Government Relations
UM Legislative Update Newsletter
February 10, 2006
Senate passes omnibus higher education bill after adopting amendments
On Thursday, Feb. 9, the Senate passed the first major higher education legislation of the 2006 session, sending a substitute version of SB590 to the House that would give the Coordinating Board for Higher Education more power and provide additional scholarships to veterans’ families.
In its final form, the bill incorporates the following proposals that also have been introduced in stand-alone legislation:
- Encouraging collaboration between the Departments of Economic Development, Higher Education and Elementary and Secondary Education via regular meetings of agency heads to focus on workforce needs and measure progress toward statewide economic development goals.
- Extending the University of Missouri’s engineering equipment grant authorization through 2017.
- Giving the Coordinating Board authority to levy a fine of up to 1 percent of a public institution’s operating appropriation in cases where the school disregards Board policy. The institution could appeal to the full Coordinating Board but a more detailed appeals process advocated by the University of Missouri and other higher education leaders was stripped out during floor debate. Senators also adopted an amendment to exempt private institutions from the oversight.
- Requiring out-of-state institutions offering courses through facilities in Missouri to adhere to the same rules and regulations as in-state institutions.
- Requiring institutions to submit to binding arbitration in cases of boundary disputes.
- Providing tuition grants to Iraqi war veterans and foster children.
- Updating terms and wording of the governing board for Missouri State University.
- Requesting a study by the Coordinating Board of the impact of providing a tax deduction for higher education tuition for those with incomes below $100,000. Earlier floor debate included consideration of enacting the tax deduction but a high fiscal note caused many Senators to pause.
During floor debate, a proposal that would have provided an associate degree transfer completer scholarship was stripped out of the bill. That measure would have given scholarships to students who complete an associate’s degree and transfer to a public four-year institution to complete a degree. Concerns about the A+ program led legislators to question whether it was wise to extend the scholarship to the additional students even though the proposal did not require A+ participation. After lengthy debate on an amendment that would have allowed students with A+ scholarships to take them to any public or private institution, senators settled for a means test that would exempt students from families with incomes over $250,000 from receiving A+ unless they were emancipated from their parents.
Earlier in the week, the Senate Education Committee met in executive session to vote out several bills that reflected the proposals in the final version of SB590 when it appeared that bill was bogged down on the floor. The omnibus bill now moves to the House, where it is expected to be assigned to the House Higher Education Committee.
Back to index
