True to his promise, state Rep. Jay Barnes on Monday introduced a resolution so lawmakers can reject a proposed pay raise for themselves and statewide elected officials.
The Missouri Citizen's Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials - which is required by the state Constitution to meet every two years and recommend a pay scale for lawmakers, statewide elected officials and judges - last week submitted its proposed raises for the next two business years, beginning July 1, 2015.
Monday was the first day that lawmakers could file bills to be considered when the General Assembly begins on Jan. 7 - and Barnes filed a two-page resolution rejecting the commission's proposal.
State Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles, filed three bills, including his proposal to require a university within Missouri to set state testing standards for public elementary and high schools.
The salary commission's 19-page report proposed raises of 8- to 10-percent for the statewide elected officials - governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and attorney general - and 11 percent for the Legislature.
The 21-member commission recommended keeping the judiciary on the pay scale approved in 2010, that ties those salaries and expenses to the federal judicial system pay scales.
"This Commission believes that the elected officials of our state in the executive and legislative branches should now be given due compensation for their commitment to public service," the panel reported, "and recommends compensation levels that will encourage and allow Missouri citizens to consider a public servant role in the State of Missouri."
The commissioners said that witness testimony at public hearings "and an analysis of evidence considered by the Commission" helped the panel determine "that compensations for these offices does not correctly reflect their required responsibilities," the report said.
The commission doesn't address state workers' pay and didn't compare its recommendations' with state employees' lowest-in-the-nation status.
Barnes' resolution said: "The state has many other priorities for appropriating money in the budget that are far more important then the salary increases recommended by the Commission."
The Constitution says the commission's proposed pay scale goes into effect automatically in July, unless the Legislature rejects the plan by a two-thirds vote in each chamber - by Feb. 1.
One of Woods' three bills would fulfill his promise to help Missouri move away from the controversial "Common Core" standards promoted since 2009 by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Adopting the standards was intended to help state and local officials compare Missouri students' learning with students in other states.
But, especially after the Obama administration tied the national standards to its "Race to the Top" program for giving some schools extra money, many in the country worked to block Common Core and prevent its use in the states.
Woods' bill would require "all business relating to the development and implementation of a statewide assessment (to) be conducted at a university in the state of Missouri that has an education department and the capacity to administer a statewide assessment for public schools."
Woods' other two bills filed Monday basically are more technical.
One would eliminate parts of the formula - used to distribute state money to local schools - that no longer are "relevant due to the passage of time."
Woods' second bill would change Missouri's school accreditation system so each building would be determined to be accredited or unaccredited, rather than using a district-wide accreditation.
That bill also would establish state standards for families who want a student to transfer to a better building within the district.