Legislators spent most of this week on the floor of their respective chambers considering bills before last night’s floor deadline for general bills to be passed by their chamber of origin. Click here for MPE's latest bill tracking spreadsheet that reflects action as of last night’s deadline on those bills we are monitoring. Bills that remain alive following last night’s floor deadline will now head to the other chamber where they will be considered by committee(s). Tuesday, March 3, is the deadline for committees to report/pass general bills that originated in the other chamber.
For your reference, here is an explanation of several terms that appear on the bill tracking spreadsheet:
Double-referred bill: A double-referred bill must be passed by two committees in order to survive and advance to the full House or Senate for consideration. Bills that involve state funding are usually double referred to the committee of their subject as well as to the Appropriations Committee. The Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House may double refer a general bill in an attempt to kill the bill by requiring it to survive multiple committee votes.
Reverse repealer: A reverse repealer adds language to the bill that repeals the proposed law the day before it is set to take effect. It is a procedural mechanism that is used to keep a bill alive, as it results in additional consideration and negotiations by a conference committee.
The teacher and/or assistant teacher pay raise bills will now be considered by committees in the other chamber:
HB 1126 provides a $5,000 across-the-board teacher pay raise and an additional $3,000 annual salary increase for licensed SPED teachers who are employed in a special education instructional capacity. While it does not provide a pay raise for assistant teachers, House Education Chairman Rob Roberson has stated on multiple occasions that the House intends to pass an assistant teacher pay raise this session. The House passed HB 1126 on February 4, and it has been sent to the Senate where it is awaiting referral to committee(s).
SB 2001 provides a $2,000 across-the-board pay raise for teachers and increases the minimum annual salary for assistant teachers from $17,000 to $19,000, It also expresses the legislature’s intent that community college and university professors receive a $2,000 pay raise. Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar has stated $2,000 is the base amount of the pay raise and he hopes the final raise will be closer to the $5,000 proposed by MPE and other education advocates. The Senate passed SB 2001 on January 7, and it has been double referred to the House Education and Appropriations committees.
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