Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith Archives

Medicaid expansion is top priority for Missouri Democratic Party’s new acting chair (AUDIO)

July 8, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Democratic Party’s new acting chair is focusing on the August Medicaid expansion ballot measure and the November elections.

Former State Rep. Clem Smith, D-Velda Village Hills, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on May 18, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Former State Rep. Clem Smith, D-Velda Village Hills, was elected to the Missouri House in 2010. He served eight years in the House, from 2011-2018, before being forced out by term limits. Smith became acting chair of the party on Thursday.

He says access to health care is critical. He’s pushing for Amendment Two, which will be on your August 4th ballot.

“We believe the state has an appetite for it (Medicaid expansion),” Smith says. “I think the governor saw that too. We saw some jockeying of dates for that ballot initiative being moved to August.”

Medicaid, which is officially known as MO HealthNet, is a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents who have limited incomes.

Medicaid expansion supporters, including the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, say it will create more than 16,000 new jobs annually during its first five years. Supporters also predict it will increase personal income by $1.1 billion annually.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, opposes Medicaid expansion, saying it would take dollars out of the classroom. He notes it requires a ten percent match, for the 90 percent draw down. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, says Medicaid expansion will blow a hole in the state operating budget.

As for Clem Smith, he’s confident that Missourians will approve Medicaid expansion at the ballot box next month. He says some GOP lawmakers who oppose Medicaid expansion also supported right-to-work, which Missourians rejected during a 2018 referendum.

“We saw that with the right-to-work that went through (signed into law by then-Governor Eric Greitens in 2017),” says Smith. “The people came and spoke and said we don’t want that, after members of the Legislature voted for it.”

67 percent of Missourians voted against right-to-work, at the August 2018 referendum.

Smith is also focusing on the November elections. He’s hopeful former Vice President Joe Biden (D) will carry Missouri this fall. The last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Missouri was Bill Clinton, who won here in both 1992 and 1996.

Smith is also focusing on the gubernatorial race and the statewide races. State Auditor Nicole Galloway, the presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee, is currently the only Democratic statewide officeholder. Smith also wants to see Democrats pick up seats in the Missouri Senate and Missouri House.

Republicans currently have supermajorities in both chambers. They control the Senate 23-8, with three vacancies. The GOP controls the House 113-48, with two vacancies.

Smith is also encouraging residents to fill out the U.S. Census, which takes place every ten years. He tells Missourinet the census is a nonpartisan issue.

“That’s very important because that determines the federal dollars that are coming into our state, how they’re allocated,” Smith says.

Each year, billions of dollars in federal funding goes to hospitals, fire departments and schools based on census data. The Census results also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Missouri now has eight House seats, and has lost two since 1980. That happened in 1981 and again in 2011, when the districts of then U.S. Reps. Wendell Bailey, R-Willow Springs, and Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, disappeared.

Smith replaces former Missouri Democratic Party Chair Jean Peters Baker, who is the Jackson County Prosecutor.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri Democratic Party acting chair Clem Smith, D-Velda Village Hills. It was recorded on July 6, 2020:

Missouri lawmakers to hear Tuesday testimony on two issues: Medicaid expansion and tax credits

June 30, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri lawmakers will hear testimony on Tuesday in Jefferson City about potential impacts on the state budget, if voters approve Medicaid expansion in August.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, speaks on the Missouri House floor on May 6, 2020 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Medicaid, which is officially called MO HealthNet in Missouri, is a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents with limited incomes.

Missouri voters will cast ballots on Amendment Two in August, and the House Budget Committee will hear testimony Tuesday afternoon from 1-5 about potential budget implications.

Missouri’s current Medicaid budget is about $10 billion, about one-third of the state’s approximately $30 billion budget.

Thirty-six states have approved Medicaid expansion.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry has endorsed Amendment Two, describing it as a “pro-jobs measure that will help fuel economic growth throughout our state.” The Chamber cites a report from the Missouri Foundation for Health, which says Medicaid expansion will create more than 16,000 new jobs annually during its first five years, creating more state revenue.

