Missouri House prepares $46B budget, leaving millions in surplus revenue unspent
The Missouri House is inching toward its final version of the state’s spending plan that will leave $1.8 billion in general tax revenues on the table and shrink the governor’s recommended budget.
The chamber’s $46.1 billion budget, for the fiscal year that begins July 1, includes funding for infrastructure, higher education and Medicaid expansion. But the House’s proposed plan reduced Gov. Mike Parson’s recommendations for increasing teachers’ salaries and boosting the state’s retirement system.
Parson had proposed a $47.3 billion budget with a $1.5 billion general revenue surplus, which Rep. Cody Smith, a Carthage Republican and chair of the House Budget Committee, raised to $1.8 billion.
That surplus was the major source of controversy for House Democrats during Tuesday’s nine-hour floor discussion. Democrats argued that the state was flush with cash — fueled by robust tax collections and federal pandemic aid — and that the extra money should be used to fund needs such as teacher pay, school transportation and children’s psychiatric care.
“What I see in this bill is not a plan,” said Rep. Peter Merideth, a St. Louis Democrat on the Budget Committee. “The governor came up with a plan, the departments came up with a plan. But we just want to scale it back. How many years is it going to take for us to spend this money?”
Republicans blocked several Democratic attempts to increase funding, insisting that the money be saved for a rainy day.
The majority of amendments proposed by Democrats were rebuffed due to a House “balancing rule,” that requires cuts in general revenue to offset other increases. House Minority Leader Rep. Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat, tried unsuccessfully to suspend that rule at the start of debate.
Democrats, however, were able to score some victories with federal money, including $20 million for essential workers and small businesses; $27 million for removing lead in school drinking water; and funding for voting machines for people with disabilities.
Also tucked into the House’s budget are rules related to COVID-19 mandates and plans to remove Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program.
Rep. Chris Sander, a Lone Jack Republican, previously added language that barred schools and all agencies receiving public money from hosting events that require a vaccination or negative COVID-19 test.
Democrats unsuccessfully tried to have the wording removed, saying that it put long term care facilities at risk of losing federal funding. They also argued that cutting state money from Planned Parenthood was unconstitutional and would not stand in the courts.
Planned Parenthood, the state’s sole abortion provider, is already barred from using public funds for abortion services. But it has been in a long-running battle with Republicans who don’t want public dollars going toward health services of any kind offered by the organization. Planned Parenthood sued the Missouri Department of Social Services last month alleging that the state planned to unlawfully defund its services.
After Tuesday’s debate, the budget will head back to the House for one more approval, likely this week. It will then head to the Senate, where House Democrats worry lawmakers will earmark portions of the surplus money for specific projects.
“If you think Senators aren’t going to spend that money, you must be new here,” Quade told House members.
