Missouri House Budget Committee Archives

Twice-daily Amtrak service across Missouri gets bipartisan support in House Budget Committee

March 17, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the Missouri House Budget Committee teamed up this week to support a GOP amendment, which removes the restriction to once-daily Amtrak passenger service across Missouri.

The amendment is from State Rep. Aaron Griesheimer, R-Washington. The Missouri River Runner train stops in his hometown of Washington, which has an Amtrak station near the Missouri River.

State Reps. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, and Wes Rogers (far right), D-Kansas City, listen to testimony during a House Budget Committee hearing on March 15, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, voted for the Griesheimer amendment on Sunday. Representative Aldridge has ridden the Missouri River Runner train from St. Louis to Jefferson City, for session.

“I’ve used the Amtrak quite often, and I know how essential it is not just to me but to people that are trying to see our great state,” Aldridge says. “If it’s getting to Kansas City, Jefferson City, other stops that people like to visit.”

Representative Aldridge tells colleagues that both the morning and afternoon Amtrak trains are usually 90 percent full when he rides, and emphasizes the service’s need.

The train stops in downtown St. Louis, near 14th Street. It also stops in several Missouri towns, including Sedalia, Warrensburg and Hermann.

The Budget Committee has voted 19-16 to approve the Griesheimer amendment, which is aimed at preserving twice-daily service from St. Louis to Kansas City.

State Rep. Wes Rogers, D-Kansas City, also voted for the amendment, telling Griesheimer that twice-daily train service is good for tourism too.

“When we visit my in-laws in St. Louis, we like to get on the train in Kirkwood (a St. Louis suburb), take it to your district, spend the day and get back on the train and then go home. It’s my son’s favorite thing to do. Without your amendment, would that be impossible?” Rogers asks.

“Yes,” Griesheimer responds.

“Thank you, no more questions,” Rogers says.

The Amtrak issue could come up again on the House floor, when the full Missouri House begins budget debate. It’s unclear now when that will be, due to coronavirus concerns.

The state owes Amtrak more than $6 million in unpaid bills.

Haahr rules out Missouri House remote sessions (AUDIO)

March 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s House Speaker says “remote” floor sessions are not a possibility for the 163-member chamber.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, views the chamber on March 12, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, was asked about the issue by a Capitol reporter on Thursday, due to concerns about coronavirus.

“There would be no way to verify the ability of people to vote remotely, not just in viewing them but understanding if they’re voting under duress or anything like that,” Haahr says.

Mr. Haahr continues to urge schoolchildren and other guests who are not directly involved in legislative business to avoid the Statehouse in Jefferson City, due to coronavirus concerns. He says the more people who visit the Capitol, the more chances that House members and staff will be at risk for coronavirus.

“We (the House) will have to meet in-person to do voting. The question is how do we do that, protect the members of the Legislature and continue to have state government operate,” says Haahr.

The Speaker notes the 163 House members and thousands of guests travel to the Missouri Capitol from every corner of the state each week. House leaders have closed the House chamber’s floor to the public, for the time being.

The House held “technical” sessions on Sunday and again on Monday. That means one lawmaker literally gavels the chamber in and out. It allows committee hearings to take place on those days. The House Budget Committee met for almost 12 hours on Sunday, before wrapping up at about 1:30 on Monday morning.

Speaker Haahr’s plan is for the full House to return to Jefferson City on Wednesday, with an expected House vote on a proposed $30 billion state operating budget. The House is expected to vote for final budget approval on Thursday.

The House would then begin its regularly-scheduled spring break and would return on March 30. The Senate is not in session this week. Once the House leaves, the Capitol is expected to receive a thorough cleaning.

Click here to listen to the audio from Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr’s press conference on March 12, 2020 in Jefferson City. KMIZ Channel 17’s Joe McLean asks the Speaker about the issue of remote sessions:

Missouri House will be in session next week; budget is top priority

March 12, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s House Speaker has announced that the full House will return to Jefferson City next week for floor sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, says the House is focused on its constitutional duty of approving a balanced budget.

Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, briefs Capitol reporters on March 12, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“The idea would be that we will have session through Thursday, we will perfect the budget on Wednesday, we will third-read the budget on Thursday,” Haahr says.

Speaker Haahr briefed the Capitol Press Corps on Thursday morning, after the House adjourned for the week.

The House Budget Committee plans a rare Sunday afternoon budget hearing, which will take place at 2. The House will have what is known as a “technical session” on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. It means one lawmaker will literally gavel the chamber in and out, and that allows committee hearings to take place those days.

