State budget forecast better

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In terms of the state budget, it's still a rainy day, but the storm has somewhat abated.

In order to balance about a $19 billion state budget for fiscal year 2003, the House Budget Committee still calls for raiding the state's Rainy Day Fund. However, it proposes taking slightly less than half the amount from Missouri's savings as originally proposed by Gov. Bob Holden.

By making a variety of cuts throughout the budget, the committee submitted to the full House on Wednesday a plan that requires $72 million from the Rainy Day Fund.

Holden, a Democrat, suggested taking $135 million from the fund, which would leave only about $17.8 million left in the reserve in case of emergency.

Exactly where all the cuts were made was unclear Thursday, though no programs were sacrificed in whole. Detailed drafts of the budget as adopted by the committee aren't expected to be available until Wednesday.

Unpopular idea

Tapping the fund hasn't been a popular idea in the General Assembly, particularly among Republicans. As recently as last week, the chance of passing a special appropriations bill authorizing use of the reserve fund was far from certain.

State Rep. Denny Merideth, D-Caruthersville, said he still has some reservations about using the fund but the committee's proposal was positive step.

"We've got a long way to go, but one thing we wanted to do was keep the process moving," said Merideth, who sits on the budget committee.

A change Merideth likes was making Rainy Day money a direct infusion into general revenue. Holden had earmarked the money for specific programs, among them various services by the Department of Mental Health, newborn health screenings, community grants and port assistance.

"The big heartburn I had with that was it was too program specific," Merideth said. "By making it a straight infusion into general revenue, that eliminated a big part of my problem with it."

The programs Holden had put in the special Rainy Day appropriations bill have been placed back into the core budget, including $400,488 for Missouri's 12 port authorities. Five of them are in Southeast Missouri and get 68 percent of the spending for ports, which includes money for river ferries in Mississippi and Ste. Genevieve counties.

But another budget committee member said using the fund was still a bad idea.

'Backwards move'

"Rainy Day is a backwards move because you have to pay it back with interest," said state Rep. Peter Myers, R-Sikeston.

If the fund is used, lawmakers must begin paying it back over three years, beginning with FY 2004. Myers voted in committee against tapping the reserves and said more cuts could have been made elsewhere.

"There was enough money that we didn't need to use the Rainy Day Fund," Myers said.

Many hurdles to using the state's reserves remain. The state Constitution requires the governor to first declare a fiscal emergency, which he has. Both chambers of the legislature must then approve a special appropriations bill by two-thirds majorities. Winning those supermajorities could prove tricky, especially in the Republican-controlled Senate.

In the majority Democratic House, however, Myers expects it will pass, though just barely. But even if all 85 Democrats agreed to tap the fund, they would still need 24 Republicans to get the measure through to the Senate.

"We need minority help on that or it is going to force more cuts," said House Speaker Jim Kreider, D-Nixa.

Though she praised the efforts of the House budget chairman, state Rep. Tim Green, R-St. Louis, in making tough cuts and reducing the reliance on the state's savings, minority floor leader Catherine Hanaway, R-Warson Woods, said more needs to be done.

"I think we can get across the finish line -- provide essential services and balance the budget -- without using it by cutting more," Hanaway said.

The Rainy Day Fund bill is HB 1114.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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