One of the key figures who will decide how much the state will spend on the services it provides to the taxpayers says Governor Nixon’s budget book should be considered a novel.
Nixon has PROposed a 28-billion dollar spending plan for the next fiscal year. The legislature in the next four months will DISpose of his recommendations. And early indications from key budget-writers is that the final budget could look much different from Nixon’s proposals.
Nixon has counted on continued economic improvement coupled with at least two major issues he wants the legislature ato approve that the legislature has refused to approve in the past–a tax amnesty program, and Medicaid expansion. Majority Republicans are showing no more enthusiasm than they have shown in the past.
In fact, Senate Appropriations Chairman Kurt Schaefer of Columbia calls Nixon’s budget “political fiction” He says it creates a “false expectation” that the money is available for Nixon’s proposals. He says he doesn’t see “any way” the legislature can approve a balanced budget with the Governor’s numbers. Schaefer calls the Governor’s proposal “astounding.”
Although Nixon has pointed to several statistics showing the economy is getting stronger and will support his recommendations, Schaefer points to other studies showing Missouri is behind the nation in recovering from the 2008 recession.
The Governor will find out in early May how much of his proposal survives.