The full 163-member House will return to Jefferson City on Wednesday, and is expected to give final approval to an approximately $30 billion state operating budget the next day. The House would then begin its regularly-scheduled spring break and return on March 30.

The state Constitution requires Missouri lawmakers to approve a balanced budget by early May.

Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, has announced that the Senate will not be in session next week, to ensure the safety of state senators and Capitol visitors from ongoing coronavirus issues. The Senate is out until March 30.

As for Speaker Haahr, he continues to urge schoolchildren and others who are not directly involved in legislative business to avoid the State Capitol in Jefferson City, due to coronavirus concerns.

Mr. Haahr notes 163 House members and thousands of guests travel to the Missouri Capitol from every corner of the state each week.

“Obviously, the more people that access this building (the Missouri Capitol), the more chances that members and staff will contact the coronavirus,” says Haahr. “Our goal is to keep us healthy so that the levels of government continue to operate.”

Missouri House leaders from both parties have joined Haahr in his call. Haahr notes it is out of an abundance of caution. House leaders have closed the House chamber’s floor to the public.

Speaker Haahr says coronavirus concerns will impact every state department, and could also impact Missouri’s August primary election and the November general election. He says he met with Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office on Thursday, to discuss any needs for the upcoming elections.

“There’s probably nothing we can do about the April (municipal and school board) elections, but obviously July and November are probably going to be impacted by this, both in voting locations and in the number of people that can staff them,” Haahr says.

He says that the government must go on and that elections must be held. His aim is to make sure Secretary Ashcroft’s office is in the best position possible to do that.

Missouri Medicaid Director Richardson to present budget this week (AUDIO)

February 9, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The state’s Medicaid director will present his budget to the Missouri House Budget Committee Tuesday morning in Jefferson City.

Former Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson opens a special session on June 11, 2018. Richardson is now the state’s Medicaid director (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The hearing is set for 8:15.

During his January State of the State Address, Governor Mike Parson (R) credited former House Speaker and current Medicaid director Todd Richardson for finding $84 million in savings, in the Medicaid system.

“While some in the press are eager to criticize this improved efficiency – or outright misrepresent it – the truth is that this system has been broken for many years and unproductively serving every Missourian who is paying for it,” Governor Parson told a joint session of the Legislature on January 15, in Jefferson City.

Richardson says that savings is important.

“Across the program, you know with both big chunks and small chunks we’ve been working to identify those efficiencies that allow us to deliver a better program,” Richardson says.

Medicaid is a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents with limited incomes. Missouri’s Medicaid budget is about $10 billion, accounting for more than one-third of the state’s $30 billion operating budget.

Governor Mike Parson criticized Medicaid expansion during his State of the State Address on January 15, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Parson and Richardson say that savings is important to protect citizens who need Medicaid services the most. Director Richardson says there’s more work to do.

“We’ve got to work together to build a best-in-class Medicaid program that provides for the needs of Missouri’s most vulnerable, but does so in a way that’s financially sustainable,” says Richardson.

Richardson was appointed to his post by Governor Parson, and has been in the position since November 2018.

Statistics provided by the state Department of Social Services (DSS) show the number of Missourians on Medicaid has decreased from 953,000 in August 2018 to 846,000 now. Richardson will likely face some questions on Tuesday from lawmakers about thousands of children who have recently been removed from Medicaid.

The “Springfield News-Leader” reported this weekend that State Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles, says thousands of children removed from the Medicaid rolls were likely still eligible for coverage. The newspaper quotes Wood as saying that paperwork for the parents is horrendous, and that the state could do a better job of helping people through the process.

Wood is the House Budget Committee’s vice chairman.

Another issue that could come up during the hearing is Medicaid expansion. Governor Parson opposes it, as does Richardson. Director Richardson tells Missourinet he’s focused on reforming Medicaid, not expanding it.

“There will be a tremendous cost to Medicaid expansion and costs that frankly the state doesn’t have,” Richardson says.

Richardson’s focus is on operating a better program that produces better outcomes, in a financially sustainable way.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, and House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, also oppose Medicaid expansion. They say it would take dollars out of the classroom, noting it requires a ten percent match for the 90 percent draw down.

Speaker Haahr has warned that it would blow a hole in the general revenue budget.

But Democrats like House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, and State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood, support Medicaid expansion. They have said 100,000 children have lost their Medicaid coverage and that it’s an emergency.

The organization “Healthcare for Missouri” also backs Medicaid expansion, citing a recent report from the Missouri Hospital Association and nine other healthcare organizations.

