Legislative News

July 7, 2009

July 7, 2009

Missouri Budget Project State and Federal Policy Update

July 7, 2009

In This Issue:

I. Update on federal health care reform
II. How Missouri compares to other States on taxes and spending
III. How Governor Nixon balanced the FY2010 budget: Vetoes and Withholds
IV. Federal and State opportunities to enroll eligible children in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program
V. Joint Interim Committee on Oversight of Federal Stimulus and Stabilization Funds holds organizational meeting
VI. Help us keep up the fight!

I. Update on federal health care reform

The members of Congress will return from their recess on July 7. In both the House and the Senate, bills have a three-legged approach to health reform: the development of a health insurance exchange; building on and strengthening Medicaid, and building on private insurance.

Some of the outstanding “big” issues that remain undecided include: ways to contain costs in the health delivery system; whether there will be a public insurance option, whether there will be employer mandates; and ways to adequately finance health care reform.

Tentative time line of expected action

In the Senate
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee and the Senate Finance Committee are expected to “marry” their bills and bring a single bill to the Senate floor by the end of July. A vote is expected in early August.

In the House
A vote on a House bill is expected before the end of July.

The President wants to sign a bill by October 15.

II. How Missouri compares to other States on taxes and spending

The Taxed Enough Already proponents recently held TEA parties in some areas of Missouri to protest the growth of government and spending. Are Missourians over-taxed? Is Missouri’s spending out of control? Because the facts matter, here is the real scoop.

• Missouri ranks 47th lowest in the nation on per capita state government revenue
• When local taxes are included, Missouri ’s rank among the states improves only slightly to 45th lowest in the nation for per capita state and local government revenue
• Missouri ranks 45th lowest for state and local government spending per capita

To find out much more, see our new update, Comparing Missouri’s Tax and Spending with the Nation: Where Missouri Ranks in 2009, at www.mobudget.org.

III. How Governor Nixon balanced the FY2010 budget: Vetoes and Withholds

On June 24th, the Governor announced line item vetoes of slightly more than $105 million from the budget. By vetoing these line items, the funding is removed from the FY 2010 budget. Governor Nixon also withheld approximately $325 million within other line items. If revenue improves during the coming months, some or all of this funding could be restored to the budget.

We do not have detail about the exact impact of all the withholds. In a June 30 memo to his staff, Ron Levy, the Director of the Department of Social Services, stated that his Department will likely be required to withhold $19 million in general revenue, in addition to the Governor’s vetoes. Director Levy said that plans for withholding those funds are being made now.

Details of the Governor’s actions are available in Balancing the Missouri Fiscal Year 2010 Budget: a Summary of Vetoes and Withholds, on the Missouri Budget Project web site, www.mobudget.org.

IV. Federal and State opportunities to enroll eligible children in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program

Federal action
Janet Sebelius, Secretary of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, held a news conference on July 6, 2009 to announce the availability of $40 million in grants to help states enroll eligible children in their Medicaid and CHIP programs. The grants range between $25,000 and $1 million, and are available to states, local governments, not-for profit organizations and coalitions. Applications are available at www.grants.gov.

According to the news conference, a teleconference to provide information about the grants will be held on July 22. Letters of intent are due July 27. Applications are due August 6 (electronic submissions) and August 10 (mailed submissions).

This is a first round of grants. Eventually a total of $100 million in grants will be available to enroll eligible children.

State action
Missouri advocates for children have written a sign-on letter to Governor Nixon, asking him to make a variety of administrative changes that will facilitate the enrollment of eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP (Combined, these two programs are currently called MO HealthNet for Children). The administrative changes can be made without changing state law. The sign-on letter is attached. If your organization is willing to sign the letter, please send an email by July 13 to Jeremy LaFaver at the Partnership for Children, lafaver@pfc.org.

V. Joint Interim Committee on Oversight of Federal Stimulus and Stabilization Funds holds organizational meeting

The Joint Committee held an organizational meeting on June 29, 2009. The purpose of the Joint Committee, as outlined in Senate Concurrent Resolution 27, is to conduct in-depth studies regarding the parameters of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, and analysis of strategies to secure the maximum amount of funds for Missouri and Missourians.

Senator Scott Rupp and Representative Allen Icet were elected co-chairs of the Committee. Its immediate task was to divide responsibility among the House and Senate members to research the 100+ grants that are available. The end product of the research is expected to be a comprehensive list of grant opportunities and time lines for application.

The Committee’s next meeting is tentatively scheduled for sometime the first week of August.

The official web sites of the ARRA include:
www.recovery.gov. and www.grants.gov/applicants/recovery.jsp.

VI. Help us keep up the fight!

If you are able, please help us keep up the fight by making a donation to the Missouri Budget Project. Donations are fully tax deductable and can be made through our secure server online at: http://www.doubleknot.com/Registration/CampaignDetail.asp?ActivityKey=104417&OrgKey=1101 or mailed to MBP, 4130 Lindell Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63108.

Your support is greatly appreciated!

For more information regarding the issues in this update, please contact one of the Missouri Budget Project staff.

Amy Blouin, Executive Director
314.652.1400 (office) 314.518.8867 (cell), ablouin@mobudget.org

Ruth R. Ehresman, Director of Health & Budgetary Policy
314.652.1400 (office) 314 504.3616 (cell), rehresman@mobudget.org

Tom Kruckemeyer, Chief Economist
573.636.2581, tkruckemeyer@mobudget.org

Heather Lasher Todd, Communications Director
314.652.1400 (office), hlashertodd@mobudget.org

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