Lawmakers leave many budget cuts to governor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Despite a nearly 12 percent decline in state revenue, Missouri lawmakers ended the legislative session without approving many of the money-saving ideas they had proposed.

Lawmakers considered budget fixes that stretched from revamping the state's pension system to closing prisons. Some of the proposals were even added to the state's $23.3 billion budget.

Only a few of the dozens of ideas were approved before the session ended Friday. Senate leaders said many legislators still don't realize how much trouble Missouri is in financially. They said many of the hard budget choices were left in the governor's lap.

Gov. Jay Nixon said he expects to announce additional budget cuts within the coming weeks.

He has said more than $500 million needs to be trimmed from the budget he originally proposed in January, because of a drop in revenue and uncertainty over federal funds.

The budget passed by legislators appeared initially to have fallen just short of that $500 million target. But because they failed to pass several bills whose savings had been assumed in the budget, that gap is growing instead of shrinking.

Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields said it was a shame lawmakers didn't pass many of the bills that would have instructed the governor exactly where and how much to cut.

"I have not gotten into specifics with the governor, but we do know that he faces some very serious budget challenges as he reviews the budget we passed," Shields, R-St. Joseph, said.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Kevin Engler said lawmakers were not prepared to make cuts. He said instead of making mostly harmless cuts, legislators will soon have to make dire choices.

"That's what's going to start forcing these things, when you have to start cutting education by hundreds of millions of dollars," said Engler, R-Farmington. "At some point there will be fiscal considerations so strong that they'll be forced."

Lawmakers voted to end a requirement to print the state statutes and the official state manual, known as the Blue Book. Manuals have been printed every two years at a cost of about $500,000. The information is available online.

Lawmakers created a special committee to reduce the scope of government and address budget shortfalls in the interim period before the 2011 session starts in January.

Among other money-saving proposals that passed this year, some would:

* Modify Medicaid costs. The bill mandates Missouri to have independent contractors assess whether disabled people qualify for in-home care. Assessments are now made by the same companies that provide the care. Saves around $25 million.

* Merge the Highway Patrol and Water Patrol to reduce administrative redundancy. Nixon has stressed that the number of law enforcement officers will not be reduced. Saves around $3 million.

Proposals that failed included ones to:

* Reduce the state's prison population. The plan would have potentially shut a prison and removed nearly 2,000 offenders who plead guilty to nonviolent felonies from state custody. Estimated savings were nearly $26 million for the prison and $16,000 annually per inmate.

* Consolidate the state's higher education and elementary level education agencies into a single department to create a comprehensive educational system. Savings were around $1 million.

* Eliminate Truman and Lincoln's birthdays as state holidays. Savings were estimated at $3.5 million.

* Move the Alcohol and Tobacco Control division from an enforcement role to mainly regulating liquor licenses. Counties worried the change would lead to more responsibility for local law enforcement. There were no specific dollar savings listed, but supporters said it would have eliminated administrative redundancy.

* Change the state worker retirement system so new employees would pay more into the system. Estimated savings could have reached $30 million.

* Overhaul Missouri's tax credit programs, which last year reduced income taxes by $585 million. Nixon had proposed to cap tax credits at $314 million per year.