The Missouri Hospital Association also backs Medicaid expansion, saying 10 rural Missouri hospitals have closed since 2014.

Top Missouri GOP leaders oppose Medicaid expansion, warning it will impact the budget, causing cuts in other programs.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, says it would take dollars out of the classroom. He notes it would require a ten percent match, for the 90 percent draw down.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, agrees, warning it will blow a hole in the state operating budget. Governor Mike Parson (R) has expressed similar concerns.

The Budget Committee will also meet Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon for their annual tax credit review hearing. Tax credits are essentially money that can be offset against a tax liability.

Budget Chairman Smith tells Missourinet that the state issued $551 million in tax credits in fiscal year 2019. Supporters of tax credits in the Legislature say they’re critical to landing key projects, especially in rural Missouri.

But opponents say they decrease funding for other parts of the state budget.

Missouri lawmakers to hear detailed report about tax credits, which now total $551 million

June 18, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The state of Missouri issued more than $550 million in tax credits in fiscal year 2019.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, speaks on the House floor in Jefferson City on May 6, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Missouri budget writers will hear a detailed report about tax credits later this month. The House Budget Committee has scheduled a June 30 hearing at the Statehouse in Jefferson City, which is the committee’s annual tax credit review hearing.

Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, tells Missourinet that the state issued $551.79 million in tax credits in fiscal year 2019. Chairman Smith notes fiscal year 2020 is still to be determined.

The tax credit issue has been a controversial one at times, during recent years in Jefferson City.

Tax credit supporters say they create jobs and are crucial to landing projects across the state, including many rural areas that need good-paying jobs.

Opponents of tax credits say they reduce funding for other parts of Missouri’s approximately $30 billion state operating budget, and sometimes go to well-connected developers. Former Governor Eric Greitens (R) was a critic of tax credits.

The June 30 hearing will take place in the Missouri House chamber.

Missouri Chamber backs Medicaid expansion, which remains key issue in gubernatorial race

June 12, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s most influential business group is endorsing a Medicaid expansion issue that will appear on your August ballot. Medicaid, which is formally known as MO HealthNet, is a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents who have limited incomes.

Governor Mike Parson (right) briefs Missouri Capitol reporters in Jefferson City on June 11, 2020 (photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Missouri’s current Medicaid budget is about $10 billion, accounting for about one-third of the state’s $30 billion operating budget.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry has endorsed Amendment Two, which will be on the August 4 statewide ballot. The Chamber describes the Medicaid expansion proposal as a “pro-jobs measure that will help fuel economic growth throughout our state.”

The Chamber quotes a study from the Missouri Foundation for Health, which says Medicaid expansion will create more than 16,000 new jobs annually during its first five years, while increasing personal income by $1.1 billion annually. The Chamber says most of the new positions would be outside St. Louis and Kansas City, and that 90 percent of those jobs will pay more than $15 an hour.

The Missouri Hospital Association says ten rural Missouri hospitals have closed since 2014.

“Let’s not miss this chance to bolster our economy during this recovery, while expanding access to healthcare for our fellow Missourians,” Missouri Chamber President Dan Mehan says, in a written statement.

36 states have approved Medicaid expansion.

While the Medicaid expansion issue will be decided by voters in August, it has also emerged as a key issue in Missouri’s November gubernatorial race. It’s also a key issue for lawmakers in both parties.

Missourinet asked both Governor Mike Parson (R) and State Auditor Nicole Galloway (D), the presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee, about Medicaid expansion when they filed in February in Jefferson City.

“When (Auditor) Galloway was there and (Democratic Governor Jay) Nixon was there, we had over one million people on the state Medicaid roll out of six million. So when you think of that practically, one out of every six people on Medicaid,” Parson told Missourinet in February, at the Kirkpatrick Building.

Parson also said that day that no one verified Missouri’s Medicaid rolls, for more than a decade. He also emphasized that children who qualify for Medicaid should receive those services, and that his administration wants them to receive the services.

