August 28 arrives on Wednesday, meaning dozens of new state laws will take effect in Missouri.
Those new laws include Senate Bill 125, which will allow tenured teachers in St. Louis to be fired for incompetency, and sets the time period for firing teachers found to be either incompetent or inefficient at 30 days. Previously, there was a 90-day waiting period specifically for St. Louis city teachers before they could be dismissed for inefficiency, and they could not be fired at all for incompetency. The new law was sponsored by State Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D, St. Louis), who released the following statement Tuesday:
"I am gratified to see the culmination of what has been many years of hard work and dedication on behalf of SB 125. By not only closing previous loopholes in legislation relating to unaccredited school districts, allowing many students the opportunity for alternative schooling choices, but also streamlining the process of relieving an inefficient teacher of duty, we help provide St. Louis students, and students across Missouri, with a brighter educational future."
Senate Bill 125 also does away with the 2-year waiting period before the state can take over a failing school district. It's possible that the State Board of Education may use the new law to expedite a potential state takeover of the Kansas City School District. However, Kansas City schools scored within the provisional accreditation range in this year's Annual Performance Report.
Another new law that takes effect Wednesday is Senate Bill 10, which creates new tax credits designed to lure amateur sporting events to the Show-Me State, such as NCAA Tournament basketball games and Olympic trials. It was sponsored by State Senator Eric Schmitt (R, Glendale).
"It's an opportunity for us as a state to move forward and attract these really important events that can generate a lot of revenue, not just for the state, but for those businesses, those restaurants, those bars, the hotels, that support these major events," Schmitt said. "I think it'll be great."
Some portions of Senate Bill 75 take effect Wednesday, including the section that will replace conceal carry endorsements with conceal carry permits and transfer their oversight from the Department of Revenue to local Sheriff's offices. Other new laws taking effect Aug. 28 include ones that will exempt some farm chores by kids under 16 from child labor rules, create treatment courts for military veterans, prevent pharmacies from being forced to carry any specific drug or device against their will, and require doctors to be present whenever abortion inducing drugs are administered to a woman.
Meanwhile, the new workers' compensation law that's designed to replenish the state's Second Injury Fund won't take effect until Jan. 1.
Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport
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