withhold Archives - Missourinet

Budget restrictions mean no raise for transportation employees, either

July 11, 2014 By Mike Lear

Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission member Joe Carmichael (courtesy; Missouri Department of Transportation)

Transportation Department employees, like other state employees, will not be getting a raise because of actions taken by Governor Jay Nixon (D) with the budget.

One of the items Governor Nixon has put a halt on funding in the new budget is a one-percent, across-the-board raise in pay for state employees.

The Transportation Commission can act independently of that budget, but Commissioner Joe Carmichael says it follows what other state agencies do, so a matching raise for transportation employees is also on hold.

“There was also a $25 a month employee deferred comp match, and that is part of the withholding as well,” says Carmichael. “Again, we’ll follow suit, and those are very difficult things.”

Carmichael expresses optimism the restriction will not be permanent.

“We expect once state revenues improve and the state budget becomes more certain that those will be lifted,” says Carmichael. “That’s certainly our hope and, I think, it’s a reasonable expectation.”

Carmichael also noted the restriction of $1-million for the state transit assistance program and $3-million for capital improvements to ports.

Nixon says the legislature’s budget was more than 780-million dollars out-of-balance. Lawmakers say he is using inflated and inaccurate numbers.

Legislative budget chairs slam Gov. Nixon for budget vetoes and restrictions (AUDIO)

June 25, 2014 By Mike Lear

Republican budget leaders are slamming Governor Jay Nixon (D) for the actions he has taken with the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. They say he is using “inflated” figures to estimate the impact of tax break bills passed on the final day of the session, and playing politics with the state’s children and the disabled in an attempt to force lawmakers not to override his vetoes of those bills.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) and House Budget Committee Chairman Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood) co-chair the budget conference committee. (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Nixon announced on Tuesday vetoes totaling $144.6-million and restrictions of $641.6-million from the state budget. Coupled with federal and other dollars that results in a reduction of $1.12-billion dollars for state programs, services and employees.

Nixon says the legislature sent him a budget that was more than $786-million out of balance. He says that’s in part because the legislature didn’t account in its budget for the impact of those 10 tax break bills, which he says could rise to $425-million in lost state revenue.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) and House Budget Committee Chairman Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood) say those bills were paid for in the general assembly’s budget proposal, and say Nixon has overplayed the effect those bills will have on state revenue.

“We looked at all the fiscal notes (on those bills) and (Nixon) took the high position on all those fiscal notes,” says Stream, “so we disagree with him on those estimates.”

Nixon’s is restricting proposed increases of more than $100-million for K-12 public schools and $43-million for colleges and universities, and says he could release those funds if the legislature doesn’t overturn his vetoes of those ten bills.

“He inflates the numbers,” says Schaefer of Nixon’s assessment of those bills, “to really hold school kids, kids with autism, mental health services, other things, hostage in order for Missourians to not get a tax break.”

Both budget directors say withholds have been anticipated because state tax revenues are behind last year’s, and behind the projections both Nixon and the legislature used in proposing the new budget.

“We budgeted to a number that we thought we were going to grow to and it just didn’t happen in the six months that we’ve had to look at it,” says Stream.

Schaefer says Nixon has exacerbated the revenue shortage by not having a plan for economic development.

“The only economic development plan this governor has had for six years is expand welfare and take Obama dollars,” says Schaefer.

AUDIO: Schaefer criticizes Gov. Nixon, accusing him of having no plan for economic development

Nixon says the legislature’s inaction on expansion of Medicaid eligibility, that could draw more federal dollars, is making the state’s economic situation worse.

Nixon also blames the need for his actions in part on the legislature basing its budget on the passage of tax amnesty legislation. Schaefer says the budget didn’t assume the passage of that legislation, which has been offered but hasn’t achieved passage for several sessions.

House proposes change to budget restriction process in Constitution

February 20, 2014 By Mike Lear

The state House has passed measure that would ask voters to change Missouri’s Constitution regarding the powers of a governor to withhold money in the state budget.

If approved by voters the proposal would have a governor issue a proclamation to the legislature any time he or she would reduce an appropriation of money because actual revenues are less than the revenue estimates on which that appropriation was based. That reduction could then be reconsidered by the General Assembly any time it is in session.

The resolution, sponsored by Representative Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff), would also bar governors from reducing an appropriation that pays public debt and from basing part of their budget proposals on legislation proposed to the General Assembly but not passed.

It next goes to the state Senate for consideration.

The legislation is HJR 72.

Public defenders warn of hiring freeze, furloughs

October 24, 2013 By Mike Lear

The state could be in danger of not being able to provide counsel for individuals accused of crimes in all cases; a right guaranteed to all individuals by the U.S. Constitution.

Governor Jay Nixon has withheld $1.4 million from the state’s public defender system. The system has sent a letter to the state’s judges telling them that the system will institute a hiring freeze November 1 and furloughs could be necessary in January if money is not released.

Division Director Joel Elmer says that means some vacancies will remain open indefinitely.

“It’s a very serious situation. It’s not good for our employees, it’s not good for our clients and it won’t be good for victims and local county jails that will have folks waiting in jail longer.”

