The Missouri House passed a higher education bill loaded up with amendments on a 94-36 vote Monday evening, advancing largely bipartisan proposals as the end of session nears.
The bill heads back to the Senate, where lawmakers can either send it to the governor or request a conference committee to work out differences between the chambers.
The legislation passed the Senate as a short bill barring Missouri colleges from punishing student groups for their beliefs. The House Emerging Issues Committee, whose Democratic members voiced concerns about the underlying bill, added other higher education legislation and anti-discrimination provisions.
And Monday, the House approved 10 additional amendments, such as a proposal that would grant in-state tuition to active-duty military from out of state serving in Missouri. Many of the amendments were heard on the House floor earlier in session and spurred little discussion Monday.
But a piece added in committee led to heated debate Monday about how to define antisemitism. The legislation includes a piece that would require higher education institutions to monitor for antisemetic incidents.
Critics worry it would bar criticism of the Israeli government, pointing to the bill’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and its examples. State Rep. George Hruza, a Republican from Huntleigh and the provision’s sponsor, amended the piece to clarify that the definition was not legally binding.
State Rep. Bridget Walsh Moore, a St. Louis Democrat, said she likes the idea of opposing antisemitism but could not support something that would limit criticism of Israel.
“We’re going to write a law that says it is non-legally binding,” she said. “Please make that make sense.”
She attempted to amend the bill to “allow for a more concise definition of antisemitism while removing the Israel language” but was not called upon until after the piece was amended by Hruza. The House ruled in a point of order that she could not offer her amendment.
Walsh Moore voted in opposition to the overall bill because of this piece.
“I hate that I have to do this because there is so much good in this bill, but to me, this is the poison pill,” she said.
Other proposals added in the House include a provision that would require Missouri’s public universities to coordinate on transferable 60-credit-hour degree programs in five areas of study.
Missouri State University would also be able to offer an undergraduate degree in veterinary technology and doctorates of philosophy other than in engineering.
State law currently limits some degree programs to the University of Missouri, including all doctorates of philosophy.
Bills filed this year sought to open the programs to universities statewide, but the legislation was narrowed during negotiations to only give Missouri State increased authority and continued the University of Missouri System’s exclusivity over some programs like engineering.
The amendments were not limited to higher education, with K-12 provisions added like a bill seeking to limit the presence of lead in school drinking water and a provision that would protect K-12 private schools from litigation because of single-sex restroom policies.
State Rep. Willard Haley, an Eldon Republican, added an education package he sponsored to the bill, saying he believes time ran out for it.
“I’m afraid that we don’t have time to get (the bill) through the Senate, so I’m adding it on to this as an amendment,” he said.
The amendment includes reimbursement of expenses for career-tech students and a requirement for universities to give credit for certain scores on International Baccalaureate exams.
The Senate must pass the bills before the legislation can make it to the governor’s desk for final approval. With multiple Senate priorities still outstanding, opportunities for other bills to get debate in that chamber are limited.