Last Friday was the deadline for the budget to be completed and it went down to the wire as the last budget bills were approved on Thursday afternoon. Negotiations between the House and Senate to decide how the key differences in priorities would be settled were intense but the end results are a budget that does the best we can with the limited resources available.
In the final version of the $23.2 billion budget, the House and Senate agreed to increases in key funding areas such as higher education, school transportation and prescription drug coverage for seniors. The bills approved will provide an additional $12 million in funding to our colleges and universities, which reduces the proposed cut by the Governor of 7 percent down to a cut of 5.45 percent. The final budget also appropriates an additional $10 million over the original budget plan to busing assistance for our state’s K-12 public schools.
Another area of the budget that received an intense amount of scrutiny during budget negotiations is the Missouri Rx program. The program helps thousands of seniors and disabled Missourians pay for the costs of the prescription medicines they need. This highly successful program, set to end later this year, was extended in the House proposal but removed in the Senate version of the budget. The final budget contains full funding for the program for another year and also reverses cuts to the state’s reimbursement rates to in-home care providers for low-income disabled residents covered by the state’s Medicaid program. Both changes are good news for some of our most vulnerable citizens who need and deserve our assistance.
The final budget bills also contain budget cuts for many of our government officials. Statewide elected officials will take a cut of 2.5 percent to their budgets and the Governor’s travel budget was reduced to $200,000. The budget we passed this year reflects a commitment to the core needs of the people of our state and spends the tax dollars of Missourians in the most responsible way possible.
Throughout the session I have kept you updated on the efforts to draw boundaries for Missouri’s new congressional districts. While the process had its twists and turns, this week it was resolved in historic fashion. In another report I mentioned how the House and Senate finally came to an agreement on a map and sent it to the governor’s desk. I also discussed the possibility of the Governor vetoing the bill containing the map, which he did shortly after receiving it. Last weeks vote to override the Governor’s veto was successful in both the House and the Senate and the bill becomes law. The override marks the first time since 2003 that a governor’s veto has been undone by the Missouri General Assembly and one of a very few successful attempts (less than ten) since 1820.
If you have questions, you may reach me at my Capitol number 573-751-9465, at the local district number, 660-582-4014, by email at mike.thomson@house.mo.gov or by mail at Room 401B State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101
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