Foster Care Education Bill of Rights

Great news for foster kids from Jefferson City Wednesday night. After a two year fight, we truly agreed to and finally passed the Foster Care Education Bill of Rights. Originally filed as SB96, I successfully added the same language to HB154, which passed 34-0 Wednesday night and it is now headed to the Governor's desk for his signature.

The Foster Care Education Bill of Rights addresses the deficiencies that this state has when it comes to educational outcomes for kids in foster care. These kids are our most vulnerable citizens and as the guardian of these kids, we owe it to them to make sure they have every opportunity available -- including a quality education.

Truly Agreed To & Finally Passed

Late last night we scored a victory for tenants who live in houses that are sold as a result of foreclosure.

Current law allows the new owner of a foreclosed property to immediately sue the tenants for eviction, even if they are current on their rent. The tenants lose their rent money for the month, their security deposit and have to scramble to find new housing. All with no notice.

To make matters worse, the tenants are forced to search for new housing with a black mark on their credit record in the form of an eviction lawsuit.

Representative Kiki Curls (D-Kansas City) and I filed bills this year that would provide notice and some relief to those tenants who find themselves homeless through no fault of their own. In addition to notice, the tenants will receive 10 business days to negotiate a new lease with the new owners or start the search for new housing. No legal action can be taken against the tenants during that time.

Late last night HB836 was truly agreed to and finally passed by both chambers. The bill now goes to the Governor for his signature.

How Are You Going to Fix Our Schools?

When I knocked on doors during my campaign for Senate in 2006, the most common concern raised on doorstep after doorstep, was the condition of the Kansas City Missouri School District. Since my election, the school district has remained in the top 5 concerns raised by my constituents.

The school district is one of the most politically and emotionally charged issues I have dealt with during my three years in the Missouri Senate. I have been steadfast in my belief that the majority of the issues facing the school district are local issues and must be solved at the local level. At the state level, we deal with the larger issue of school funding and we also discuss big-picture issues that impact all Missouri schools. It is rare to discuss issues that affect just one school district.

With continued bad news from the district, however, and tension about its governance on the rise, I have received an increasing number of requests from constituents who want to discuss possible Jefferson City solutions to Kansas City's number one problem.

One such meeting with concerned parents resulted in my filing SB253, which would require a special election for vacancies on the KCMO School Board. Current law says if a member leaves the board before his/her term expires, the remaining board members must appoint a person to fill the vacancy. If SB253 passes, the people of KC will make that decision.

This year I have heard from more and more parents, community and business leaders -- all concerned about the kids in the KCMO School District. The ideas presented about how to "fix" the problem are as diverse as the groups making the pitches.

Two competing organizations have come to the surface in this debate -- Do The Right Thing For Kids and Hands Off the Kansas City School District. "Hands Off" has called for a grassroots, bottom-up approach, leaving the current governing body in tact. "Do The Right Thing" argues that the district's woes will not be fixed until we change the governing body of the school district. They have a proposal that would allow the people of KC to vote on a change to the school's governance.

I submit that the answer is not one proposal or the other, but that real change will not come to the school district until we address the issues from the top-down AND the bottom-up.

Throughout this debate I have made two things very clear -- 1) I am against the status quo; and 2) the voters of KC should make the ultimate decision about how our school district is governed. To that end, the Senate passed an amendment on an education bill today that would create an interim legislative committee to address the governance of the KCMO School District. The interim committee will take testimony from all stakeholders and report back to the General Assembly in January 2010. I fully support this amendment and sincerely hope that it makes it through the rest of the process and to the governor's desk.

I also hope that all sides fully participate in the dialogue and bring genuine ideas to the table. One answer I will not accept is "just give us another chance," or "this is a different school board, just wait and see the good work we are doing." While that statement may be entirely true, the kids of KC can't wait just one more year. We are failing our kids now.

Change is going to come to the KCMO School District one way or another. The question we must ask ourselves is whether we want the decision made in Jefferson City, or whether we want the people of KC to make the decision. Every year we hear the possibility of a state takeover. Suburban lawmakers routinely file legislation requiring an appointed board or requiring all board members to run at-large. My warning to those who advocate for the status quo -- ignore this call for change at your own peril. This is not a crisis that will blow over and be forgotten during the long months between legislative sessions.

My sincere hope is that this legislative session has lit a fire under everyone who cares about the kids of KC. I want to see town hall meetings, debates and public testimony all summer long. I don't want to hear another report of one side refusing to meet with the other or complaints that the debate is taking place in a vacuum. Put the turf wars aside and get down to the business of fixing our schools KC. If you don't do it -- Jefferson City will.

Huge Week in the Missouri Senate

It was a HUGE week in Jefferson City and I'm excited to report that many important bills made significant advances.

On Tuesday I was able to add my childcare subsidy bill (SB 94) and my foster care education bill of rights (SB96) as amendments on a House bill that was before the Senate. While the foster care bill has passed the Senate twice already this year, this is the first time that the childcare subsidy bill has received a yes vote in either legislative chamber.

Then on Wednesday we had two more major victories, when the Senate passed two of my housing bills, one of which I've been working on for three years. These bills would increase the money in the Missouri Housing Trust Fund and provide protection for tenants who are renting a property that is sold due to foreclosure.

All four of these bills have been my top priorities and I'm going to continue to fight to ensure they make it to the Governor's desk. Most of these bills still face significant hurdles, with stops in Fiscal Oversight and conference committees. Over the next week, I will highlight each bill on this blog, so you can learn more about the legislation and find out how YOU can help move the bills over the finish line if you are so inclined.

