By Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio
Jefferson City, Mo. – Senate budget writers are going through the state budget bills passed last week by the Missouri House and making even more cuts to the nearly $24 billion spending plan submitted by Governor Jay Nixon.
House members slashed $200 million from the budget before passing it last week. Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee so far have proposed additional cuts to life sciences research and Access Missouri scholarships.
The committee has also recommended cutting nearly half the state funding for the Parents As Teachers program, and the entire $3 million state allotment for the arts.
Committee chairman Robert Mayer (R, Dexter) says state funding for the Tour of Missouri professional bicycle race is on the table as well.
"We just looked at that today, and that funding remains in that line item...(but) I believe we left that line item open for further discussion," Mayer said.
State Senator Joan Bray (D, St. Louis) also sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee. She says lawmakers should be looking for ways to increase revenue.
"I'm going to be real disappointed if we make some...pretty dramatic cuts and there's no political will to increase revenues in ways that would not be tax increases, because everybody seems to abhor that...I think at some point we're going to have to face that," Bray said.
Bray is sponsoring legislation that would mandate collection of sales tax revenues generated by purchases made online, over the phone and through catalogs.
By state law, House and Senate members must pass the budget one week before the session ends, making this year's deadline May 7th.