Finishing Strong

The people of Missouri gave us a mandate to restore accountability to government. At the beginning of this session, we made a pledge to improve schools, create new jobs, act as good stewards, uphold traditional family values, and protect our citizens. I believe this session will long be considered one of the most productive in Missouri's history.

Improving public schools was our number one priority during this session. Though it was a large task, and even faltered at one point, we successfully delivered a new School Funding Foundation Formula this week. It addresses the concerns of rural, urban, and suburban districts, resulting in a more equitable Formula which functions on a student-needs basis instead of a tax-rate driven system. $830 million in new funding will be phased into the Formula over the next 7 years and the minimum spending for every school district to increases to $6,117 per pupil, but districts are allowed to spend more. The formula includes a small school grant, which sets aside $15 million for school districts with less than 350 students. The formula also progressively raises the minimum salary for teachers from $18,000 to $25,000 and raises the minimum salary for a teacher with a master's degree from $24,000 to $33,000. The new formula is fair to rural districts, straightforward, and most importantly, good for our children.

We crafted a performance-based budget that increases funding for education by more than $170 million this year, without a tax increase. The budget includes more than $113 million new dollars for the Foundation Formula.

The House's efforts to create new jobs included the passage of important legislation that gets rid of loopholes currently used by individuals that would cheat the Missouri workers' compensation system, but still ensures that workers injured on the job receive the benefits they deserve. We also passed legislation that will create business incentives through the Linked Deposits Program, and economic development bills such as the Missouri Community College New Jobs Training Program and the Jobs Retention Training Program.

For years, Missouri has been losing jobs, revenue and doctors due to the large number of unnecessary lawsuits in this state. This session the House passed House Bill 393, a bill that will significantly reduce then number of frivolous lawsuits in Missouri. House Bill 393 will also reduce the meteoric rise in medical malpractice insurance rates, ensuring our health care providers are not forced into neighboring states.

The additional funding included in the fiscal year 2006 budget for education and other important programs are a direct result of our efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in our state government. The people of Missouri demanded that we be responsible stewards of state revenues, and the budget reflects that. Funds that were being lost due to a lack of accountability are now being put to use creating jobs and providing services to those who truly need assistance.

Several pieces of legislation passed by the House this session protect the core values of our families and communities. Senate Bill 2 protects families by making it illegal to transport a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion without the consent of a parent, and prohibits using tax dollars to fund abortions, ensuring the health of Missouri's women will be protected.

We toughened the laws on methamphetamines with House Bill 441, which makes it harder for those who cook meth to obtain solid ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, substances necessary for manufacturing that drug. Similar legislation in other states has produced dramatic results. This legislation is a strong step toward eradicating this growing problem that particularly plagues rural areas.

This week we delivered a strong finish to this already historic legislative session. The new Formula protects the future of our kids and provides a fair solution for the varied problems of our different school districts. We made a pact with the people of Missouri to effect positive change in our state. I am very proud of my colleagues, and the major reforms we have accomplished this session.