(Missourinet) – Nearly 500 prison inmates on work release are employed by the Missouri Transportation Department – saving MODOT about $20 million annually.

Some minimum security offenders who are nearing their release can apply for work release with MODOT for jobs like mowing and litter removal along roadways. Transportation Department director Patrick McKenna tells Missourinet that the program is helpful, especially during the department’s current tight budget times.

“It’s a significant savings. When we compare salary and benefit costs of our crews to the rates that are paid in through this program and the labor that is performed, that’s where we get to those numbers,” says McKenna. “The program has become something that we rely on. It certainly benefits the Department of Transportation, the traveling public and the taxpayer here in Missouri by virtue of the fact that some of the vegetation and the removal programs that we have are done on a more frequent basis than our budget would enable.”

McKenna says the program also benefits the Department of Corrections and the inmates.

“The intention of the program, it allows offenders nearing their release time some valuable job training,” says McKenna.

In an earlier Missourinet story, Department of Corrections director George Lombardi had a similar sentiment by saying the program instills great work ethic, pride, self-esteem and compassion in offenders.

McKenna says the program is not intended to allow prisoners to compete with work done by other MODOT staff. He says much of the work release staffing is seasonal.

The workers are spread out among about 81 crews on a given work day in each of the department’s seven districts. They are supervised by civilian employees.

Prisoners not allowed within the program include those convicted of arson, first-degree assault, rape, attempted sexual assault, sodomy, attempted sodomy, kidnapping, first-degree robbery, first and second degree murder, conspiracy to commit any of these offenses, and prison rule violations.

(Missourinet) – An additional $2 million in Missouri’s state budget this fiscal year must be included for a new federal overtime rule that begins in December.

House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) expected that figure to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

“I think what they’re saying is those people just will not be working overtime,” says Fitzpatrick. “Whereas in the past, they probably weren’t working overtime. Now, they are just going to have to make sure they’re not working overtime.”

Fitzpatrick tells Missourinet that state lawmakers will address the issue during the next legislative session.

“I think we actually have a lot of people who are under the threshold and that if they were to work overtime, we would have a pretty significant exposure to that,” says Fitzpatrick.

The rule will extend overtime pay to those making up to $47,000 a year and working more than 40 hours a week. Currently, that threshold is $24,000.

Supporters of the rule say it will help workers receive a fair wage and will help workers provide more for their families. Opponents of the rule say it will force some employers to cut full time workers’ hours and benefits.

The directive, which was mandated by the U.S. Labor Department by way of President Obama, is being challenged by several states. Missouri is not included in the lawsuit at this time.

(Missourinet) – A Missouri legislative task force to help students struggling with dyslexia will hold its first meeting Tuesday morning in Jefferson City.

A legislative task force will meet Tuesday morning at 11 at the Missouri Statehouse to discuss ways to screen dyslexic students, and provide classroom support for them. Legislation adopted this year by the Missouri General Assembly requires the creation of such a program by 2018 and implementation of the program by the 2018-2019 school year.

Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by difficulty reading. The law also requires that teachers take two hours of training about dyslexia.

Task Force members include State Sen. Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis), State Sen. Scott Sifton (D-Affton), Lorrie Wolf of the Missouri International Dyslexia Association and Terry Osborne, a citizen with four family members diagnosed with dyslexia.

(Missourinet) – Hundreds of safety advocates are in Columbia this week to discuss ways to reverse Missouri’s spike in traffic fatalities.

The Traffic Safety and Blueprint Conference begins Tuesday afternoon and runs through Thursday at Columbia’s Holiday Inn Executive Center. MODOT Highway Safety Director Bill Whitfield says about 470 safety advocates will attend.

“They’ll be city, county and state law enforcement. We’ve got some high schools coming in, universities, different safety advocates, metropolitan planning organizations, regional planning commissions,” Whitfield says.

Missouri saw a 14 percent increase in traffic crash fatalities between 2014 to 2015, from 766 to 870. Whitfield says the numbers are also increasing nationally.

“Nationally, there are 96 people dying every day. In Missouri we are losing two people every 11 hours due to motor vehicle crashes,” Whitfield says.

Whitfield says there have been 723 fatalities so far, this year. He says speeding is a contributing factor in 40 percent of motor vehicle crashes.

Missouri’s strategic highway safety plan, which will be unveiled Tuesday, is called “Missouri’s Blueprint: a Partnership Toward Zero Deaths.”

(Missourinet) – Key portions of a controversial gun law passed by Missouri lawmakers are in effect as of Friday.

The “concealed carry” measure includes a provision already in place prior to Friday which creates a permit renewal grace period for military personnel serving overseas.

Two controversial features are in effect.  One is the expansion of the“Babysitter Castle Doctrine” which allows people authorized by a legal property resident to be on the property, to use deadly force.  The other, known as “Stand Your Ground,” removes the requirement for a person to retreat before using force if there’s reasonable fear of safety.