Auditor Galloway supports Medicaid expansion, noting the ten rural Missouri hospitals that have closed since 2014. The Columbia Democrat told Missourinet in February that it’s crucial.

“We have a governor that has kicked 100,000 children off of their health insurance, and he has no vision and no solution on how he’s going to fix that,” Galloway said that day.

Medicaid expansion has been discussed in the General Assembly for years, with most Republicans opposed to it and Democrats supporting.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, opposes Medicaid expansion, saying it would take dollars out of the classroom. Speaker Haahr notes it requires a ten percent match, for the 90 percent draw down.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, agrees, telling Missourinet Friday evening that he opposes Medicaid expansion because he worries it will blow a hole in the state budget. Other GOP members on the House Budget Committee have the same concern.

Democrats in the Legislature disagree. State Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, who hopes to unseat U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, this fall, backs Amendment Two. Schupp says it will ensure that an additional 300,000 Missourians have access to health care.

State Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Lee’s Summit, spoke about the issue on the Missouri House floor during the May budget debate. Ingle predicted that day that Missourians would approve Medicaid expansion at the ballot box.

Meantime, the coronavirus outbreak has impacted Missouri’s Medicaid numbers, as well as the budget.

The number of Missourians on Medicaid has increased by about 75,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online statistics from the state Department of Social Services (DSS) show there were about 848,000 Missouri Medicaid enrollees in February.

That number increased to about 923,000 in May.

UPDATE: Missouri House gives final approval to budget; feral hog debate gets heated

May 8, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House voted Friday afternoon in Jefferson City to give final approval to a $35.2 billion state operating budget, after some heated discussion earlier in the day about feral hogs and other issues relating to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, (right) and House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, discuss the state budget in Jefferson City on May 8, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The budget is now in the Missouri Senate, which must approve it by 6 p.m. tonight.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, says the compromise budget between the House and Senate contains $20 million for Missouri meat processing facilities, impacted by COVID-19. Smith says it’s for plants with less than 200 employees, for support, workforce assistance, equipment and capital improvements.

The bipartisan funding for the plants is aimed at helping them address supply chain disruptions and to mitigate health and environmental impacts as a result of the pandemic.

The budget also contains $12 million for broadband expansion, relating to the pandemic. Budget Chairman Smith and ranking Democrat Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, say that is critical.

It also includes $2 million for the Missouri Lottery to advertise. The original House budget cut it to $100,000, but the Senate allocated $3 million. Budget negotiators settled on the $2 million.

There was also heated discussion today on the Missouri House floor, after State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood, blasted the Senate, saying they took $100,000 out of the budget for hungry women/children. Lavender called that decision shameful.

State Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, and Representative Lavender then had a heated discussion about “setting the record straight”, but disagree on what that record is. They spoke over each other at times.

State Rep. Robert Ross, R-Yukon, described Lavender’s floor comments as “factually wrong”, saying the budget expands the “Share the Harvest” program to $300,000. Ross also blasted the Missouri Department of Conservation, saying they tried to put $100,000 in the budget for a new forest service employee.

Ross tells the House that employee would have “harassed” feral hog hunters at the Mark Twain National Forest.

Normally, the Missouri Capitol’s public fourth-floor galleries are packed with lobbyists and schoolchildren, during budget debate. However, due to COVID-19 concerns, there was just one person observing today.

Bipartisan Missouri legislative effort to restore cuts to Mizzou’s NextGen Precision Health initiative

May 4, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

While the budget approved last week by the Missouri House cuts funding for the state’s public colleges and universities, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle hope some of those cuts can be restored this summer. And two key lawmakers from different parties are calling on the Senate to restore funding for the UM System’s top priority, which is a major health initiative.

The $34.9 billion state operating budget approved by the House on Wednesday includes cuts to the state’s public colleges and universities. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, addressed the issue on the floor on Wednesday, telling colleagues that all public two and four-year schools would receive a ten percent reduction over what was appropriated last year, under the budget.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, speaks about the budget on the House floor in Jefferson City on April 29, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“I realize that this causes consternation across the General Assembly, and it’s not an easy thing to do,” Smith says. “But again we’re looking at a tremendously difficult budgetary outlook year.”

