House members looking to axe $240 million from next budget

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- At the traditional midway mark of the legislative session, House budget writers plan to use their week off to find ways to cut about $240 million for the next fiscal year.

They have a lot of work to do. So far, the House budget chairman estimates about $150 million in cuts have been found.

When Gov. Matt Blunt proposed his $19.2 billion budget, he suggested lawmakers pass it while leaving his new agency directors discretion to cut an additional $240 million once they became more familiar with their operations.

But lawmakers traditionally want to keep their authority over the state's purse strings, and House Budget chairman Brad Lager said Thursday the legislature plans to determine the cuts before passing a budget.

Budget staff and agency officials plan to meet before lawmakers return March 29 to figure out where the cuts can be made, he said.

"It only makes common sense that we work through that process with them," said Lager, R-Maryville. "We want to make sure the desires and wishes of the General Assembly are known."

Legislation spelling out agency budgets, including the cuts, won't be introduced until that time. So the House Budget Committee has so far heard just broad recommendations from subcommittees, without the pages of detailed spending plans that will come later.

Reforming government

"As we begin to work to restructure and reform government, we understand the process is going to move a little slower," Lager said.

Democrats, however, expressed frustration at the process.

"When my wife and I sit around the table and figure out what our household budget is going to be for the year, we don't just talk about it in abstract terms," said House Minority Leader Jeff Harris, D-Columbia. "We have our pay stubs, we look at what our mortgage payments are.

"That's been a concern with the budget process, that we're talking about a budget but don't have any budget bills, and we don't have any documents to work off of."

Lager said he knew entering the session that the budget would be tough and would take a while, especially with a lot of new lawmakers and new appointees of a Republican governor still getting up to speed at their agencies.

"We're no longer operating business as usual in Missouri," Lager said. "I knew it was going to be a great challenge when we came in."

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Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov