House Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee
Key Moments
Brenda Shields — Brenda Shields is mentioned as a former chair of the committee and as a colleague who worked with John Black on the higher education funding effort, including prior service on the Budget Committee.
Brenda Shields — Brenda Shields thanked the presenter and noted the committee has been working on the issue for years, saying term limits make it difficult for members to fully master the topic before leaving office. She explained that Representative Black previously secured funding to contract with an organization to help begin the work, and said the proposal is one of several ideas that has been modeled and refined through the department. Shields suggested the committee should also hear from universities and community colleges, and compared the proposal to another idea Representative Deaton had presented in the Budget Committee. She then asked whether the $38 million fiscal note was largely tied to scholarships, raised questions about Bright Flight’s current value compared with its former full-ride status, and asked whether other universities offer similar scholarship programs. Later, she was thanked for helping start the effort and sponsoring the bill in earlier years, and she responded by noting a major shift in thinking about how higher education should be funded and referencing the original purpose of the study/work group.
Brenda Shields — The witness and Representative Brenda Shields are discussed as having a long-standing series of conversations about the topic, including the bill and its funding model. The chair then invites Representative Shields to ask questions, and the witness reiterates having had many conversations with her about the legislation.
Kem Smith — Kem Smith was called during roll call and later recorded as voting aye.
Bob Titus — Bob Titus was called during roll call.
Travis Wilson — Called during the roll call.
Travis Wilson — Called during roll call; transcript includes an enthusiastic verbal response.
Perry Gorel — Testified in support of the bill on behalf of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and explained that the changes were recommended by the advisory group.
Leah Strid — Director of External Relations for the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development; testifies in favor of the bill and explains the department's role.
Brian Milner — President of the Missouri Community College Association; begins testimony in support.
Paul Wagner — Represents the Council on Public Higher Education and states his remarks reflect his group's position.
Brian — The witness referenced Brian's earlier testimony in support of continuing work on the issue.
Chris Brown — Chris Brown, as chair, called the Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development to order and later responded 'Aye' during the roll call.
Chris Brown — The chair or committee member is addressed as 'Representative Val' in the transcript, likely a misrecognition of a legislator's name; the speaker invites questions.
Chris Brown — The transcript appears to misrecognize a member name as 'Representative Val'; this person asks questions about the proposal and consultant involvement.
Chris Brown — Referenced as the chair in the committee discussion context, though not spoken in this section.
Chris Brown — Committee chair context implied by the discussion, but not directly speaking here.
Chris Brown — Addressed as Mr. Chair.
Chris Brown — Chris Brown is addressed as Mr. Chair while managing committee questions during the same ongoing exchange.
Chris Brown — The witness explained that, at Representative Black’s request, they presented suggested changes and later shared additional changes and timeline-related suggestions with Representative Black, identified as the sponsor.
Sherri Gallick — Vice Chair Sherri Gallick was called during roll call and later responded 'Aye' when her vote was recorded.
Stephanie Hein — Stephanie Hein was mentioned during roll call, then referenced for helping fix clerical errors and supporting changes to align the bill with state and federal law, and later appeared again in the roll call as voting aye.
Stephanie Hein — Stephanie Hein asked the witness to focus on the performance model rather than the scholarship piece, then followed up by asking which comparison states the consultant used in developing the model, seeking clarification on the methodology and basis for the performance analysis.
Stephanie Hein — Representative Stephanie Hein is mentioned in the context of an ongoing discussion about prioritization and amendment language. The speaker notes prior discussion with Hein and continues referencing her role in shaping or reviewing the amendment language and related model priorities.
Stephanie Hein — Representative Stephanie Hein asked about the bill’s timeline and whether the witness’s group could reach consensus within that timeframe, then thanked the witness for the clarification and yielded back to the chair.
Bill Allen — Bill Allen is repeatedly called during roll call, and later the chair appears to call on him again, though the transcript is garbled and includes a correction.
Willard Haley — Willard Haley is first called during roll call and recorded as voting aye. He then introduces himself as the sponsor of House Bill 1627 and describes his district. In the ensuing discussion, he talks about serving on the advisory council, supports adding more business and commerce representation to improve interaction between educators and industry, and discusses proposed revisions to the council such as educator representation, a student representative, and broader four-year college or university representation. He ultimately agrees that the changes make sense and says he supports them.
Pattie Mansur — Pattie Mansur is called during roll call, with the transcript correcting her name, and later she is recorded as voting aye.
Pattie Mansur — Is recognized by the chair and begins asking questions.
Raychel Proudie — Raychel Proudie was called during the roll call.
Bruce Sassmann — Bruce Sassmann was called during roll call and later recorded as voting aye.
Brenda Shields — Brenda Shields was called during roll call.