Chairman Smith says it’s possible that state lawmakers will be called back for a special session this summer, and says that if additional federal funding comes down, he’d like to see the money restored.

“It will be a conversation that we will need to talk about at that time, if we have some additional federal money to spend, or if we are able to reallocate some general revenue,” says Smith.

The Carthage Republican says the House may be called to return to Jefferson City this summer, for supplemental budgets.

Meantime, State Reps. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, and Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, are calling on the Senate to restore about $700,000 in cuts to Mizzou’s NextGen Precision Health initiative. The NextGen Precision Health Institute, which is under construction, is expected to train the next generation of scientists who will help Missouri address future health care needs.

The $220 million facility is the UM System’s top capital priority. Mizzou says researchers in areas like medicine and engineering will work in the institute, to advance lifesaving research.

Representative Razer, a Mizzou graduate who is the ranking Democrat on the House Higher Education Committee, announced on the floor Wednesday that someone in his immediate family has just been diagnosed with cancer.

Razer predicts the facility will accelerate medical breakthroughs.

“This is truly a space that can cure cancer. They have the capability of curing cancer at the University of Missouri,” Razer says.

Razer tells the House that the UM System requested $10 million from the state. Governor Mike Parson’s budget recommendation reduced that to $3 million, and as of now, lawmakers have it at $0. Razer wants to see the Senate restore some funding.

Representative Walsh, who chairs the House appropriations subcommittee on transportation, is also a Mizzou graduate. She spoke on the floor after Razer, proposing using $729,000 originally intended for Fort Leonard Wood’s airport. She notes that money will lapse and won’t be needed at Fort Leonard Wood for another year.

“And that is money that I believe is a good purpose for it to be put to use for the precision medicine initiative,” says Walsh, whose district includes part of Columbia.

Walsh announced on the floor that she is working with Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, to partially restore some of the cuts to the NextGen Precision Health initiative and to Boone County Task Force One, which is a Columbia-based search-and-rescue team. She says she supports utilizing state revenues most effectively, to help ease the pain being felt now.

Mizzou says the institute will play a key role in the NextGen Precision Health Initiative, which supports the research activities of the UM System’s four campuses and health system.

University leaders broke ground on the institute last June.

“The NextGen Precision Health Initiative will help bring us bring laboratory research to effective treatments, which will benefit all Missourians as well as the rest of the world,” UM System President Dr. Mun Choi said at the 2019 groundbreaking ceremony.

The institute is being funded through a combination of private and corporate support, state support and contributions from Mizzou and the UM System.

What you need to know about the revised Missouri budget proposal

April 29, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri Legislature will have a big job now that lawmakers are back to work – dealing with a projected state budget shortfall of about $700 million. Members have been on break for about one month due to the coronavirus threatening the state.

The Missouri House and Senate convene on January 9, 2019 for a joint session to commemorate the 100th General Assembly (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Missouri House of Representatives is considering a revised state budget for the fiscal year beginning in July. The $34.9 billion budget outline is about a $4.5 billion increase over Gov. Mike Parson’s original fiscal plan released in January. It includes $10 billion in state general revenue, $14.5 billion in federal funding and $10.3 billion in other funds.

The blueprint includes two major differences from what Gov. Parson recommended in January. The latest version no longer includes a 2% pay raise that Parson recommended for most state workers and MoHealthnet is planning to use a savings plan in which the state moves to an outpatient fee schedule that is tied to Medicare. According to Chris Dunn with Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith’s office, upwards of $90 million would be saved in hospital and managed care reimbursements.

The revised budget plan includes about $10.4 billion to the Missouri Department of Social Services. Most of the Social Services budget goes to Medicaid costs.

About $3.5 billion in base funding would go to Missouri’s K-12 public schools – the same amount as in the current year’s budget. As for school bus transportation, $100 million is being proposed – a reduction of about $7 million compared to the current budget year.

