Recent change makes reserves harder to access

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- If Missouri's governor had proposed tapping the Rainy Day Fund two years ago, there is no doubt it would have provoked grousing by legislators opposed to using state savings to cover spending. However, it would have been significantly easier to do then than now.

In early 2000, it would have taken simple majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly on a special appropriations bill to access the money.

That law remains on the books but is trumped by a constitutional amendment 58 percent of voters approved in November 2000.

That provision requires two-thirds majorities to approve using the fund and can only be done when the governor declares an emergency or revenue falls below projections in a given fiscal year. Also, having the fund in the state constitution rather than just in state law prevents legislators from simple statutory changes to make the money more accessible.

Amendment works

State Sen. Larry Rohrbach, R-California, sponsored the present Rainy Day Fund through the General Assembly in 1999. The fact that Democratic Gov. Bob Holden is having difficulty building the super-majorities needed to tap the fund proves the amendment is working as intended, Rohrbach said.

Holden wants to use $135 million to preserve spending programs in the fiscal year 2003 state budget. Approximately $152.8 million is available in the fund for the purpose of meeting revenue shortfalls.

However, like most Republicans, Rohrbach says Holden's proposal is unconstitutional. While conceding the governor could use reserves for the current fiscal year because he has withheld money appropriated by the legislature, he can't ask for it to balance the budget for a fiscal year that doesn't begin until July 1, Rohrbach said.

Rohrbach said the fund was intended in the event of an unplanned need for additional money, such as a major flood like in 1993 when the fund was last raided.

"There is nothing unexpected about planning a budget for next year," Rohrbach said. "What this really is -- the way the governor is using it -- is a way to deficit spend."

The constitution requires lawmakers to pass a balanced budget.

Carnahan's influence

In a minor irony, it was a Democratic predecessor of Holden's that helped bring the Rainy Day Fund amendment about. Rohrbach was pursuing legislation to combine two existing, more easily tapped reserve funds established during the 1980s when officials under Gov. Mel Carnahan approached him with proposed changes.

"This was done with the blessing of the Carnahan administration, and they suggested making it difficult to use," Rohrbach said.

While some Democrats have rallied in favor of using the fund, saying vital programs would be lost without it, others are skeptical.

State Rep. Denny Merideth, D-Caruthersville, said many of his colleagues on the House Budget Committee are concerned that using the fund now would simply postpone problems, because the money would have to be repaid over three years beginning next year.

"All it would do is give us a bridge halfway across the river," Merideth said.

Most of the items Holden proposes paying for out of the Rainy Day Fund have been moved by lawmakers back into regular appropriations bills funded from general revenue, Merideth said.

That includes $400,488 for the state's 12 port authorities, five of which are in Southeast Missouri and get about 68 percent of the total spending for ports. That money has been placed back in the Department of Transportation's budget.

Merideth said the committee expects to send the budget bills to the full House no later than next week after making cuts. Some of the Rainy Day programs will stay in those bills, though perhaps at reduced funding levels, and some will not.

A budget subcommittee held a hearing on the special Rainy Day Fund appropriations bill but hasn't scheduled it for a vote. Merideth said he's uncertain it would pass.

"We've got to go through the budget process first and see where we can get to," Merideth said. "I think at the end of the day you'll find we'll have a balanced budget."

mpowers@semissourian.com

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