General Assembly passes 2017 budget

The Missouri Legislature gave final approval to the Fiscal Year 2017 budget on Thursday. The state operating plan totals $27.2 billion. This figure is 1% less than what the governor put forth and reflects the General Assembly’s diligence to ensure a sensible and balanced budget.

The passage of a balanced budget is the only constitutional duty the legislature is obligated to fulfill each session and it’s also one of the most difficult. The way revenue is distributed is a direct reflection of our priorities as a state and as legislators.

As always, there are parts of the budget I’m pleased with, such as increasing education funding by $70 million. However, there are significant portions of the budget that continue to give me concern.

This year, legislators were once again faced with the out-sized growth of the state’s Medicaid program. The department requested a 26% revenue increase, or almost all of the general revenue growth from the total year, close to $400 million. The number is unrealistic, and this single program continues to be fiscally unsustainable.

All total, we will spend $12.4 billion on mental health, health and social services in this year’s budget, or just over 45% of the entire spending plan.

There are programs in those budget items that I support, but the overall growth of existing social services spending continues to severely limit the ability of the General Assembly to address other critical priorities, such as fully funding our education formula or addressing infrastructure needs.

The budget bills are now on the governor’s desk, well ahead of the constitutional deadline of May 6. The early budget will force the governor to take action on the bills, allowing the Legislature the chance to possibly override any vetoes before the end of the regular legislative session.