By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
State budget work is always difficult in Jefferson City, but the coronavirus outbreak makes it doubly difficult.
State Sen. Dan Hegeman of Cosby chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and says state lawmakers will have to factor in how COVID-19 is affecting the state.
“From a budget standpoint, as a whole, we need to take into consideration all the costs of the coronavirus that’s coming down the path and its impact on the economy,” Cosby tells St. Joseph Post.
A one-two punch, in effect. It could cost the state plenty to fight a potential outbreak in Missouri and COVID-19 has already shaken the state economy, reducing tax revenue, perhaps drastically.
The Missouri House postponed a scheduled vote on the nearly $31 billion state budget submitted by Gov. Mike Parson in order to get a better handle on how the drop in the economy created by the coronavirus will impact state revenue.
The House must pass its version before sending it on to the Senate, which is out at least until next week.
Hegeman says the Senate is prepared to get a state budget approved by the May 8th deadline.
“We will get that done and, like I said, hopefully a few other bills,” Hegeman says. “After that, we’ll see where we are. I would love to see us be able to have a full, complete session, but we need to be wise and cautious as well.”
Hegeman doesn’t believe the state will have to tap the Rainy Day Fund to fund the response to the crisis. State officials expect the federal government to offset most, if not all, of the COVID-19 response.
Gov. Parson says much has to re-assessed as legislators work on the budget.
“But this is a lot more than COVID-19,” Parson tells Capitol reporters. “This is thousands of people losing their jobs. This is businesses closing down. There are a lot of things that are going to be at stake. So, for me as governor, I want it to be about as wide open as we can make it to deal with COVID-19.”