Legislative Resources

Legislative Update - Jan. 25, 2008

Meeting with Governor’s Staff: Dec. 3, 2007 - Bill Mitchell and Dan Ross met with Adam Gresham, Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Blunt. Dan described the state’s network and how we collaborate. Bill provided a general overview of MOREnet and the state initiatives impacting demand on the network. There was a general discussion regarding MOREnet funding and the FY09 appropriations request.

Senate Appropriations Committee: Dec. 3, 2007 - Bill Mitchell attended the Senate Appropriations public hearing. Rachel Mutrux, director of the Missouri Telehealth Network, testified in support of their appropriations request and in support of MOREnet, reminding the committee that the physical Telehealth network runs on MOREnet. Steve Potter, assistant library director, Mid-Continent Public library, testified on behalf of several items, including the importance of MOREnet to public libraries.

House Appropriations Education Committee: Dec. 3, 2007 - Joyce Herzing attended the House Appropriations-Education committee hearing. DESE & DHE were invited to testify on specific requested topics. Many references were made to several new online programs being implemented to save the state money.

Governor’s Recommendation: Jan. 15, 2008 – The Governor recommended flat funding for MOREnet in House Bill 3 and the REAL program in House Bill 12 for the FY09 budget year. We will continue to work with the House and Senate on increased funding.

Meeting with Representative Ed Robb and Department of Economic Development: Jan. 17, 2008 – Rep. Robb organized a meeting between MOREnet and the Department of Economic Development to discuss future bandwidth challenges in rural communities. Joyce Herzing and Bill Mitchell attended for MOREnet and Rob Monsees and Jennifer George attended for the Department of Economic Development.

House Appropriations, Education Committee: Jan. 23, 2008 – Bill Mitchell testified on behalf of MOREnet. A copy of his testimony is attached. The only question from the committee was from Rep. Kevin Wilson and was related to the bidding process and a specific local issue. Chair Fares directed Rep. Wilson to speak with Bill outside the committee to discuss further.

Rural High Speed Internet Task Force: The Task Force has held a number of hearings around the state to gather input on the availability and affordability of Internet access. Information has also been gathered from other states with similar initiatives. The Task Force is drafting an interim report of its findings with several recommendations. The recommendations will likely include: 1) to engage an outside company to do a detailed assessment of broadband availability, collecting detailed information from providers and using GIS mapping technologies; and 2) to request that the Task Force continue past the February deadline in order to complete the five duties given to it in the Governor’s Executive Order. More information can be found at the task force website.

House Education Appropriations Committee Testimony on MOREnet - Jan. 23, 2008 (PDF file; 21 KB)