A Republican state lawmaker from Columbia was elevated to a higher placement in one of the General Assembly’s budget-writing committees.
Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, was appointed as the vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The position became vacant after the previous occupant – Sen. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter – was elevated to chairman after Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, resigned to focus on a congressional run.
The committee is one of the more important ones in the General Assembly, as members are responsible for crafting the Senate’s position on the state budget. As vice chairman of the committee, Schaefer will be on conferences to reconcile budgetary differences between the House and the Senate.
But even though that position may allow Schaefer to protect items related to the University of Missouri and Columbia, he added that it also means more responsibility in dealing with a tough revenue situation.
“It’s one of those caveats of be careful what you wish for,” Schaefer said. “Obviously, it’s much more difficult to be involved in the appropriations process when there is less to appropriate. But that being said, it makes the task all that more serious. And we have to be that much more careful in what we do allocate. And so, it’s a challenging task. But I look forward to the challenge.”
One university-related issue in which Schaefer will be involved is a deal announced by Gov. Jay Nixon that would freeze tuition in exchange for a roughly 5 percent funding cut to four-year colleges and universities. Asked about the plan, Schaefer said the $42 million reduction was the maximum cut that could be made without running afoul of regulations emanating from the federal stimulus bill.
“While cuts need to be made, that’s certainly in my opinion a devastating blow to higher ed,” Schaefer said. “How necessary it is is another issue. We don’t even have a consensus revenue estimate yet. So while we know we’re down, we don’t know how much we’re down. It’s not likely the General Assembly would cut beyond what the governor is cutting anyway.”
Schaefer said that he still plans on dealing with non-budgetary matters, including altering the state’s DWI, health care and energy laws.
In another committee move, Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, will no longer be the ranking member of the House Budget Committee. He agreed to step down from the position after being appointed to the House Judiciary Committee.
Kelly said that the appointment of Rep. Sara Lampe, D-Springfield, to the ranking member position was “somewhat liberating, as it would allow him more room to maneuver on budgetary issues.
But Kelly said House Minority Leader Paul LeVota, D-Independence, would still recommend that he be a part of the budgetary conference committees. That could mean two lawmakers from Columbia could involved in hammering out the final details of the state’s budget.
“I’m very pleased that Kurt was able to get that done,” Kelly said. “First of all, it’ll mean he’ll be on the conferences… Second, he’ll be in a position to participate in this discussion about the budget.”
Tags: budget, chris kelly, kurt schaefer, missouri house, missouri senate, ron richardCategories: Business.
