Lawmakers are facing fewer resources and higher bills this year as they fight for funds in the 2008 budget session. Education, Medicaid and coastal rebuilding are at the top of the list. Gov. Haley Barbour said legislators will have a tough budget this year.
“The revenue estimating committee only increased estimates by a little over two percent for the next fiscal year,” Barbour said in a press release. “That estimate only brings in around $148 million of new money.”
In his State of the State address Monday, Barbour said he wants lawmakers to cut their budgets as much as possible so that new debt will not pile up.
“This will require considerable budget discipline. It means we will have to tell some people no,” Barbour said, according to an article in the Sun Herald, “It means good things won’t get funded or won’t get funded at as high a level as some would like.”
State Rep. Cecil Brown (D-Jackson) said, “We have more money available than we had last year, but we had substantial shortfalls in budget areas this year.”
Brown said this year will host a fight for the education budget, but he thinks there will be a fight across the board.
The Mississippi Adequate Education Plan, a program that helps local school districts, is requesting $11 million.
State Rep. Gary Chism (R-Columbus) said lawmakers intend to meet that budget request and fully fund the program.
Brown said higher education may fare better with money than last year, but it won’t be as much as projected.
Sen. Gary Jackson (D-Kilmichael), a Mississippi State University graduate, said lawmakers are going to fight their hardest to fund higher education as it should be funded.
“Colleges have taken some licks over the years, and we’re going to do all we can for them,” he said.
Barbour said he remains committed to higher education and that the state must remain competitive in the global marketplace, according to the release.
Chism said the projected deficit for Medicaid is $86 million.
Medicaid has put a strain on the budget this year with the cost of care increasing yearly and the number of recipients continuing to rise. Brown said the federal government has changed regulations and some of the money the state was able to use last year is no longer there.
“We’re looking at using the rainy day fund, but even with that there may not be enough money to do what we need to do,” he said.
Another issue on the table in Jackson is Hurricane Katrina recovery on the Coast.
Some homebuilders are still not able to rebuild because the cost of insurance is more than the cost of the mortgage, Brown said.
Katrina funds that were available last year will not be available this year, and there is the possibility of lawmakers cutting services to the Coast, he said.
Lawmakers are unsure yet as to what services will be cut because of decreased funding, Brown said.
He said he believes the only tax increase will be a tobacco tax increase.
Chism said lawmakers are also responsible for the corrections deficit. It costs $20,000 per day to house one inmate and the deficit keeps rising yearly, he said.
He said sales tax has been inflated by federal funding that came from the rebuilding of the Coast, but those funds were one-time additions. Now lawmakers are working with a budget more reflective of the state’s economy.
Jackson indicated the surge of money was from sales tax revenue of durable goods and that surge is over.
Chism said, “Just to handle the deficits and fully fund MAEP, I think it’s going to about soak up any additional revenue we’re going to have this year.”
Barbour said in the release, “Agencies have asked for almost a billion dollars … so some tough decisions will have to be made to fund priorities while making sure services continue.