Missouri Senate

About $1.5 billion would go to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development – a roughly $200 million increase over the current year. The figure includes both the general revenue cuts that Representative Smith proposed and an increase of federal authority should federal funds be made available to support the state’s two-year and four-year colleges and universities. Under the plan, they would get a 10% reduction in funding compared to the current year.

The Department of Corrections budget proposal would be about $805 million – a $24 million increase over the current year. About $38.5 million would go to reimbursing county jails for transporting inmates and holding offenders who end up going to state prison – the same amount as the current year’s budget.

The Missouri Department of Transportation would get about $3 billion, compared to $2.93 billion in the current year’s budget.

Under the House plan, there would be some shuffling of the size of the state’s workforce. Missouri would have 53,935 state workers, a net increase of three full-time equivalent state employees.

Full-time equivalent, or FTE, refers to the number of hours worked by a single employee in a week. FTE is used to convert the hours worked by part-time employees into those worked by full-time staff.

The largest staff increase is 197.5 FTEs the governor requested to be added in the Department of Public Safety to help with the pandemic. The largest reduction would be 128 FTE workers in the Department of Corrections. As the offender population has declined, the agency plans to consolidate certain housing units so that some housing units can be closed. This is allowing the department to reduce vacant FTE positions.

The Missouri House is debating the budget bills and final approval is expected today. Then the Missouri Senate will go from there. Senate President Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says the Senate Appropriations Committee is planning to take up the budget on Saturday and work through the weekend.

Missouri House to vote on final approval of state operating budget on Wednesday

April 29, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House is expected to give final approval to a proposed $34.9 billion state operating budget Wednesday in Jefferson City.

State Reps. Mike Haffner, R-Pleasant Hill, and Dean Dohrman, R-La Monte, (standing) discuss the state budget on April 27, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The House will gavel-in Wednesday morning at 10, and House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, tells Missourinet they’ll take up the budget at that time. He notes the Legislature must approve a balanced budget by May 8, under the state Constitution.

“It is the one constitutional duty of the Missouri General Assembly, and not only that but to pass a balanced budget and one that is on time,” Smith says.

The House voted to give initial budget approval on Monday. The proposed budget includes about $10 billion in general revenue, $14.5 billion in federal funding and another $10.3 billion in other funds.

The House Budget Committee’s ranking Democrat, State Rep. Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, spoke about the budget on the House floor on Monday. He expresses his frustration, saying the process has been rushed. Kendrick wants lawmakers to wait for a special session this summer.

“This (state operating) budget is being rushed. It’s being rushed in a pretty profound manner,” says Kendrick.

Kendrick says waiting until a special session this summer would give state lawmakers and the governor’s office a better forecast for state revenue projections. He emphasizes that he is not expressing frustration with Chairman Smith.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, also spoke on the floor on Monday. She also prefers waiting for a special session this summer to approve the budget, and notes Governor Mike Parson (R) made comments at recent media briefings indicating that was a possibility.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan and other leaders in the GOP-controlled Legislature say it’s important to keep state government funded and services operating without interruption.

The next fiscal year begins on July 1.

As for Chairman Smith, he tells Leader Quade the House will likely return to the Capitol this summer, for a special session on another supplemental budget.

“And what we are doing today (Monday) I think is taking a snapshot of where we are today, based on what we can know, which is not a great deal, of how the state budget will be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Smith says.

Lawmakers and staff members are being encouraged to wear their masks today, and to continue to practice social distancing protocols.

Approving budget is top priority for Missouri’s governor, Schatz and Haahr (AUDIO)

April 26, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor wants lawmakers to focus on the state operating budget during the final few weeks of the 2020 session, and GOP legislative leaders in both chambers say that is their top priority.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, at podium, and House Majority Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, speak at a virtual press briefing on April 8, 2020 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

During a media briefing last week, Missourinet asked Governor Mike Parson (R) what issues lawmakers should focus on, when they return to the Capitol in Jefferson City on Monday.

“They come here (to the Statehouse) to do the budget by May 8th, that’s what they’re coming back here for, that’s their main objective, my understanding of that, and that’s the one thing that we really need to focus on,” Parson says.

