Archives: January 2012

Weekly Legislative Report:

REPRESENTATIVE LYLE ROWLAND’S LEGISLATIVE REPORT
January 26, 2012

Greetings from your State Capitol. Another week of pretty mild winter weather. Thank God for the rain in our area this week as some places were getting pretty dried out. I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces this week here in my office.

We debated and passed two bills this week in the House. They were:

HB 1135 grants the Secretary of State the authority to make technical changes to administrative rules and will improve transparency in Missouri government by requiring the review of administrative rules. Over time, department rules become outdated or obsolete. By requiring these rules to be reviewed periodically, we can ensure that all agency rules are efficient and effective. This proposal also allows ordinary people the right to request an administrative rule change. The agency must respond to any such request and inform a committee of the General Assembly about the request and their response. Under current law, these administrative rules can stay on the books of a state agency indefinitely. HB 1135 also requires all administrative rules to sunset after ten years. By including the sunset provision, all rules will have to pass through the public comment process periodically, providing citizens a say in how our executive departments operate. This is significant regulatory reform passed this week by your Missouri House.

HCS HB 1140 – Currently, information about state spending is available on line at the Missouri Accountability Portal. HB 1140 requires counties and schools to submit their debts and holdings to the Office of Administration for posting on the portal. This gives taxpayers a one stop shop for tracking how their state and local tax dollars are being spent, expanding the information available to them. Under this proposed legislation, school districts and public charter schools must annually collect and submit detailed employee compensation data and the district’s annual operating budget and bonded indebtedness to the Office of Administration for inclusion. HB 1140 also requires each county to collect and annually transmit to the Office of Administration for inclusion on the portal detailed compensation information for all elected county officials, a copy of the detailed financial statement that counties are currently required to publish, and any cash reserves.

Committee meetings are really going strong and our days are really getting busy. A normal day is to arrive at the Capitol around 7 a.m. and return to our sleeping rooms around 10 p.m. Most Representatives are hearing or presenting legislation, responding to letters and/or e-mails, making phone calls, discussing legislation with fellow Representatives or drafting items that will help get their legislation through the House.

As always it is a privilege to represent you in State Government.

REPRESENTATIVE LYLE ROWLAND’S LEGISLATIVE REPORT
January 19, 2012

Greetings from your State Capitol. It has been a very pleasant week, weather wise, here in Jefferson City. The schedule is getting busier with committee meetings getting underway.

Every January, the governor gives his state of the state address. And, much like prior years, the speech included his budget and a laundry list of things he would like to see us pass this session. As I reflect on what the governor said, there were several key points from his address that stood out in my mind.

First, many of the governor’s ideas parallel our Blueprint for Missouri. In his plan, economic growth is built on a “foundation of fiscal discipline.” I was glad to hear that the governor, like Republicans in the House, is committed to balancing the budget while holding the line on taxes. Raising your taxes in an already weak economy would further hamper economic growth and lead to more job losses, and that’s the last thing we need.

The governor’s strategy for economic growth is also built on making government “smaller”, smarter and more efficient.” This was our approach last year, and we plan to continue shrinking and limiting the size and scope of government this session.

We have led on this issue by passing the Taxpayer Protection Act out of the House this week. This Act protects you by limiting growth in the state budget while ensuring that education can be fully funded. Passing this legislation reduces the likelihood for tax increases in the future. That way, you can keep more of your money to plan for the future. During these tough economic times, revenues that fund the state budget have fallen short. Rather than hampering the recovery by raising your taxes, House Republicans have chosen to tighten our belts to keep the budget balanced. And we remain committed to doing it again this session.

Next, it was good to see the governor add $5 million in funding for our K-12 schools. The past few years we have kept school funding level in order to balance the budget. The increase is a small step toward fully funding our schools and will help put them on a little better financial footing for the next fiscal year.

Finally, the governor addressed school reform, another top priority in our Blueprint for Missouri. Here in the House, we are already taking steps to ensure that all Missouri students receive a quality education. This week, the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee heard a bill that would fix the school foundation formula, ensuring that all schools receive their fair share of funding.

The governor also agreed with our position that increases accountability for teachers and administrators in our public schools. We can achieve this by passing the Teacher Quality Act. Our children deserve the best education possible, and quality teachers will make a real impact in your child’s education.

I was pleased that the governor agreed with so many aspects of our Blueprint for Missouri. I look forward to helping pass these key pieces of legislation that will move Missouri forward.

We heard from Chief Justice Richard Teitelman on Wednesday for the State of the Judiciary report. He charged lawmakers to pass measures to reduce the number of people in prison for parole and probation violations. These changes could save the state $16.6 million over five years and reduce the state prison population by 2%.

As always it is a privilege to represent you in State Government.

REPRESENTATIVE LYLE ROWLAND’S LEGISLATIVE REPORT
January 12, 2012

Greetings from your State Capitol. We started the first full week back with beautiful weather but ended the week with a snow storm. Several area schools cancelled classes because of hazardous road conditions.

Many bills have been introduced in the House and the referral process to various committees has begun. Committees will begin holding hearings, where proponents and opponents all have an opportunity to address legislation and make public comment. The Committees may then consider bills for a vote, offer amendments or substitute bills and the legislation will advance through the legislative process. To follow all of the legislation that proceeds through the House, an excellent resource is our House website which you can visit at: www.house.mo.gov.

With having to consider a $425 million to $500 million hole across the entire budget this year, there will be a wealth of discussion on budgetary issues and there will likely be proposed cuts “across the board”. During fiscally challenging times, government owes a duty and responsibility to spend taxpayer money wisely, to properly and appropriately set the priorities of your State, and to not raise taxes. I shall be focused on the many opportunities provided to make your state government run more efficiently, truly help those that deserve our assistance by properly setting our priorities and following the instruction that our State Constitution provides for us.

As always it is a privilege to represent you in State Government.

REPRESENTATIVE LYLE ROWLAND’S LEGISLATIVE REPORT
January 5, 2012

Greetings from your State Capitol. The second session of the 96th General Assembly started this week. The opening session was more along the lines of business as usual. The Speaker, Steve Tilley, gave his opening session speech and the formalities of getting the session going were quickly handled.

Speaker Tilley outlined the House’s “Blueprint for Missouri”. It consist of four main areas; Missouri Taxpayers, Missouri Jobs, Missouri Schools and Missouri Values.

To Missouri taxpayers we pledge: No New Taxes and A Balanced Budget.

For Missouri Jobs we pledge to improve the economic climate of the state by passing legislation that would fix Workers Compensation and the Second Injury Fund. We also want to accomplish tort reform and change employment laws that will stimulate new jobs.

Missouri schools and our children’s education need to be very high on our priority list. We must find a solution to the way school monies are distributed. Finally our pledge for Missouri values will have pro-life legislation introduced. A reliable funding source for veteran’s homes will be filed, a reform measure on Mandatory Reporters for child abuse and expanded college savings plans through MOST in the State Treasurers Office, having Driver’s Exams in English and requiring photo I.D. to vote.

Thursday morning started with a caucus meeting with U.S. Senator Roy Blunt. Senator Blunt summarized happenings in Washington, D.C. and offered comments about the upcoming year.

Hopefully we will be able to accomplish all of the goals outlined above along with other legislation that would make our state a better place to live.

Don’t forget my capitol contact number is 573-751-2042. It is a privilege to represent you in state government.