“This new research (the new report) only adds to the growing body of fact-based evidence that Medicaid expansion will not just save lives but could also save taxpayers money. The recent examples of Arkansas, Indiana, and Ohio show three states that have used Medicaid-derived savings to cut income taxes, increase government efficiency and improve worker productivity,” Healthcare for Missouri campaign spokesman Jack Cardetti’s statement reads, in part.

Medicaid expansion supporters also note that eight rural Missouri hospitals have closed in recent years.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Medicaid Director Todd Richardson, which was recorded on January 15, 2020 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Missouri lawmakers draw attention to feral hog issue during budget hearing (AUDIO)

January 28, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Two southern Missouri state lawmakers are unhappy with a letter the state Department of Agriculture (MDA) director has sent to the U.S. Forest Service, in support of their decision to close the Mark Twain National Forest to feral hog hunting.

State Rep. Robert Ross, R-Yukon, speaks at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on August 22, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The issue came up during Monday afternoon’s Missouri House Budget Committee hearing in Jefferson City, when State Reps. Robert Ross, R-Yukon, and Scott Cupps, R-Shell Knob, mentioned the issue to MDA Director Chris Chinn, during her budget presentation.

Chinn testifies that Oklahoma has gone away from an approach Missouri was using, including hunting.

“One of the things that we learned from them (Oklahoma) is that, that above-all approach that we had been taking, they had tried as well and it didn’t work,” Chinn tells Representative Ross.

“Especially not when your (Missouri) Department of Conservation is actively working against the private landowners,” Ross responded.

The above-all approach that Director Chinn is referring to is a policy that some hunters and ranchers near the Mark Twain National Forest want to continue. It involved trapping by Conservation officials, but also hunting by residents.

Ross, who chairs the House Special Committee on Government Oversight, serves on the Budget Committee. He questions Chinn’s letter.

“That’s what really surprised me is that your agency (MDA) would take a position that was in directly in opposition of working with the private landowners, following along with the misguided approach the Missouri Department of Conservation is now pushing,” Ross tells Director Chinn.

Ross says his Texas County constituents support eradicating feral hogs, by hunting. He and Cupps say residents should be allowed to hunt for the hogs on public land.

The Missouri Department of Conservation says allowing residents to hunt feral hogs has increased the number of the animals, along with their range. Conservation agents say there have been illegal releases by people who wanted to hunt feral hogs for recreation.

The Conservation Department has launched a new plan, which aims to eliminate feral hog damage by trapping and killing the hogs themselves.

Director Chinn says feral hogs are a threat to Missouri livestock. She backs the Forest Service’s decision to close the Mark Twain National Forest to feral hog hunting.

Chinn testifies that MDA’s job, through its Animal Health division, is to protect Missouri from diseases. She says if African swine fever were to hit Missouri through the feral hog population, it would be a threat to livestock producers and agribusiness.

“A lot of these livestock eat the corn and the soybean that are raised on many of these farms, and if we should have a disease threat like that hit Missouri, it’s not only going to hurt the livestock industry, it’s going to hit our row crop as well as our grain elevators,” Chinn testifies.

Chinn emphasizes that what’s been done previously isn’t working.

After several minutes of questioning, State Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Appropriations for Agriculture, asked Ross and Cupps to save the feral hog discussion for another date, when both MDA and the Conservation Department can attend. Kelly wanted Chinn to have time to present her budget.

The issue has been a big one at the Missouri Capitol. Just last week, about 150 southern Missouri hunters and ranchers protested quietly outside the governor’s office, saying the MDC-federal approach won’t work.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Chris Chinn, which was recorded at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on January 27, 2020:

Missouri lawmakers to hear more testimony about county jail reimbursement

August 30, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri corrections officials are scheduled to testify before a legislative committee in Jefferson City in September about county jail reimbursement.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, speaks on the House floor on March 28, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Missouri Public Defender System Director Michael Barrett says the state has budgeted about $43 million this fiscal year to local jails for holding citizens who are awaiting trial.

Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) budget director Trevor Foley is set to testify before the House Budget Committee on September 10 about the county jail reimbursement program and the issue of electronic monitoring of offenders.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, tells Missourinet he also expects sheriffs and county commissioners to be at the hearing, and possibly prosecutors.

Missouri is the only state in the country that reimburses counties for a portion of the defendant’s entire local jail time, while the person’s case goes through the court system.

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections Chairwoman Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, tweeted at Missourinet today that this is an issue that state lawmakers want to continue to explore. Walsh says the Legislature budgeted $1.75 million in the current fiscal year to all Missouri counties with unpaid jail reimbursements.

Walsh says she’s invited county commissioners and sheriffs from her mid-Missouri district to the hearing.