Crowell says more Missouri budget challenges coming

Missouri is yet to see its biggest budget challenges, state Sen. Jason Crowell told local business leaders at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee.

"The state of Missouri is no different from your business, or the city, or the county or our school boards," Crowell said. "Times are tough. Finding the revenue to fund services is a challenge."

Crowell said the legislative session, which ended in May, became increasingly difficult as state revenue continued to come in far below estimates.

When the state's fiscal year 2010 budget was adopted in the last session, it was based on a 1 percent growth in state revenue, he said. Through the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, revenue had declined 7.9 percent from the previous year.

"For every percent we were wrong, that was $87 million we were off," Crowell said.

Missouri has used federal stimulus money to help balance its budget during the past two years, but that assistance will no longer be available when lawmakers begin work on the next budget in January.

Legislators must make $1.2 billion in cuts to the $7.8 billion portion of the budget that is funded by general revenue.

"It's going to be very difficult," Crowell said. "Missouri's budget hasn't had the draconian cuts going on in other states, but they're coming."

This session, Crowell worked on two unsuccessful reform initiatives that he said he will continue to advocate for: tax credit reform and pension system reform.

Crowell suggested that instead of an automatic system where if someone meets certain requirements they will automatically receive tax credits, there should be a limit set for various types of tax credits.

He used historic preservation tax credits as an example, citing that Missouri gives out more of this type of tax credit than any other state in the country. Last year Missouri gave out $187 million in historic preservation tax credits, he said. Virginia, which came in second, distributed $70 million in historic preservation tax credits.

"Making this part of the appropriations process would not micromanage which projects get approved. It would weigh $1 expended to a tax credit against $1 expended for education, or roads, or health care," Crowell said.

Pension reform measures supported by Crowell include making 67 the minimum age for new state employees to retire, requiring them to make a 3 percent contribution to their pension plans and requiring them to work for the state for 10 years to be vested in the system. Those measures could save the state $311 million between now and 2015, Crowell said.

While he declined to share his opinion on the prospect of a Cape Girardeau casino, he said city leaders will get a "fair shake" during the licensing process.

"The state of Missouri will not screw us, and I promise you that," he said.

In addition to Crowell's presentation, the chamber also recognized its members who are veterans in honor of Memorial Day.

mmiller@semissourian.com

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