Reps faced tough choices in House budget committee

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. --There is an old Capitol saying: Don't tax you. Don't tax me. Tax the stranger behind that tree.

The same do-it-to-somebody-else principle applies to budget cuts.

Since lawmakers began working on the state budget in January, various groups that rely on state spending have taken turns lobbying to protect their pieces of the pie.

Prison guards have rallied for the back overtime pay they are owed. Mental health advocates have fretted over how they would provide services those who need them with sharp funding reductions. University officials have warned of long-term damage to their ability to provide students with a quality education while keeping it affordable. And various employee groups from state troopers to veterans home workers have lamented the probability of a second straight year without even minor pay raises.

The list is nearly endless.

Most of these groups made sincere, legitimate arguments for why they should be spared funding reductions, while acknowledging that lawmakers have no choice but to make substantial cuts in the overall budget.

But in hearing after hearing, when asked what should be sacrificed so their programs could be saved, those groups rarely offered suggestions.

Those difficult decisions were left to various appropriations committees. In the approximately $19 billion state budget proposal sent to the House of Representatives last week, few departments have escaped hits.

Many battles to restore some cut programs and slice others remain to be fought when the budget is debated on the House floor and later when it is before the Senate. However, most legislators are pleased with the progress that has been made.

State Rep. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis, said she and other budget committee members were surprised at the money they were able to target for cuts.

"We did a really fine job of maximizing every dollar we could find," Bray said.

'More or less happy'

Though disappointed that the majority-Democrat committee is counting on $72 million from state reserves to balance the budget, state Rep. Peter Myers, R-Sikeston, said the committee succeeded in making tough choices in most cases.

"I'm more or less happy with it," Myers said. "Some adjustments could be made, but I think we did a reasonably good job."

Even House Minority Floor Leader Catherine Hanaway, R-Warson Woods, praised the effort to date. However, she said more cutting needs to be done.

Hanaway had been critical of the original budget proposed by Gov. Bob Holden. In turn, House Democrats have lambasted her for offering complaints instead of alternatives.

Hanaway said Republicans have been working quietly behind the scenes to help produce a budget far better than the governor offered.

"We're the minority party," Hanaway said. "It doesn't do us any good to float amendments to get shot down and have those made straw men for folks on the other side to take shots at."

State Rep. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, said Democrats have been forced to take the brunt of unpopular decisions on cuts. However, he is more hopeful about the prospects of passing a balanced budget than he was two months ago.

"It really seems possible that we are going to be able to accomplish this," he said.

Senate getting anxious

Because of the complexity of this year's situation, leaders in the Republican-controlled Senate are worried that the May 10 deadline for passing the budget may arrive before the job is done.

Typically, the House sends the budget to the Senate before lawmakers adjourn for their spring recess. Legislators went home Thursday with the time House floor debate on the budget awaiting them when they return to work April 2.

"This is, frankly, a very great concern hanging out there," said Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau.

However, the Senate Appropriations Committee has been doing much advance work to be prepared when the budget arrives in the upper chamber.

State Sen. Ken Jacob, D-Columbia, said the House can be forgiven for being behind schedule.

"I think it's appropriate for the House to take the time necessary to make sure their decisions are good ones," Jacob said.

Split on name change

A bill to drop the regional designation from Southwest Missouri State University's name sparked fierce debate on the House floor last week, but the bill ultimately passed 100-52.

Opponents, especially those who represent other public universities, felt the Springfield school was bucking for special status by wanting to be called Missouri State University. That status, they said, would come at the detriment of the state other regional schools, including Southeast Missouri State University.

However, area lawmakers split evenly on the issue, 7-7. Opposing the bill were state Reps. Lanie Black of Charleston, Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau, Rob Mayer of Dexter, Peter Myers of Sikeston, Pat Naeger of Perryville, Mark Richardson of Poplar Bluff and David Schwab of Jackson, all Republicans.

Agreement on guns

While they were divided on the name change, Southeast Missouri lawmakers were a unified block on a bill that would allow licensed gun owners to legally carry concealed weapons in their vehicles.

All 14 area House members voted in favor of the bill, which is sponsored by state Rep. Wayne Crump, D-Potosi. The overall vote was 107-46, with opposition primarily from urban lawmakers.

The measure now heads to the Senate. However, Holden has vowed to veto the bill if it reaches his desk.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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