Legislature Meets Deadline to Pass Fiscal Year 2018 Budget
The Missouri General Assembly fulfilled its only constitutionally required duty this week when it passed the state’s $27.8 billion operating budget for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2018. By all accounts, this year’s budget process was a rather unusual one. We got a late start working on the budget due to the governor’s office needing a little more time with it at the beginning of session. This later resulted in the Senate only having 17 legislative days to work through the budget after we received it from the House.
We also saw a few instances in which the budget was amended outside of the committee process. Both the House and Senate budget committees work very hard each and every session to produce as fair and affordable of a budget as possible. Generally speaking, we put our trust in their work and the processes we’ve established. While I don’t necessarily agree with the concept of altering the budget by way of floor amendments, at the end of the day, what matters most is that we passed a solid budget for the people of Missouri.
One of the biggest achievements of the FY 2018 budget is it will fully fund Missouri’s Foundation Formula for the first time since it was adopted in 2005. The goal of the formula has always been to ensure every school district in Missouri, regardless of where it’s located, has the financial means to provide a quality education for its students.
Although the formula is good in structure, in recent years we’ve seen the gap between available funding and the amount needed to achieve full funding grow at an alarming rate —so much so that the entire formula was in jeopardy. To save it, state lawmakers last year passed legislation I sponsored to make full funding a possibility. Fast forward to this month, and I’m pleased to say that possibility has become a reality. For FY 2018, Missouri school districts will receive nearly $3.4 billion in basic aid for K-12 public education.
The education budget also includes $2 million for virtual education, a $12 million increase for early childhood special education and additional funding to help cover school transportation costs. Thanks to an increase of $4 million for Bright Flight and a funding allotment of $76.5 million for the Access MO Scholarship program, higher education will be made more affordable for many of Missouri’s college-bound students. Unfortunately, some difficult decisions had to be made amid the state’s tight finances, and the University of Missouri System is expected to see a 6.5 percent cut in funding. An earlier version of the budget called for a 9 percent cut.
Helping low-income and at-risk youth in Missouri find valuable work experience, the Summer Jobs Program will receive $4 million in funding. In addition, the Legislature agreed to keep the Missouri State Employee Retirement System (MOSERS) solvent by fully funding it. Finally, the secretary of state’s office will receive $1.5 million to help educate Missouri voters about the state’s new voter identification law, which takes effect June 1.
Fiscal Year 2018 begins July 1, 2017, and will run through June 30, 2018.
If you have any questions or comments about this or any other matter regarding your state government, please feel free to contact me at (573) 751-1503; you are also welcome to e-mail me at jay.wasson@senate.mo.gov.