JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Republicans on Monday lined up against Gov. Jay Nixon, as the Democrat prepared to lay out his case for a special session of the Missouri General Assembly to approve supplemental funding to cover the state’s response to unrest in Ferguson.
(UPDATE: Citing Republican numbers, Nixon has cancelled his call.)
Nixon told legislative leaders on Friday evening that the state had blown through $7.4 million he believes to be available for emergency response, and that if they do not act by Dec. 15, the state may not be able to meet payroll for the members of the Missouri National Guard and Highway Patrol that worked overtime in Ferguson.
Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a Republican from Columbia who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, penned a letter to lawmakers on Sunday in which he claimed the Guard and Patrol are far from broke.
“While we don’t know what the Governor is requesting in additional funding for the Patrol, this is a very large amount still available,” Schaefer wrote. “There appears to be substantial funds still available to the Governor for this purpose absent calling the Legislature back into special session for the sole purpose of appropriating more money for addressing the issues in Ferguson.”
A look at the numbers
| Section | Description | Budgeted | Spent by Nov. 29 | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.09 | Highway Patrol enforcement total | $83,961,717.00 | $32,069,258.00 | $51,892,459.00 |
| 8.29 | Matching funds for emergencies | $3,455,010.00 | $268,963.00 | $3,186,047.00 |
| 8.29 | Agency during a declared emergency | $12,543,999.00 | $861,269.00 | $11,682,730.00 |
| 12.01 | National Guard emergency expenses | $4,000,001.00 | $762,757.00 | $3,237,244.00 |
Nixon’s concern has to do with two budget line items. As Schaefer notes, Sections 8.290 (in House Bill 2008) and 12.010 (in House bill 2012) are appropriations for emergencies. House Bill 2008 includes $3.45 million to the Missouri Department of Public Safety (the Highway Patrol), while House Bill 2012 includes $4 million for Missouri National Guard.
Nixon said on Saturday that those funds could be depleted by Dec. 15, but Schaefer said as of now, they have hefty balances. According to Schaefer’s analysis, as of Saturday, the Public Safety department had spent just over $268,900, while the Guard had spent $762,700. If that’s true, that leaves $6.4 million of the $7.4 million in question still available.
Nixon’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Monday. Over the weekend, they declined multiple requests for a detailed explanation of how much money they are actually seeking in a supplemental bill.
Aside from those two line items, Schaefer also believes money is available in other sections of the budget — including the Highway Patrol’s enforcement funding.
“With over $6.3 million on hand from the lines he’s been using, substantial funds available in the other lines he could use, and the fact that he only has to go about 40 more days before we could pass a supplemental budget early in the regular session, calling us back into special session appears to be unnecessary,” Schaefer wrote.
(MORE: Nixon says the funding problem is rooted in Legislature’s new budget procedure.)
Nixon has yet to officially call lawmakers back to Jefferson City, but his call could come as soon as this week. If they do return, legislative leaders plan to put on trial Nixon’s handling of the unrest following a grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson – a white Ferguson cop who fatally shot Michael Brown, a young black man.
In a statement Monday, the legislature’s four Republican leaders said they have asked the Joint Committee on Government Accountability to investigate the governor’s actions, and said the committee could hold its first hearing “in the coming days.”