House committee begins budget work

Today the committee met to take recommendations from its appropriations subcommittees – one of the preliminary steps in crafting the state spending plan that will take effect July 1. Chairman Rick Stream, R-Kirkwood, said he expects the often lengthy mark-up meetings, where the bills will be honed before going to the full chamber, to start in two weeks.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” said Rep. Sue Allen, a Republican from Town and Country who heads the subcommittee over social services spending. “This is probably not the most perfect document but this is what we’re starting with.”

After the House passes the bills, the Senate will get its say. The two chambers will then have to work out the differences. The Legislature has until May 10 to complete the whole process.

The recommendations from the subcommittees today include 2 percent pay raises for state employees, as proposed by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

The budget proposals do not include expansion of the state’s Medicaid program through the federal Affordable Care Act, which added $46 million to Nixon’s budget proposal for other services.

“It’s not easy to make these cuts,” said Rep. Marsha Haefner, a Republican from Oakville who heads the subcommittee on public safety spending.

Haefner said she will be meeting with public safety officials in the coming weeks to see if any changes will be needed if the federal sequestration cuts happen.

“The effects are unknown at this point,” she said.