House Sends FY 2017 State Operating Budget to the Senate

The members of the Missouri House of Representatives spent all day Tuesday and then several more hours Thursday working on the Fiscal Year 2017 state operating budget. The 13 appropriations bills that make up the state spending plan are now on their way to the Senate for consideration.

During discussion on the House floor, the approximately $27.3 billion spending plan saw House members offer and adopt several amendments to move funding from one program to another.

Changes to the budget on the floor must either be revenue neutral or revenue positive. In effect, if a member wants to increase funding in one area of the budget, he or she must first reduce corresponding funds in another area. With this, the size of the budget cannot grow on the House floor.
 
Some of the major changes made to the budget on Tuesday include:

·         A $1 million increase to the Foundation Formula that provides state funding for K-12 public schools. The money was moved from the Facilities Management Reserve Fund.

·         An additional $55,000 for the Foundation Formula that comes from a cut to the Missouri Department of Social Services. House members made a cut of $379,000 to ensure no state dollars are used for nonemergency abortions. The majority of the funds are federal, but the $55,000 in state funds were reallocated to education.

·         A $214,000 increase to the Parents as Teachers program. The money was cut from the budget for the governor’s office.

·         An additional $50,000 to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that is designed to increase interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers among middle school and early high school students. The money was moved from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

·         A funding increase of $1 million for agricultural research at Lincoln University in Jefferson City. The funds, which were taken from the University of Missouri – Columbia campus, will allow Lincoln to receive matching federal land grant funding.

·         $500,000 for the creation of an Urban Education Institute at Harris-Stowe State University. The money was moved from the funding increase for the state’s institutions of higher education.

·         $750,000 for the Brain Injury Waiver to draw down federal funds to help provide care to Missourians with brain injuries who are currently on a waiting list. The money was moved from funds allocated for the Missouri Technology Corporation.

·         $300,000 in funding for the Advanced Manufacturing Training Center to offer shop and lab training and classroom instructional opportunities to high school graduates and dislocated workers. The money was moved from funding for the Department of Natural Resources.

Highlights of the Fiscal Year 2017 state operating budget as it moves to the Senate:

·         $70.3 million increase for the Foundation Formula, which funds K-12 public schools

·         $9.4 million increase in performance funding for Missouri colleges and universities

·         $5 million increase for K-12 transportation

·         $4 million increase for the Access Missouri need-based scholarship program.

·         $2.5 million increase for the A+ Scholarship program

·         $500,000 increase for the Bright Flight scholarship program

·         $1.3 million for 2015’s Dairy Revitalization Act

$2 million increase for river ports$1.25 million increase for business startups through the Missouri Technology Corporation$30 million to revive the state cost-share program to fund transportation projects Increase Medicaid provider rates by three percent $500,000 increase for the Alternatives to Abortion programTwo percent pay increase for state employees