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Appropriations committee hears Nixon’s budget recommendations

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Senate Appropriations Committee met Monday to discuss Gov. Jay Nixon’s budget recommendations with Acting Budget Director Dan Haug from the Office of Administration.

After giving a brief overview of the governor’s proposals, Sen. Kurt Schaefer, the committee chair, asked about the governor’s supplemental appropriations, which nears half a billion dollars.

“This is a whopper,” Schaefer said. “This is the biggest supplemental I’ve ever seen.”

Schaefer
Schaefer

While $154 million of $496 million comes from federal funds, that leaves around two-thirds, or $307 million, of those expenditures coming from general revenue. The governor wants to spend $271 million of that $307 million on the Department of Social Services.

All but around $10 million of that Department of Social Services money would go to the MOHealthNet division, which includes $36 million to replace a shortfall in tobacco settlement payments after it was found the state failed to uphold a settlement agreement with tobacco companies.

Schaefer had other concerns as well. He wondered why the budget approved for a two percent pay raise for all statewide employees, which included outgoing statewide elected officials, but not members of the General Assembly. Haug said it was a constitutional issue on to the timing of payments.

The budget chair also noted his frustration with the governor’s practice of withholding funds because of the executive’s perception or statement of risk until the last day of the quarter. Schaefer suggested creating a statute that forced the governor to give a valid, objective reason to the legislature for holding funding.

A summary of the governor’s budget recommendations can be read here, and the supplemental appropriations can be seen here.