While the budget and school funding votes took center stage yesterday in Concord, lawmakers also passed important healthcare, judicial and education measures.
The House and senate approved the creation of a state administered high-risk insurance pool to provide coverage for those whose medical conditions make insurance costly. The plan, which passed without floor debate, also allows insurers to use factors such as age, heath status and tobacco use as rate setting factors. Opponents had claimed say such flexibility could price certain people out of the market.
. ………Both Houses also voted to create a new judicial conduct commission….the body that disciplines judges…The new commission will be free of Supreme court oversight and be funded from outside the court budget…..The plan passed both bodies in voice votes….despite lingering questions concerning it’s constitutionality with respect to separation of powers….…More heated in both houses was the debate over educational accountability proposals. The Senate originated plan sought to mandate standards for students and school districts. One of the plan’s key architects, Rochester Senator Caroline McCarley described the plan’s intent --- and blasted house her house counterparts for not supporting true reform.
We sent to the house an accountability bill that would have set up standards for students…would have set up a watch list for districts that were trying to get there and making satisfactory progress. Would have provided assistance for districts that were not. He house had no position on accountability and had no bill.
McCarley claimed the house’s take on educational accountability extended no farther than giving school boards more control over firing teachers. House education chairman Warren Henderson said the house’s changes to the senate plan were simply to make the entire education system – including its teachers more accountable.
School accountability should be universal…..meaning all parties should be held accountable. There ought to be consequences to assure that the process works and a measurement to make sure that all parties are accountable not just in theory but also in practicality.
Practically speaking, the Governor’s signature on the education accountability plan remains a question mark…. She had earlier criticized the house amendment as ill conceived. The Governor has, however, pledged to sign into law the new high-risk pool and also the revamped judicial conduct commission.