Under the state Constitution, Missouri lawmakers are required to approve a balanced state operating budget by May 8. That’s less than two weeks away.

While time will be a factor, Missouri’s Senate leader believes lawmakers will send a balanced budget to the governor’s desk by the May 8th constitutional deadline. Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, expects the House to give final budget approval on Wednesday.

“We believe that we (the Senate) can begin the process that week after the (April) 29th, work possibly through the weekend to get our budget markup done,” says Schatz.

Schatz knows the House and Senate budgets will have differences, and he’s allotting time for House and Senate budget writers to negotiate those differences in a conference committee. The conference committee work would take place next week.

The budget is also the top priority for House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield.

The House gavels-in Monday at noon, and House Majority Floor Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, says the House has scheduled six hours of budget debate for Monday. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, expects the House to give initial approval to the budget on Monday. He expects final House approval on Wednesday. The budget would then head to the Senate.

Chairman Smith agrees with Governor Parson, that lawmakers may return to the Capitol this summer for a special session on another supplemental budget.

The Senate will gavel-in Monday afternoon at 4, although two Senate committees will meet before session begins.

Lawmakers have lost four to five weeks of session time because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The last day of the 2020 legislative session is Friday, May 15. Pro Tem Schatz tells Missourinet that many bills will die, in the session’s final three weeks.

“I would say probably more than has ever in the past, because there’s probably going to be a very, very minimal number of bills that will make it across the finish line,” Schatz says.

While he’s keeping his expectations low on policy issues, Pro Tem Schatz remains hopeful that lawmakers can approve a bipartisan prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) and a legislative redistricting plan. The redistricting proposal has been a priority for Republicans, but Democrats oppose it, saying Missourians overwhelmingly passed the 2018 “Clean Missouri” proposal.

As for PDMP, Missouri is the only state in the nation without one.

Missouri House Chief Clerk Dana Rademan Miller tells Missourinet they have supplied all House members and staff with cloth masks, which are cotton and washable. She says all are encouraged, but not required, to wear them and to continue to practice social distancing protocols when they return to the Capitol on Monday.

Click here to listen to the full six-minute interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, which was recorded on April 24, 2020:

Missouri House to tackle state budget on Monday; they’re being encouraged to wear masks

April 26, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The 163-member Missouri House and its staff members will be encouraged to wear masks when they return to the Statehouse in Jefferson City on Monday.

Missouri House Majority Floor Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, (left) discusses the $6.2 billion supplemental budget with House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, on April 8, 2020 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The House will gavel-in Monday at noon, and will be debating the budget.

“We have supplied all members and staff with cloth masks. They are cotton and washable,” Missouri House Chief Clerk Dana Rademan Miller tells Missourinet. “All are encouraged, but not required, to wear them and to continue to practice social/physical distancing protocols when we return for session on Monday.”

The House hasn’t met since April 8, when they approved a historic $6.2 billion supplemental budget to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The April 8 debate with unlike anything that’s ever happened in the chamber, with House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, wearing a mask and the chamber limited to ten people at one time. There were no visitors that day in the upper galleries, which are normally full of lobbyists, schoolchildren and the general public.

House Majority Floor Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold, tells Missourinet the House has scheduled six hours of budget debate on Monday.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, tells Missourinet he expects the House to perfect the budget on Monday, and give it final approval on Wednesday.

Speaker Haahr and Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, have said the decision to have lawmakers return on April 27 was not an easy one, but that “it’s absolutely critical for the people of Missouri that we keep the state government funded and services operating without interruption.”

Under the state Constitution, Missouri lawmakers are required to approve a balanced state operating budget by May 8.

Haahr and Schatz note committee hearings and legislative proceedings will remain open to the public. They are urging you to follow social distancing guidelines and to participate in the legislative process electronically, when possible.

Schatz says people entering the Missouri Capitol will go through a health screening process, like we saw earlier this month during the supplemental budget debate.

The last day of the 2020 legislative session is Friday, May 15.