_This weekly column is brought to you by a partnership between The Maneater and The Associated Students of the University of Missouri, the official student lobbying group for the UM System’s 77,000 students. ASUM has four legislative issues on their platform: the budget, a voting student curator, landlord-tenant relations and a STEM initiative._

**Senate version of budget reinstates some of UM System funding and includes 6 percent performance funding increase**

Last week the Senate passed HB 2003, though with a few significant changes. The bill dealt with the the funding for the UM System and cuts the budget for the system administration by $7.6 million and didn’t have a performance funding increase. But after a vote of 24–8, the Senate version included Gov. Jay Nixon’s recommended 6 percent performance funding increase for the UM System and also lessened cuts to the administration to $1 million. The budget now moves to a conference committee comprised of members from both the House and Senate. ASUM is working to gather signatures from students and meet with committee members to express the need for the performance funding increase.

**STEM and Landlord/Tenant legislation continue to move forward**

ASUM continues to work toward the passage of the funding mechanism for the Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Initiative. SB 873, the STEM Initiative legislation that would provide incentives to companies hiring students with related degrees, was perfected on Tuesday and is on the calendar for final passage. HB 1640, which has identical language, is scheduled for a hearing in the House Select Committee on Education on Thursday, April 14.

The landlord/tenant legislation, HB 1442, which would make tenant’s security deposits safer and more easily retrievable in the event of landlord bankruptcy, is also moving along. The bill is being amended to HB 2257, a bill sponsored by Rep. Caleb Jones, R-Columbia, and deals with title insurance. That bill has already passed the House and is making its way through the Senate.

**Bill heard in committee to establish Higher Education Core Curriculum Transfer Act**

Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, presented HB 2651 to the House Committee on Higher Education this week. This legislation creates the Higher Education Core Curriculum Transfer Act. It aims to establish a standard core of 42 credit hours in the areas of math, English, communications, humanities, biological and physical science, social science and computer technology. Community colleges and four-year universities would be required to adopt this core curriculum, making courses easily transferred to schools across the state. While the bill does sound positive at face value, it will be less easily implemented. The Missouri Department of Higher Education testified that creating common course numbers will be difficult and that most credits already transfer easily. In addition, the UM System testified that there will likely be unintended consequences to changing the current system which could lead to students having to take more credit hours instead of fewer because schools will need to create new courses to meet the core standards. The bill passed the committee by a vote of 12–0.