Given enough delays some cases could be dismissed, but Elmer says he doesn’t think the situation will rise to that level.

Governor Nixon says withholds have been made across many agencies, and the public defender system will be treated like any other agency or department that has had money withheld. “We’re very early in the fiscal year. The fiscal year only starts July 1. It’s still October … As revenues become available we’ll look at releasing restrictions as the dollars become available.”

However Elmer says the system has been told to proceed as though it will not receive that money.

“We haven’t been told whether or when to expect that we’ll get (that money released) but to assume for planning purposes that we won’t have the money available.”

Elmer says he thinks the Governor is just trying to manage the state budget to the best of his ability. “We understand that. Unfortunately we don’t have fat in our budget and have to find some way to make the money up.”

The public defender system has said for years that it is overburdened with too many cases for its number of defenders. Elmer says this is just another hurdle.

“Matching our resources with our cases continues to be a struggle. We continue to need more resources which makes it all the more difficult to find any room to trim and to make up this withhold.”

Lawmakers want voters to consider reigning in governors’ withhold powers

September 12, 2013 By Mike Lear

Two state lawmakers want to ask voters whether the power of governors to withhold money should be changed. Representative Todd Richardson (R-Poplar Bluff) says questions regarding the limit of that power have remained unanswered for too long.

Representative Todd Richardson (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

“Everybody, I think, agrees that the Governor needs the ability to withhold funds when there is an actual decline in state revenue and an actual downturn in the economy, but that needs to be the extent of it.”

Richardson accuses Governor Jay Nixon of making politically motivated withholds to influence the actions of the legislature. He cites $400-million withheld in June pending the fate of Nixon’s veto of a tax cut bill, HB 253. That veto was not overturned during the veto session Wednesday, then yesterday the Governor released about $215-million of that money.

“There was absolutely no financial reason for the Governor to put every school district in the state in the middle of the discussion of HB 253. Every higher education institution, every nursing home, every home health agency … all of those groups, and others, were put into the middle of a political fight purely for political purposes.”

Richardson plans to propose a constitutional amendment in the 2014 legislative session that would clarify the definition of a governor’s withholding authority. Senator Ryan Silvey (R-Kansas City) will offer a similar proposal in that chamber.

The state Supreme Court heard arguments earlier this year by lawyers for State Auditor Tom Schweich (R), who sued Nixon for withholding funds in the fiscal year 2012 budget. The Court has not handed down a decision in that case.

State Budget Director explains releases and continued withholds

September 12, 2013 By Mike Lear

Governor Jay Nixon has released $215-million dollars out of $400-million he withheld pending the fate of his veto of a tax cut bill. The rest is being held onto while his Budget Director considers the impacts of several issues.

State Budget Director Linda Luebbering

The largest amounts of money released are $66.4 million for K-12 education, $45.7-million for Medicaid provider rate increases, $33.7-million for higher education and $23.1-million for the Department of Mental Health.

Despite this release of money for education, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says the foundation formula remains about $600-million below its target funding level.

Budget Director Linda Luebbering says there is now some uncertainty as to how much money Missouri will receive from the tobacco settlement this year. That issue was just raised yesterday by the Attorney General’s Office.

A 3-judge arbitration panel arbitration panel has ruled in favor of tobacco companies in claims that Missouri and five other states failed to diligently enforce state tobacco laws in 2003. That makes those companies eligible for a refund under the terms of the 1998 settlement.

“We were assuming we would have $130-million from the tobacco settlement for the current year, so the impact could be anywhere from zero to $130-million on the current budget.”

It is not known how much might be lost in the current budget, or when.

“We were only counting on $130-million so if it’s more than that it would have to be a loss in a future year, basically. It could be higher but for the current fiscal year the budget impact is $130-million. The way they do it, we don’t actually cut them a check. They just don’t send us new money, so it’s an offset.”

Other issues are related to legislation that either passed, or didn’t.

The budget drafters assumed nearly $52-million dollars with the passage of a tax amnesty bill and about $60-million related to comprehensive tax credit reform. Neither of those passed.

Those issues combined with the possible impact of the tobacco settlement ruling could add up to $217-million dollars in the Fiscal Year 2014 budget.

The legislature did pass a bill that offers a new way to corporations to claim taxes, and Luebbering says the administration believes that will have a negative impact on revenue at least in the short run.

“Revenue’s best estimate right now is around $29-million. How accurate that is and how much of that would occur in the current fiscal year, we’re still working through.”

The $185-million still being withheld is tied to capital improvement projects, most of those found in a supplemental budget bill, HB 19. Those amounts still being withheld include $60-million of $70-million appropriated for facilities maintenance and repair, $46.5-million of $50-million for renovations at the State Capital, $38-million dollars for a new Department of Transportation building on the site of the decommissioned Missouri State Penitentiary, $17.5-million of $20-million for State Parks, $11-million of $13-million for the design of a replacement for the Fulton State Mental Hospital.

The Governor is also withholding $1-million dollars to rebuild the Pike-Lincoln Technical Center. He had vetoed that line of the supplemental budget bill but the legislature overturned that veto yesterday.