TOWN AND COUNTRY, Mo. – State Representative Sue Allen believes House Budget Chairman Rick Stream and Senate Appropriations Chairman Kurt Schaefer were right to refuse the governor’s fiscally irresponsible revenue projections. She fully endorses the realistic consensus revenue estimate (CRE) agreed to by the House and Senate.
“Demanding a higher consensus revenue estimate is a political ploy to increase funding for programs with money that Missouri does not actually have,” said Allen, R-Town and Country. “I support the agreement reached by Chairman Stream and Chairman Schaefer on this important issue.”
Members from the House and Senate met with the governor’s Office of Budget and Planning along with experts from the University of Missouri Economics Department on Dec. 4 and 5 to work toward a growth estimate for the remainder of the current fiscal year and the upcoming year that starts in July. While members of the governor’s staff initially agreed with the CRE figures discussed at those meetings, the governor’s office has since changed course and made demands that the estimates be increased to levels legislative leaders say cannot be supported by realistic economic projections.
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“As chair of the Appropriations – Health, Mental Health, and Social Services committee, I know that the budget process requires an accurate projection of the state’s revenue,” Allen said. “We rely on the CRE to know how much money is available for programs that serve Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens. This committee will begin its oversight hearings on January 7, before the Governor releases his budget recommendations.”
The House and Senate have agreed to write the state operating budget using the numbers that had been originally agreed to by all parties. They include a 2.0 percent revised CRE for FY14 and a 4.2 percent CRE for FY2015.