Senator Bond has some sympathy for Governor Nixon’s budget problems. But he has no advice.

Bond recalls beginning his second term in 1981 knowing that the administration of his predecessor, Joseph Teasdale, had significantly overspent in the first half of the fiscal year. Bond determined that the budget would have to be slashed $900 million for the second half of the fiscal year.

He says he met with members of the legislature, outlined $1.6 billion in possible cuts and told lawmakers to decide what to cut. He told the legislators he would suggest the cuts and they could complain but they could not avoid cutting the budget.

Bond will not recommend Nixon do the same thing but he knows whatever Nixon and the legislature do will be tough.

Bond comments on Nixon budget problems 1:51 MP3

Time is short for the legislature to solve major state government financial problems as lawmakers return from their Spring break. The state’s financial picture has deteriorated so far that lawmakers have suggested Governor Nixon to scrap his January recommendations and present a new plan. Within the last week, Nixon has cut another 126-million from this year’s state budget and he’s outlined a half-billion dollars in cuts and reorganizations for the fiscal year starting July 1. Legislators such as House Budget chairman Alan Icet had been alerted before they left that the state’s financial outlook was worsening…Icet sees the Governor’s actions an announcements last week as a starting point.

The state budget for fiscal 20-10 and 20-11 has to be passed by May 7–only eight weeks for lawmakers to decide what lives, what dies, what gets merged, what programs get cut and what rare programs get increased.

Charlie Shields talks to Bob Priddy 4:38 mp3

Bob Priddy talks to Alan Icet 3:25 mp3

More budget cuts now and even bigger ones to come will mean more cutbacks in state services, some of them right away. .

Governor Nixon has outlined his ideas for reducing spending in the next fiscal year by another $500-million. But before making that announcement, Nixon has authorized cutting another $126-million out of the budget for the remaining four months of this fiscal year.

State budget director Linda Luebbering says the latest round of cuts will be felt close to home by many Missourians. Area Agencies on Aging will take a $1 million hit. The second AMTRAK train between Kansas City and St Louis will go away if the state Transportation Department cannot find a new source of money to keep it rolling.  She says some cuts are bieng made in community based services from the mental health department and the Department of Health and Senior Services. Some Department of Social Services contract services also are being cut.

Luebbering says the cuts cannot be avoided because state income is down almost 13 percent for this year compared to last year at this time.

Linda Luebbering talks to Bob Priddy 11:09 MP3

A highly-prized state license soon will be open for competition…and it might be years before there’s another one.

Pinnacle Entertainment will give up its license to the President Casino in St. Louis by July first.The state gaming commission had told Pinnacle in January it would take away the license because the casino’s income has been dropping for months since the opening of the new Lumiere Place a few blocks away. Lumiere Place also is owned by Pinnacle. Pinnacle, however, has negotiated the surrender of its license, in return for which the commission would withdraw its resolution.

State law adopted in 2008 limits Missouri to 13 casinos. Interests in Sugar Creek and Cape Girardeau have been interested in a license. And Pinnacle can apply for a license at a new place. Gaming Commission Chairman Jim Mathewson doesn’t know what to expect. He says the 2008 law has created a new world for casino licensing.

The commission will decide when applications will be filed. Applicants will go through a lengthy investigation–companies and their officers.It could be quite a while before a new casino is built and allowed by the commission to open.

Pinnacle hopes to sell the closed President and the Admiral excursion boat it’s on, with the new owner moving it out of the area.

Bob Priddy talks to Jim Mathewson 5:52 mp3

Missouri has one of the nation’s worst records in startups of new businesses. Concerns that the state is falling farther and farther behind in the competition for jobs is producing a new legislative effort. Senator Tom Dempsey of St. Charles says Missouri’s present economic development efforts are “like bringing a knife to a gunfight.”

Dempsey of St. Charles is handling a package of economic development bills that offers new and additional incentives that he hopes keep companies from moving from here to other states or from bypassing Missouri entirely.

Dempsey says the package of bills realigns the state’s “targeted incentive tool box to make Missouri more attractive to entrepreneurs, manufactures, and high-growth companies with the jobs they bring.

Listen to opening discussion of SB895 et al 40:54 mp3

They look like houses. They’re sitting on foundations. They have porches and garages. But many of them are problems for county assessors because they’re not houses. Assessors, homeowners, home-buyers, and builders of manufactured homes are trying again this year to change the law so some homes are not considered vehicles.

Senator Jane Cunningham of St.Louis says manufactured homes that used to be called a home on wheels or a house trailer. And as long as they were on wheels, they needed a license and a title. But once the wheels come off and the homes are anchored to a foundation or a slab they become real property–a house. There’s nothing in state law that allows assessors to reevaluate the structure as real property after that. The building remains a vehicle in state tax law. When people want to sell and buy the vehicle have trouble getting loans because banks have trouble determining what it is under the law and what kind of loan, if any, they can make.