Many of you know that this session I have been providing real-time updates of all the action in the Missouri Senate, via Twitter. I've been using it as a micro-blog of sorts. Through Twitter, and it's link to my Facebook page, I'm able to communicate instantly with thousands of constituents who can then provide me with their comments and questions.

One unintended consequence of my "tweeting," however, is that I have allowed it to supplant my longer blog posts. Although we are heading into the busiest part of the session, I am going to make a concerted effort to generate more posts on this blog. These posts will be for those who are interested in more info than I can relay in a 140-character tweet.

If you are interested in receiving the Twitter updates, you can subscribe here.

Finally, if you want to kick it old school and just hear a verbal update of everything that's happening in Jefferson City, you can meet me Friday mornings at 9AM at Coffee Break, 5400 Troost Avenue.

How Do I Get My Hands on Some of That Stimulus Money?

I've had a lot of questions over the last few weeks about where you can go to submit or review proposals for federal stimulus dollars.

Last week, Governor Nixon rolled out a website where you can submit proposals and ask questions about the stimulus dollars. The Mid-America Regional Council also has a lot of good information about the stimulus package, including a call for transportation proposals.

I'm serving on the Senate Select Committee on Oversight of Federal Stimulus. We are currently holding several meetings a week in an attempt to answer a multitude of questions about where and how the money can be spent.

If you are interested in updates on federal stimulus dollars that will flow through the state legislature, please stop by my weekly meeting at Coffee Break, 5400 Troost Avenue, Friday morning from 9-10 AM.

Foster Care Education Bill of Rights

I have a hearing Tuesday morning in the Health, Mental Health, Seniors & Families committee for my Foster Care Education Bill of Rights legislation. SB96 would help create educational continuity for some of the most vulnerable kids in our state.

I successfully added similar language as an amendment to a larger education bill last year, but the bill got lost in the shuffle of the last day of session and was never perfected. For the last two years I've had opposition from the Missouri School Boards Association, but it looks like we've finally got a bill that everyone can live with.

As citizens of Missouri, we are the guardians for these kids. They are taken out of their parents' custody, mostly because of allegations of abuse and/or neglect, and it is our duty to make sure that all their needs are met -- including a quality education.

What a Long, Strange Week It's Been . . .

It's only Wednesday night, but this has been one of the longest, busiest weeks I've had in Jefferson City. Here's the mid-week recap:

HPV

We had a hearing for my HPV bill on Tuesday morning in the Health, Mental Health, Seniors & Families Committee. The hearing went well. This is the third time I've introduced the bill. The American Cancer Society, Siteman Cancer Center and the Missouri Family Network testified in favor of the bill. The Concerned Women for America (CWA) testified against the bill, which wasn't a surprise because they testify against most of my bills.

After the hearing the CWA woman stopped by my office and explained that she felt compelled personally to testify against the bill because she thinks HPV isn't a very big deal and she wishes I would focus my energy on issues that affect more people. I'll pass that along to the families of the 3,700 women who die every year from cervical cancer.

We will vote on the bill next Tuesday morning during the executive session of our committee hearing.

CWIP

Yesterday the Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy & the Environment Committee took nearly four hours of testimony on a bill that would repeal the CWIP law in Missouri. If this is the first you have heard of CWIP, you can check out a quick summary here.

The place was packed. It was standing room only. They set up a closed-circuit TV in the hall outside my office for those who could not fit in the hearing room. Most of the people inside were the bazillion lobbyists who have been hired to work both sides of this issue and tons of media people.

I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity and preparedness of the opposition. I heard the skids were greased and this thing was going to sail through the process. Clearly that will not be the case.

Opponents included huge corporations who are large utility ratepayers and do not want to see their energy costs go up; consumer protection advocates worried about individual ratepayers and the lack of consumer protection in the legislation; and environment groups concerned that a nuclear plant will end the pursuit of renewable energy options and better energy efficiency standards, as well as the dangers posed by nuclear waste.

Proponents stressed energy independence, economic stimulus and jobs creation. Based on the number of lobbyists who have been hired to work both sides of this issue, I have to admit that CWIP is already creating jobs in at least one sector of the economy.

My major takeaways from the hearing:

1) AmerenUE already has about $250 million invested in this plan. If this law passes, these preliminary costs can be passed on to the ratepayers, EVEN IF THE PLANT IS NEVER BUILT.

2) AmerenUE is soliciting partners to "own" the plant with them. KCP&L, municipal power companies, etc., will have the option to become a co-owner which means our rates will go up on this side the state, just like our friends and families across the state.

3) The proponents of the bill say they need the legislation because no bank will loan AmerenUE the money to build the plant. That's why they need the ratepayers to foot the bill. Let me get this straight -- they can't get the financing because the private market thinks it's too risky, so they are asking us to foot the bill?

Next week we will hear from the PSC. One question I have is why they voted (along party lines) NOT to do a rate impact analysis of the plan.

ODDS-N-ENDS

A bill severely restricting adult businesses and taking away local control of regulating those businesses was passed out of the Judiciary Committee Monday night.

I presented two bills for the city of Grandview in a committee hearing today.

The Senate finally confirmed Linda Martinez as Director of the Department of Economic Development.

We spent some time addressing the public defender crisis on the Senate floor this morning. I offered an amendment which was still pending when the bill was laid on the informal calendar this afternoon. We will probably get back to the bill next week.

Oh yeah, I also made a new friend.

If you are interested in a complete rundown of the the week's events, feel free to join me for coffee and conversation, this Friday, February 13, from 9-10 AM at Coffee Break, 5400 Troost Ave.