MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
JEFFERSON CITY - Lawmakers averted a budget disaster Friday, at least for now, sending Gov. Bob Holden a budget he said was $167 million out of balance less than an hour before a 6 p.m. deadline.
Holden said it was now up to the General Assembly to find the money to close the gap in the Fiscal Year 2003 budget by passing tax increases and mortgaging part of the state's tobacco settlement.
At noon Friday, there seemed to be little hope that the state's 12 appropriations bills would pass by the constitutionally-prescribed deadline. House Democrats refused to pass the budget, voting instead to send the budget bills back to a House-Senate conference committee -- a move that would have stalled the budget and forced a special session to complete work.
Holden had said Thursday night that he would rather call a special session than accept an unbalanced budget.
But while House members were voting to send the budget back, Lt. Governor Joe Maxwell, Holden Chief of Staff Mike Hartmann, House Budget Committee Chairman Tim Green and various House budget leaders met privately to discuss the situation. The House Democrats announced they had decided to to break with Holden and send him a budget, however unbalanced.
Maxwell said the Democrats decided to pass the budget when the saw they had almost no support from Senate Democrats for their position to force a special legislative session.
Green said it was his decision to go ahead with the budget despite Holden's position. When asked why he went against Holden, Green said, "Why go against him? We all have our own reasons."
The House then passed the dozen appropriations bills, sending them to the Senate, who finished work a few minutes before the deadline.
Rep. Charlie Shields, a top Republican budget negotiator, said he was happy House Democrats decided to move ahead with the budget.
"I think they realized special session was not where we needed to be," Shields said. "We needed to go ahead and pass a balanced budget and go on to other issues next week."
Although lawmakers passed the budget bills before the deadline, a special session is still a possibility. Holden asked lawmakers to pass additional revenue-generating bills in the last week of the session. Holden said he would not sign any of the budget bills until he sees how much money lawmakers provide to pay for it.
"They need to provide me with the revenue next week so that the budget is in balance," Holden said. Lawmakers have yet to pass a bill that would raise $168 million by increasing gambling boat taxes and eliminating some business tax loopholes. Also pending is a proposal to borrow from future payments from the state's tobacco settlement.
Green estimated that the budget passed Friday was closer to $300 million out of balance, and said even if all of the pending revenue bills pass, the budget will still be up to $76 million short.
"If those fail next week, then the governor is going to have to withhold or call us back into special session," Green said. "I don't think it's fair to put the governor on the spot to cut all those programs."
Rep. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, said he doesn't think the Senate will agree to the revenue-generating bills, forcing Holden into a corner.
"I doubt the Senate will agree to raise the amount of revenue to balance the budget," Graham said. "If they don't pass it, I'd imagine that the governor vetoes the whole thing and then calls a special session."