It was a busy week in the Missouri Senate as we spent a majority of our time discussing, and eventually approving, the Senate’s version of the state spending plan for Fiscal Year 2016. Suffice it to say, allocating $26.1 billion is no small task. Crafting a budget that is fiscally responsible, while also providing our state departments and programs with enough financial support to provide their services, is a process that requires months of focused research, numerous committee hearings and intensive discussion. It’s an honor to be a part of the budget process—a process that affects nearly every single Missourian in some shape or form.   

Last November, Missouri voters passed Amendment 10, which provided legislators with the ability to overturn any of the governor’s line-item budget vetoes, as well as any decisions to withhold money from the state budget; therefore, it has been a legislative priority since the beginning of session to get the budget on the governor’s desk in enough time to exercise this new authority. On Wednesday (4-8), the Senate moved one step closer to achieving this goal.

A few of the budget highlights include: an $84.2 million Foundation Formula increase; a $27.6 million increase for higher education institutions; a $2 million increase for the A+ Schools Program; and an additional $20 million in state emergency disaster funding.

The Senate’s budget version also contains two major changes pertaining to Medicaid and our state’s social services departments: approximately 200,000 of Missouri’s Medicaid recipients will be shifted from fee-for-service care to privatized managed care plans; and the Missouri Departments of Mental Health, Social Services, and Health and Senior Services will each be appropriated lump sum amounts to allocate as they deem necessary, as opposed to having specific amounts for each of their department’s programs appropriated for them.

Both of these changes are part of a larger effort to rein in runaway spending within our social services departments. Every year, our welfare programs eat up more and more of our state budget, further leading us down a path of unsustainable growth and costs. The Senate’s version of the budget will help contain the spending habits of these departments, which have been allowed to continue uncontrolled and unsupervised for far too long. While it may be the most conservative budget the Senate has ever passed, it does not impose any budget cuts on these departments (contrary to what many are saying). In fact, they are getting even more this year than they spent last year; they simply aren’t getting as much as they had requested.

Twelve of the 13 appropriations bills that make up the FY 2016 operating budget will now be considered in a conference committee, where members from both chambers will iron out any differences between the House and Senate versions. The Legislature has until 6 p.m., Friday, May 8, to deliver its finalized budget to the governor.

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.