Senate Professional Registration Committee Hears Expanded Workforce Access Act
The Senate Professional Registration Committee, chaired by Sen. Jeanie Riddle (R-Mokane), convened on Monday, March 2, to hear Sen. Eric Burlison’s (R-Springfield) Expanded Workforce Access Act of 2020.
SB 877 would allow a “licensing authority” to apply and grant licenses to applicants who meet certain standards. The intent of the legislation is to allow apprenticeships to count toward the requirements for professional licensure. This is the Senate version of HB 1688, legislation introduced by Rep. Derek Grier (R-Chesterfield). Proponents of the bill included:
- Associated Industries of Missouri
- Opportunities Project
- Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- St. Louis Regional Chamber
No one testified in opposition. The committee plans to vote on the legislation next week.
House Higher Education Committee Considers Advanced Placement Exam Credit
The House Higher Education Committee, chaired by Rep. Dean Dohrman (R-La Monte), convened Monday, March 2, to hear Rep. Mark Ellebracht’s (D-Liberty) HB 1508 and Rep. Dottie Bailey’s (R-Eureka) HB 2518. Both bills would require public colleges and universities to grant college credit to students who score a three or higher on advanced placement (AP) examinations. The bill sponsors indicated that they intend to combine the bills.
Liberty North High School students attended the hearing as the legislation was, according to Rep. Ellebracht, their idea. The students were represented by their high school AP teacher Curtis Gates. Gates described how the legislation would reduce the cost of college credit and create a uniform policy for students to receive college credit for their AP courses.
Paul Wagner of the Council on Public Higher Education spoke in favor of legislation and indicated that COPHE members prefer removing the “score of three or higher” requirement in the bill while retaining the Coordinating Board for Higher Education’s role.
Rep. Greg Razer (D-Kansas City) supported the legislation but shared concerns about the loss of revenue for institutions. Rep. Razor also stressed the need to ensure all students have access to the program and not just a few based on their geographic location or other factors.
House Budget Committee Hears from Subcommittee Chairs on Budget Recommendations
The House Budget Committee, chaired by Rep. Cody Smith (R-Carthage), convened on the morning of Tuesday, March 3, to hear the subcommittee on appropriations chairs’ recommendations for the FY 2021 House budget. The chairman of the House Education Subcommittee on Appropriations, Rep. Rusty Black (R-Chillicothe), presented his subcommittee’s recommendations. Rep. Smith indicated that his intention for the meeting was to simply hear the “recommendations presented by the subcommittees” and that the hearing was not the time to “litigate the pros and cons” of the recommendations. As such, there were no questions or comments after Rep. Black presented the subcommittee’s recommendations.
The full House Budget Committee is expected to begin markup in the next two weeks.
Senate Education Committee Hears National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Legislation
The Senate Education Committee, chaired by Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin (R-Shelbina), convened on Tuesday, March 3, to hear testimony on Sen. David Sater’s (R-Cassville) SB 787. The legislation was originally introduced by former senator Gary Romine who left the Missouri State Senate after having been appointed to the State Tax Commission by Gov. Mike Parson.
This legislation would require all public schools and institutions of higher education to print the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on either side of student identification cards.
The Missouri Community College Association and others spoke in favor of the legislation. Advocates of the bill indicated that some institutions have already taken steps to meet the intent of the legislation. In addition, there was interest in expanding the legislation to private institutions.
The House Special Committee on Career Readiness Considers Student Housing Legislation, Votes Do Pass on HB 2387 and HCS for HB 1994/1774
The House Special Committee on Career Readiness convened on Wednesday, March 4, to hear testimony on Rep. Jason Chipman’s (R-Steelville) HB 1790. The bill prohibits any public institutions of higher education in the state from requiring students to live in campus housing except for first-time freshmen. This bill is similar to HB 1680 (2018) and HB 435 (2019), legislation Rep. Chipman previously introduced.
During his opening remarks, Rep. Chipman stated that the legislation seeks to allow students to make their own decisions about housing and not be forced to live on campus in order to “make an institution more money.”
A student from Missouri University of Science & Technology spoke in favor of the legislation, criticizing the current housing policies at the university. She also stated that the discussion is about freedom of choice for students as much as the specific policy being discussed.
The Council on Public Higher Education, Southeast Missouri State University, and the University of Central Missouri spoke in opposition to the bill. SEMO stated that its current housing policies help the university achieve its student retention goals and indicated that students who have lived on campus graduate at higher rates. SEMO also provided information on their sophomore year waiver exemption and policies that allow students to terminate their housing agreement for internship and study aboard opportunities. UCM also testified about the correlation between living on campus and graduating.
Members of the committee shared anecdotal information and largely agreed with the importance of giving students choice in housing options.
During executive session, the committee voted do pass on a committee substitute that combines HB 1994 and 1774. The committee also voted do pass on HB 2387. The committee substitute adds a member of the Missouri State Workforce Development Board to the task force.
House General Laws Committee Passes House Committee Substitute on Student Athletes Compensation, Combines HBs 1564, 1748, and 1792
The House General Laws Committee, chaired by Rep. Dean Plocher (R-St. Louis), convened on Wednesday, March 4, to consider a committee substitute that would combine Rep. Nick Schroer’s (R-O’Fallon) HB 1564, Rep. Vic Allred’s (R-Parkville) HB 1748, and Rep. Wes Rogers’ (D-St. Louis) HB 1792. As with the underlying bills, the combined legislation would prohibit public and private universities from establishing rules that prevent student athletes from earning compensation for their name, image, and likeness. The committee passed the substitute and reported the new combined legislation “do-pass” by a vote of 12 to 1.
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