Going into effect January 1st is the measure’s signature provision which allows for concealed carry of a firearm without a permit or training.

A few restrictions to the law will remain.  A permit will still be required in places such as schools, churches, government buildings, and restaurants and bars.  Those documents, called “Lifetime Permits,” are valid only in Missouri and can be obtained for a period of 10, 25 or 50 years.

The existing five year permit will continue to allow a gun owner to travel into states where such designations are still required.

With the new law, Missouri will join six other states, including neighboring Kansas, which do not require a permit to carry a concealed handgun inside their borders.

Also going into effect on January 1st is a feature which allows municipal and county prosecuting attorneys, as well as municipal, associate or circuit judges to carry a firearm for self-defense as long as they have a permit.

Also becoming law Friday was a maximum fee limit which prohibits sheriffs from charging more than $100 for a five year concealed carry permit, including background checks.  Another provision allows a portion of concealed carry training to be conducted online while not impacting the classroom or actual shooting competency portion of the course.

(Missourinet) – The head of the state agency over roads says his department needs a large infusion of cash to address mounting needs.

Missouri Transportation Department Director Patrick McKenna notes the state has the 7th biggest network of roads to maintain, but is 47th in funding.

He’s vowed to make a case to lawmakers in the next few months of the need for more money.  Missouri roads are financed through user fees in the form of a gas tax and costs for licensing and registration.

McKenna says those fees haven’t been adjusted for inflation in decades.

“In the case of the gas tax, (it hasn’t been raised) for 20 years, in the case of license and registration fees, for over 30 years,” McKenna said .  “What I am suggesting is that maybe that’s a good area to look at when we consider the investments that we need to make.”

McKenna pegs the funding needs for state roads at $500 million, without considering the interstate highways.  He says it’ll cost at least $200 million just to keep roads from deteriorating, but quickly steps up when other factors established through research are figured in.

“We went around the state and collected information from all over the state,” McKenna said. “Economic development and safety projects are in the neighborhood of $300 million on top of that base level.  And then we have investments in the interstate system as well that need to be done.  The scale is large.”

McKenna says the state’s largest transportation infrastructure is I-70, which crosses Missouri from east to west through its two biggest urban areas, Kansas City and St. Louis.

“I-70 is major economic driver in the state,” McKenna said. “It moves people and product and freight throughout the state.  It’s heavily congested.”

McKenna says incidents such as accidents can block the two lanes of I-70 in either direction for hours, causing a major inconvenience for travelers and freight crossing the state.

Some neighboring states have recently dealt with rising road maintenance costs by increasing gas taxes.  Iowa imposed a ten-cent hike last year, which will raise $215 million annually for its road.  Because of inflation, McKenna says the purchasing power of construction dollars in Missouri is half of what it was 10 years ago.

Critics of increased road spending say the state maintained network is too large, and should be divided more evenly with counties and cities.  Lettered county roads are part of the 34,000 mile system with the state.  McKenna notes the state made a decision in the 1950s to expand its network.

He contends the cost of paying for any increase in road funding would be shared by the state’s 4.2 million licensed drivers.  He claims the average driver, through gas taxes and licensing and registration fees, is currently spending $20-to-$30 a month to maintain Missouri roads.

To those who complain the state spends transportation dollars inefficiently, McKenna has a counter punch.

“Last year statewide, we spent $25 million in a light winter maintaining (roadways).  For 4.2 million drivers, that was $6 for the whole winter,” McKenna said. “How much does any individual pay to move snow on their own driveway.  I venture to guess it’s more than $6 per storm.”

(Missourinet) – A key Missouri lawmaker is confused about terms the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) uses to describe a backlog of maintenance involving Missouri state parks.

State Rep. Craig Redmon (R-Canton) wants DNR to focus on maintaining its current park system, before purchasing additional land for park space. Redmon, who chairs the Missouri House Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, wants to know the status of what he calls “deferred maintenance” at Missouri state parks. During a hearing this week at the Statehouse in Jefferson City, state parks director Bill Bryan testified that deferred maintenance is a misused term.

“Deferred maintenance means a capital need that has not been attended to and with the result being that the facility or services are not available to the public. And frankly, we have very little, almost zero, of deferred maintenance in the state park system,” Bryan says.

But Bryan testified that there is a $212 million backlog of “unscheduled maintenance,” which is not in DNR’s capital improvement budget. He says it’s unscheduled maintenance because it has not reached a priority level yet to address the needs.

“Our most pressing items are probably roads, bridges and then wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, and that project is underway right now so we can plan for that long-term how to do it,” Bryan says.

DNR also told lawmakers they plan to buy about 1,100 acres of land in southwest Missouri’s Taney County for more park space.

Missouri’s park system includes 88 state parks and historic sites. It includes more than 2,000 structures, 2,500 campsites and about 2,000 picnic sites. DNR says about 18 million people visit the state park system annually.

