FY2012 Budget Settled

Governor Nixon has now approved Missouri’s FY 2012 budget, with a reduction of an additional $172 million from the budget passed last month by  the General Assembly.  A summary of the major programs affected follows.

(Excerpted from the MO Budget Project :

Areas Where Funding Was Kept at FY 2011 Level

• The Foundation Formula, which funds K-12 schools, received flat funding for the second year in a row (Funding is now more than $200 million below the amount required in law)
• Area Agencies on Aging (Governor withheld a $900,000 increase made by legislature)
• Domestic Violence grants (Governor withheld a $700,000 increase made by legislature)
• Crisis Care services (Governor withheld a $800,000 increase made by legislature)
• Family Reunification contract (Governor withheld a $1.6 million increase made by legislature)
• Child care subsidies (Funded at FY 2011 level by the legislature)
• Judiciary (Governor withheld a $6 million increase made by legislature)
• MOREnet (Governor withheld $50,000, eliminating all funding)
• Office of Child Advocate (Governor withheld a $100,000 increase made by legislature)
• Mediation for child support cases (Governor withheld a $100,000 increase made by legislature)
• “Expense and equipment,” professional development, and travel costs were reduced, including a 10 percent reduction for in-state travel costs for state employees, mileage reimbursement reduction to 37 cents per mile and out of state travel costs reduced by 20 percent.

Areas Where Funding Was Increased over FY 2011 Level

• School bus transportation (Total funding of $99.8 million, an increase of 21 percent after the
  Governor’s restriction of $8 million)
• Parents as Teachers (Total funding of $14 million, an increase of $1 million after following a
  $2.05 million restriction)
• Bright Flight scholarship (Total funding of $12.3 million, an increase of $1 million after a $2.0
  million restriction)
• Access Missouri Scholarship (Total funding of $16.9 million, an increase of $1 million after a
  $1.0 million withhold)
• Pharmacy program partnership between Missouri State University and UMKC (This new
  program received funding of $2 million)
• Animal Care Facilities Act (This new legislation received $1.1 million for implementation)
  Partial restoration of cuts for providers of services to individuals with a developmental disability
  (Total funding of $172.7 million, an increase of $3.2 million)

Areas Where Funding Was Decreased from FY 2011 Level

• Four year higher education institutions (The Governor withheld $14.9 million, resulting in total funding of $641 million, an average decrease of 7 percent for each institution)
• Community colleges (The Governor withheld $1.9 million, resulting in total funding of $127.6 million, an average decrease of 7 percent)
• Area Health Education Centers (The Governor’s withhold of $400,000 results in the elimination of all funding)
• Eliminated funding for the arts, public TV and radio (cut made by legislature)
• General Assembly (The Governor withheld $800,000 resulting in total funding of $31.8 million, a decrease of 4.6 percent)
• Fifty percent cut to Missouri Housing Development Corporation Housing Assistance (cut made by legislature, resulting in total funding of $2.25 million).

Category: Legislative Action