisions
eliminate outdated requirements and duplicative language, or
revise overly restrictive provisions.  Thirty-five such sections
are repealed.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill is needed in order to
harmonize statute provisions that have become obsolete, are
overly restrictive in light of more modern-day practices, or are
duplicative.  In several instances, provisions applicable to
only one type of school district are made applicable to all
districts.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Fitzwater; Missouri
Council of School Administrators; and Missouri School Board
Association.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that the provision
that penalizes utility companies who fail to provide assessment
information is unfair to the companies because they do not have
the information in a form that is acceptable to bonding
attorneys.

Testifying against the bill were Burlington Northern/Santa Fe
Railroad; David Christian, speaking for Kansas City Power and
Light and several other investor-owned utilities; Missouri
Railroad Association; and Missouri Oil Council.

Becky DeNeve, Legislative Analyst

HB 456 -- Public Schools

Sponsor:  Fitzwater

This bill is primarily a clean-up of school law.  Most of its
revisions eliminate outdated requirements and duplicative
language, or revise overly restrictive provisions.  Thirty-five
such sections are repealed.