By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
House Speaker Ron Richard said Friday he is not interested in running for governor in either of the next two elections, and that he supports Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder’s campaign. Kinder already has indicated he will run on the Republican ticket for Missouri governor in 2012.
Richard, R-Joplin, plans to seek the 32nd District senate seat now held by Gary Nodler, who is term limited, but Richard acknowledged that, at a political event a week ago, he said he “would like to be on the short list” of candidates considered for governor in 2016.
Richard has since backed away from that.
“It’s tough for anybody from this part of the state to get that kind of recognition, and that’s a long way away,” he said Friday.
Cutting budget
More immediately, Richard and other legislators have their work cut out for them, crafting a 2011 state budget when they return from spring break on March 15. Richard said a meeting among House and Senate members with budget responsibilities is set for the first day back.
Richard said significant cuts will be needed in budget plans posed earlier, since estimates of state revenues are down significantly for January and February. The additional losses were the subject of meetings last week among legislative leaders and Gov. Jay Nixon.
House Budget Committee Chairman Allen Icet recently released a $23.8 billion spending plan for the 2011 budget year, but acknowledged that it likely will have to be trimmed.
His proposed budget already is $53 million smaller than the one outlined by Nixon in January. Icet’s version includes the full $106 million increase due to elementary and secondary schools next year, whereas Nixon proposed giving schools just an $18 million bump.
Republican Senate leaders had said previously that they, too, wanted to fund the full increase called for under the state’s K-12 funding formula, even if it meant making additional cuts elsewhere.
But earlier this week, Nixon met privately with House and Senate members to warn them that state tax revenues are falling short of expectations and that his original budget plan no longer was feasible. On Saturday, Nixon said about $500 million will need to be trimmed from his Missouri budget proposal for next year.
Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields said full funding for schools is now doubtful.
“I’m not sure that’s in the realm of possibility, given the notion now that we’re probably looking at $400 million or $500 million below where we thought we were going to be,” said Shields, R-St. Joseph.
He said the revenue shortfall also could cause lawmakers to rethink whether they can fulfill a deal between Nixon and Missouri colleges and universities, which agreed to hold tuition flat this fall in exchange for modest state budget cuts.
Icet said his budget plan keeps the tuition-funding deal in place.
Richard also said Friday that House Republicans would not support a tax hike to help supplement the state’s shrinking revenues. In fact, he favors the opposite.
“We’d like to do a small tax cut — something to help businesses in this tough economy,” he said, in discussing a wide range of issues on the table in the current session.
Richard also said Missouri’s budget is in far better shape than many other states.
“We’ve kept our AAA bond rating,” he said.
Other issues
Richard also said he would have no objection to surface water testing responsibilities being handled differently, in the wake of a shakeup at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources after bacteria problems at the Lake of the Ozarks were not promptly reported last summer.
“I think the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) could take over; it’s mostly federal regulations being enforced,” he said.
He said that might be an element in some of the departmental mergers and cutbacks that will be needed to balance the budget, but said those who have an impact on watersheds through improper waste disposal or handling must also take responsibility.
“And I think counties need to step up and do their part, including planning and zoning,” he said.
Richard also praised action on legislation that would require insurance coverage for diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, and also praised the work of a House committee chaired by state Rep. Kevin Wilson, R-Neosho, on an ethics reform bill.
The special bipartisan committee named by Richard at the start of the session released a bill last week that sets limits on campaign contributions, imposes a waiting period before lawmakers can become lobbyists and bars lawmakers from being paid political consultants.
The measure has elements similar to a bill passed in the Missouri Senate that would increase the authority of the Missouri ethics commission and prohibit committee-to-committee campaign contributions.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Budget buster
The proposed House budget includes an assumption that Missouri will receive $300 million of federal Medicaid payments that have not yet been approved by Congress. Republicans previously criticized Gov. Jay Nixon for assuming that $300 million as part of his budget. But Nixon has now backed off that position and told lawmakers that it might be best to draft a 2011 budget without counting on that money.