(Missourinet) – A key Missouri lawmaker worries the pesticide issues that began in southeast Missouri will spread.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture testified Wednesday in Jefferson City that there have been 124 pesticide complaints since June. Missouri House Select Committee on Agriculture Chairman Bill Reiboldt (R-Neosho) warns the complaints will spread.

“And I think while the problem was really in the Bootheel area for the most part in Missouri, that problem is going to spring up all over the Midwest and the United States,” Reiboldt says.

Missouri House Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Chairman Craig Redmon (R-Canton) also weighs in, saying Missouri farmers whose crops have been damaged by pesticide drifts deserve assistance.

“Where my interest really is now is how do we help those injured parties? I mean, how are we going to help those people made whole that lost their crop or whatever?” asks Redmon.

The complaints have come from five southeast Missouri counties and northwest Missouri’s Carroll County. They allege damage to soybeans, peaches, watermelons, tomatoes, cotton, peanuts and some alfalfa. The investigation continues.

During Wednesday’s hearing at the Statehouse before Chairman Redmon’s committee, Reiboldt discussed proposed legislation from State Rep. Don Rone (R-Portageville) to increase penalties for those who illegally spray pesticides on crops. Reiboldt tells Missourinet that House Speaker Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff) wants to fast-track that bill.

“The Speaker (Mr. Richardson) was in the Bootheel at our (August 31 committee) hearing, so yes, I think we can move that forward and make it a priority,” Reiboldt says.

Under current state law, the fine for illegally spraying pesticides is $1,000 per field. The state Department of Agriculture has eight investigators working on the 124 complaints.

(Missourinet) – About $54 million in additional state budget requests are being made by Missouri state agencies – $50 million of which is for social welfare programs.

With federal and other funding recommendations included, the total budget requests amount to about $222 million. House Budget Committee Chairman Scott Fitzpatrick (R-Shell Knob) tells Missourinet that budget members will address the funding requests during the next legislative session.

“Looking at the department requests, I don’t see anything too frivolous in there,” says Fitzpatrick. “When I say frivolous, I mean where there’s much argument about whether or not it’s going to be necessary.”

The largest recommendations are nearly $23 million for Medicaid programs, $12 million for home and community based care and nearly $10 million for child welfare programs.

Fitzpatrick says the additional budget request total is much lower than some previous ones.

“I want to say last year, we were around $300 million just on the general revenue requests,” says Fitzpatrick. “I think all in, we were over $500 million. So, if you compare it to last year, I mean we’re one-sixth of the amount on general revenue and all in we are less than half anyway. I think that’s an improvement.”

Missouri’s $27 billion state budget includes about $12.5 billion for social welfare programs and administration.

Fitzpatrick says additional budget recommendations are also expected from the next governor, but he thinks the amount will be less than the total department requests. Missouri voters will decide in November’s general election who will be the state’s next top leader.

(Missourinet) – Construction industry leaders and the state have organized “Build Missouri Week” to recognize accomplishments and highlight the critical shortage of workers in the field.

Construction is estimated to account for $11 billion worth of goods and services produced in the state.  Leonard Toenjes heads the Associated General Contractors of Missouri, a group which represents contractors who work on roads and buildings.  He says the industry is experiencing healthy growth.

“The amount of construction work has increased by about 12 percent (over the past year),” said Toenjes.  “We’re looking ahead next year (for) another 12 percent.  And beyond that, we’re really looking at a pretty strong construction program in our state for the next two to three years.”

Toenjes says there’ll be a crucial need for more construction workers as activity expands, but notes a shortage already exists.

“We’re looking at contractors who are turning down work because they can’t find people.  I was on a job in St. Louis yesterday.  The first thing I asked was ‘How’s the job going’.  (The response was) ‘We need people.’”

Toenjes says construction growth since the great recession is opening the industry to massive employment opportunities in the next several years.

“In the next three-to-five years, we’re going to have a critical need for workers at every level in the construction industry.  Anything that we can do to help bring help bring in young people into our industry is very important to us.”

Toenjes says average pay in the field is between $50,000 and $60,000.

During Build Missouri Week, state and industry leaders are joining local officials to hold meetings at highway and building projects throughout Missouri.

They held a gathering Tuesday in Jefferson City adjacent to the $20 million Lafayette Street Interchange project.  Students from the city’s Simonsen Ninth Grade Center across the street were brought over as Toenjes and others referenced them as possible future workers in the construction industry.

Toenjes says the expansion in construction is being driven by private investment in building projects, while roads projects are suffering from a lack of funding on the state level.

Missouri Department of Transportation director Patrick McKenna notes the agency is talking with lawmakers to address large scale road and highway needs.

“Just in terms of maintenance of the existing system, so that we don’t get in worse shape and we improve bridge conditions throughout the state, we’re looking at a baseline of about $200 million.”

McKenna says an information collecting initiative has shown that economic development and safety projects related to roads will cost an additional $300 million.