Senate Appropriations Committee Considers HB 3, Capital Improvement and Re-appropriations Bill Reviewed in House Budget
On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Lincoln Hough (R-Springfield), considered the Governor’s recommendation for HB 3, which provides funding for higher education and workforce development. During the hearing, Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development Interim Commissioner Leroy Wade received questions in three areas:
- The A+ Scholarship program and the program’s participants
- The funding recommendation to expand Apprenticeship Missouri
- The new request to establish a P20W data system in Missouri
Across the Capitol on Wednesday, March 1, the House Budget Committee, chaired by Rep. Cody Smith (R-Carthage), reviewed the Governor’s recommendations for HB 17, 18, and 19. In HB 17, several higher education institutions have ongoing construction-related projects stalled due to supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. Under HB 19, the Governor has recommended that higher education capital improvement projects requested in HB 3020 (2022) receive additional state funding to reduce the cost for Missouri’s public institutions. The Governor’s request was met with considerable interest, which led Chairman Smith to commit to members that he would have the Office of Administration and higher education appear before the House Budget Committee again to discuss the proposals in more detail. Furthermore, Chairman Smith shared his interest in revisiting the maintenance and repair needs across public higher education institutions in light of the recent capital improvement investments by the Governor and General Assembly.
Next week, the House Budget Committee is expected to reconvene and discuss the recommended House Subcommittee on Appropriations changes to departments’ operating budgets, including HB 3. The House has not provided specifics.
Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee Unanimously Passes SB 136
On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee, chaired by Sen. Andrew Koenig (R-Manchester), considered SB 136, legislation that modifies provisions relating to workforce development in elementary and secondary education. If enacted, the bill sponsored by Sen. Karla Eslinger (R-Wasola) would:
- Require students to complete an individual career and academic plan (ICAP) with assistance from the student's parent or guardian and the school's counselors; and
- Require each school district to establish a process in which a student completes and submits the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). A student is exempt from the requirement under particular circumstances.
The legislation was voted out of committee unanimously by members present for executive session. The bill is now on the Formal Calendar – Senate Bills for Perfection.
Other Updates:
- The House Special Committee on Government Accountability, chaired by Rep. Doug Richey (R-Excelsior Springs), will hold a public hearing on HB 489, sponsored by Rep. Ben Baker (R-Neosho), and Rep. Richey’s HB 1196, at noon Monday, March 6.
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HB 489
- Requires medical institutions of higher education to submit an annual certification by Dec. 31 to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education that the institution does not “require applicants or students to subscribe to DEI ideologies.”
- Requires medical institutions of higher education to publish titles and syllabi for all mandatory courses, seminars, classes, and trainings on a public online database, and prohibits institutions from conducting DEI audits or hiring DEI consultants.
- Requires medical institutions of higher education to require applicants to complete a standardized admissions test and outlines academic standards for health care-related courses of study, as specified in the bill. If a medical institution of higher education wants to alter the standards for admissions, the new standards must be submitted to either chamber of the General Assembly and shall not be effective until at least 60 days have passed during which a joint resolution of disapproval may be passed by both chambers and approved by the Governor to invalidate any such submitted standards.
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HB 1196
- Prohibits any public institution of postsecondary education from requiring any applicant, employee, student, or contractor to endorse “discriminatory ideology” as defined by the legislation.
- Prevents institutions from requiring a "diversity, equity, and inclusion statement" as defined in the bill from such individuals.
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