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At the
request of the Missouri Commission for the Deaf, on January 9
Senator Betty Sims introduced SB 882, which had the singular purpose
of changing the name of the Missouri Commission for the Deaf to the
Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. That bill was
assigned to the Senate Pensions and General Laws Committee on
January 21. After further discussion with the executive director
of the Missouri Commission for the Deaf, Senator Sims agreed to
submit a substitute bill (SCS SB 882) that would do basically three
things that were on the list of MCD legislative priorities for this
year, namely:
(1) Change the name of the
Missouri Commission for the Deaf to the Missouri Commission for the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing,
(2) Change the law to allow
the Commission to pay its evaluators for their services to the
Missouri Interpreter Certification System, and
(3) Create an administrative
fund for the Commission that would allow it to receive gifts,
contributions, grants and bequests as well as contract with public
and private entities for its services.
However,
at the request of some constituents in St. Louis, the Senator was
also going to add a fourth new section to the substitute bill that
would have recognized RID and NAD certifications “concurrently” with
MICS certifications. This language was indeed problematic, and on
January 28 I sent out an action alert informing people of why the
additional section was neither needed nor desirable at that point in
time. And on January 29 I distributed copies of my long letter to
Senator Sims in which I explained why her proposed fourth section
was neither necessary nor desirable.
The
Senator received many e-mails and phone calls in response to my
action alert, and I met with the Senator again on the morning of
January 30. At that time the Senator agreed to change the language
of her proposed substitute bill as it concerned RID and NAD
certifications. A hearing was held on SCS SB 882 in the afternoon
on January 30, and upon presentation to the Committee the Senator
made changes in the language that made the substitute bill
acceptable in its totality to MCD. If enacted into law, SCS SB 882
would satisfy three of the important MCD legislative priorities for
this year, and now has no objectionable language regarding RID and
NAD certifications.
SCS SB
882 was voted out of the Pensions and General Laws Committee on
January 31 with a “Do Pass” recommendation. However, there were a
couple of technical errors made in the language of the bill, and on
February 7 it was reconsidered by the Pensions and General Laws
Committee. At that time, most errors were fixed and it was again
voted out “Do Pass.”
At the
present time the bill has not been placed on the Senate calendar for
floor debate and a vote. All deaf and hard of hearing advocates, as
well as interpreters and other MCD supporters, who would like to see
this bill passed should call or send an e-mail to their Senators and
ask for their support of SCS SB 882. In addition, you should
contact the President Pro Tem of the Senate |
