Panel endorses capital improvements bills

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday approved legislation that would authorize the state to sell $350 million in bonds to fund capital improvement projects at Missouri's higher education institution. However, the panel added a provision that would require schools receiving a share of the revenue to come up with 25 percent of the funding for local projects on their own.

Southeast Missouri State University would get $17.5 million to renovate Johnson, Magill and Rhodes halls -- buildings that house the school's science and mathematics departments. Under a previous version of the proposal, the state would have paid the entire $23.4 million cost of the improvements. With the committee's change, Southeast officials would have to raise $5.9 million from private donors to qualify for state funding.

While it has long been the practice to require a local match for new construction, state Sen. Wayne Goode, D-Normandy, said that requirement hasn't previously been imposed on renovations to existing facilities due to concerns that schools would have less success leveraging donations such projects than for new buildings. However, Goode said departing from that precedent is necessary to keep down the state's costs.

"It may be the only fiscally responsible way to put this bill together," Goode said.

The committee unanimously voted to send to the full Senate the two companion bills that would allow the projects to be undertaken. One measure, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, would authorize the bond sale. The second bill, sponsored by state Sen. John Russell, R-Lebanon, lists the projects to be funded with the proceeds.

Kinder's original proposal called for selling $190.4 million in bonds to develop life sciences facilities at the four campuses of the University of Missouri system. In order to improve the chances of success, the legislation was expanded to include capital projects eight other Missouri universities, including Southeast.

State Sen. Chuck Gross, R-St. Charles, unsuccessfully attempted to restore the focus on life sciences by removing unrelated projects from the list. Gross wanted to eliminate funding for an early childhood center at Harris-Stowe State College in St. Louis, a truck repair facility at Linn State Technical College, an aerospace building at the University of Missouri-Rolla and general campus improvements at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

An amendment offered by state Sen. Mary Bland, D-Kansas City, to add funding for a swimming pool at Lincoln University in Jefferson City was also defeated.

The bills are SB 1221 (Kinder) and SB 1227 (Russell).

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