CARNAHAN PLANS'95 INITIATIVES

Copyright 1994 Southeast Missourian

JEFFERSON CITY -- When Gov. Mel Carnahan delivers his annual State of the State address to the General Assembly in January, he will ask members to approve at least three major initiatives before they adjourn in May.

The three-prong program will propose expansion of health-care benefits for more of the state's uninsured residents, restructuring of state government to improve efficiency, and a constitutional amendment to require voter approval of major tax increases.

Although details have yet to be worked out, Carnahan aides say one of the governor's major goals will be to extend the Medicaid health program to at least one-half of the state's 720,000 uninsured citizens, a group that continues to grow each year. The proposal resembles one the governor proposed at the start of this year's session, only to see it delayed as a result of questions posed by officials in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A memorandum dated Oct. 21 was sent to Missouri's Department of Social Services requesting answers to more than 200 detailed questions raised by federal officials about the state's proposed Medicaid waiver expansion. Officials in the state agency have been working since the end of October to supply answers to federal officials that will bring about U.S. approval of the projected extension of Medicaid assistance in Missouri.

State health-care officials are making good progress on the questions and hope to submit detailed answers within the next month. Some of the federal questions have as many as four and five points to be covered, and state officials have been working extended hours to respond to the concerns raised in Washington.

A second initiative planned by the governor in his annual address has its basis in earlier legislative action approving a governmental efficiency study group. Approval of that measure brought about Carnahan's appointment of a nonpartisan Commission on Management and Productivity, headed by Michael H. Camp, an executive with General Motors Corp. The vice-chairmen named were Lt. Gov. Roger Wilson and Richard Hanson, commissioner of administration.

The extensive commission report, which essentially seeks to inject greater efficiency in state government, includes recommendations from six task forces composed of members of the commission. The task forces cover management improvement, organizational planning, work force, automation, fiscal policy and efficiency of operations. Each is a comprehensive set of recommendations for reinventing state government in Jefferson City.

The governor will ask the General Assembly to approve the report and implement several of its recommendations. If the legislature acts on the recommendations, some could begin as early as next fall. Several other commission task force suggestions could begin shortly after approval but would require several years for implementation.

A third major initiative to be proposed to next year's legislature is enactment of a proposed constitutional amendment that would require voter approval of major tax increases in the future. The governor already has gone on record favoring such an amendment, and he is expected to ask the General Assembly to approve its details in the 4 1/2-month session that officially begins Jan. 4.

If a proposed amendment is approved, it probably will be scheduled for submission to voters in the 1996 August primary election or the November general election. Selection of election dates is a discretionary decision by the state's chief executive, who may select any official statewide election date within a period of two years.

Several other initiatives are being studied by members of the governor's staff but have yet to be finalized. Unlike the three major initiatives already set for inclusion in the 1995 State of the State address, some will depend on economic conditions, federal funding programs and resolution of cases now pending or proposed in the courts.

Some recommendations could include additional implementation of state welfare reform, some of which were approved in this year's session, and a wider scope of educational reforms started in 1993's Outstanding Schools Act.