She says Missouri is one of the few states without a way of converting personal property–namely, vehicles, into real property– a home. She says her bill could be the most consumer-friendly bill of the session in a time when affordable housing is needed.

The senate has advanced her bill toward passage.

You can listen to Bob Priddy’s story right here :61 mp3

Governor Nixon is meeting with legislative leaders today to rewrite the proposed state budget for the next fiscal year. Failure of Congress to approve 300-million dollars in supplemental Medicaid spending and continued declines in state tax collections have blown a hole in the proposal he presented in January.

Senate appropriations chairman Rob Mayer of Dexter says his meeting with Senate Republicans was a “healthy discussion.” He says Nixon recognized the budget he submitted January 20th is no longer valid. Mayer says lawmakers and the Governor’s staff will try to agree on a new state revenue estimate so planning for fiscal 2010-2011 budget can go ahead.

The state constitution requires a balanced budget. This year’s budget (fiscal year 2009-2010) was based on a conservative income estimate but already has been reduced by the governor by several hundred million dollars because tax revenue is well below anticipations. Nixon already has announced more cuts will be made in state spending in the remaining four months of the fiscal year.

Bob Priddy interviewed Rob Mayer after this morning’s meeting 3:35 mp3

Some leading economic indicators indicate the economy has done a slow turnaround in Missouri—although it might not be obvious. Creighton University Economist Ernie Goss says his survey of supply managers shows Missouri’s business conditions are up for the eighth straight month. He says new orders, production and sales, delivery lead times, inventories,and employment all are up from January. But he’s expecting only small job gains in coming months, especially in manufacturing.

AUDIO: Interview with Dr. Goss 6 min MP3

Another evaluation will be made next month of how much money the state will have to finance programs and services in the next fiscal year. Governor Nixon’s proposed budget already is being cut by legislative committees shaping the final plan. He wants some fresh figures before making any moves. Nixon says the full state tax figures for February will help him and legislative budget experts calculate the amount of money the state will have for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Members of House budget writing committees already have been told to cut the governor’s spending recommendations by five percent.

The governor says, however, that he’s optimistic the economy will improve enough in the second half of this year to produce a rosier financial picture.

Listen to Nixon’s comments 1:10 mp3

High school dropout rates and teen pregnancies are on the rise in the state … two major areas of concern for Citizens for Missouri’s Children. Osage County might be the best place to raise a child in the state. St. Louis City might be the worst.

Click here to go to the map online, see how your area is ranked.

Citizens for Missouri’s Children tallies data from all counties and the City of St. Louis for its annual Kids Count, which is used by communities and legislators to identify need and apply for grants to boost service programs in certain areas.
“This would have been the first time that there would have been a full year of recession impact, I don’t think the changes were as drastic as they might be,” he says. ”That’s not to say that it’s not still to come because the data began in December 2008, when unemployment was around 6 or 7 percent, it’s gone up. On the good side, it’s not as bad as we thought, on the bad side, it’s going to likely get worse.”
Gee says as unemployment climbs, a delayed impact might be seen on next year’s report.
He says dropout rates stand out as a problem.
There are “30 counties, and that’s a large amount, we had a higher high school dropout rate than the state rate [average] in 2008.”
The report ranks various other factors, such as birth weight, infant mortality, and more. Ripley, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties — in the bootheel — ranked last.
Julie Leicht, Policy Director, says the City of St. Louis typically ranks last. Beyond that, last on the list are: Sullivan, Ripley, Pemiscot, Dunklin … and then St. Louis, in that order.
Best in the state ranked are (in order) Osage, St. Charles, Platte, Andrew and Worth, “so that’s kind ofscattered all over the state,” Leicht says.
However, Gee says the list / report is not formulated for competition, but rather “it’s a barometer of how our kids are faring in the state, and how Missouri ranks among other states in the nation. A lot of other not-for-profit organizations use this data when they apply for grants.”
“We know that our data has been used to obtain over a million dollars in grants for other charitable organizations in the community,” he says. ”We want it to be used as a tool by the communities to apply for grants where there is a need.”
 Leicht says “We also provide the book to legislators and they’re quite interested because they use it quite often in their work,” adding that the Legislature likes to see if their areas need assistance in certain areas.”

The Annie E. Casey Foundation tracks how all states rank. It shows Missouri is ranked 33rd out of the 50 states. No. 1 is New Hampshire; Alabama and Louisiana are ranked lowest.

Jessica Machetta reports [Download / listen Mp3]