Rep. Mike Colona update
By Cara | May 10, 2010
Greetings!
I’d like to thank the voters of the 67th District-City of St. Louis for electing me as your Representative. We are in full swing in this Second Regular Session of the 95th General Assembly. Things are really getting heated, but outlined are some of the important issues that were discussed and voted on in the House.
I pay for this newsletter from my own funds, so I can feel free to express my political opinions. Please call or e-mail me with your thoughts on improving this newsletter or any issues or concerns.
In This Issue
$23.27 Billion State Budget Clears General Assembly
Senate Endorses Merger Of Education Departments
Attorney General Sues To Recover Embezzled Funds
USS Missouri Nuclear Sub To Be Commissioned In July
House Passes Rewrite Of Education Funding Formula
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$23.27 Billion State Budget Clears General Assembly
The General Assembly on April 29 sent a $23.27 billion state operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year to the governor to be signed into law. Although lawmakers cut $484.23 million in general revenue — $582.87 million overall – from the proposed budget Gov. Jay Nixon offered in January, it is expected that the governor will make additional reductions through his line-item veto or imposing spending restrictions.
The budget for FY 2011, which begins July 1, freezes basic state funding for local school districts at current levels but cuts state reimbursements for student transportation costs by 50 percent and makes other deep reductions to education programs beyond basic aid, such as the popular Parents as Teachers. The budget also reduces operating funds for public colleges and universities by 5.2 percent. In exchange for limited cuts the schools have agreed to freeze in-state tuition for the second consecutive year.
Compared to the FY 2010 budget lawmakers originally approved last year, the FY 2011 budget includes $407.6 million less in overall spending authority. Nixon, however, made substantial midyear cuts from what lawmakers approved. The FY 2011 budget also relies on savings from about two dozen different bills that have yet to clear the legislature.
Senate Endorses Merger Of Education Departments
The Senate has passed a pair of constitutional amendments that would merge the state’s elementary and secondary education and higher education departments into a single agency. If also approved by the House of Representatives, the measures would go on the statewide ballot in November.
One proposed amendment, SJR 44, would eliminate state constitutional that establish the Department of Higher Education and its governing authority, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. The other measure, SJR 45, would give the State Board of Education, which governs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, authority over higher education as well. SJR 45 would also reduce the size of the board from eight members to six members and give the Senate the power to reject the board’s choice for education commissioner, the department’s top administrative post.
Attorney General Sues To Recover Embezzled Funds
Attorney General Chris Koster on April 26 filed a civil suit against a former accountant for the Missouri Veterans Commission who in 2008 pleaded guilty to embezzling agency funds. As part of her plea agreement, Stacy Griffin-Lowery repaid the $17,665 that prosecutors at the time thought she had stolen. However, a state audit issued earlier this month alleges that Griffin-Lowery actually embezzled nearly $108,000. Koster’s lawsuit seeks to recover the remaining $90,000 in missing funds plus interest, court costs and other reasonable damages.
USS Missouri Nuclear Sub To Be Commissioned In July
The USS Missouri, a $2 billion Virginia Class nuclear-powered attack submarine, is slated to be commissioned on July 1 at Groton, Conn. It is the fifth U.S. Navy ship named after the state. Another nuclear-powered submarine that has been in service since 1992 is named after the Missouri capital, the Los Angeles-class USS Jefferson City.
The last USS Missouri was an Iowa Class battleship commissioned in 1944. It earned fame in 1945 as the site of the formal surrender of the Japanese Empire to end World War II. The battleship Missouri was decommissioned in 1955 but was brought back into service in 1984. It was decommissioned for the final time in 1994 and is now a museum ship at Pearl Harbor.
House Passes Rewrite Of Education Funding Formula
The House of Representatives on April 29 voted to rewrite the state’s formula for distributing basic state funding to local school district, despite the fact that the formula, which became law in 2005, is still three school years shy of being fully implemented. The bill, HB 2245, was sent to the Senate on an 82-67 vote with the bare minimum number of “yes” votes needed for passage.
When lawmakers rewrote the education funding formula in 2005, scheduled funding increases were to be phased in over seven years starting with the 2006-2007 school year and ending with the 2012-2013 school year. HB 2245 would extend the phase-in period by another four years, meaning the 2005 formula wouldn’t be fully implemented until the 2016-2017 school year – 12 years after it was first enacted.
The bill also creates a mechanism for changing the distribution amounts during years in which the General Assembly is unable to appropriate the full amount called for by the formula. This provision caused controversy – and led to the bill barely passing — because it would exempt certain districts from sharing in funding cuts during years when the formula isn’t fully funded.
If this bill becomes law, it will severely restrict summer school funding for the city of St. Louis schools. I voted against this bill.
It is an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of the 67th District in the House of Representatives. If you have any issue or concern, please don’t hesitate to contact me and feel free to forward this update to friends, family, and colleagues. Working together with your opinions and input will help me be a better legislator for our community.
Sincerely,
Mike Colona
Missouri House of Representatives
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