Republican infighting makes its way into Senate budget process

April 27, 2022

BY WICKER PERLIS

Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — Republican infighting has been one of the key characteristics of the 2022 legislative session. That trend continued Wednesday and Thursday as a Senate committee made changes in the various budget bills that have passed the House.

Rather than conflicts occurring among senators on the chamber’s floor, as was the case during debates over congressional redistricting, the budget process brought Senate leadership in conflict with Republican statewide elected officials and the GOP-controlled House.

Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, targeted Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a fellow Republican who is running to replace Roy Blunt in the U.S. Senate. The House budget had given Schmitt’s office $500,000 more than what Gov. Mike Parson had recommended. In the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, Hough suggested cutting that funding. The committee agreed.

Hough, the committee’s vice chair, said this cut was inspired by Schmitt’s series of lawsuits against school districts across the state, which were an attempt to prevent them from implementing COVID-19 restrictions and safety measures. Columbia Public Schools was one of the districts sued by Schmitt’s office. Like many districts, CPS ended its COVID-19 policies shortly after the lawsuit was filed.

“As our attorney general continues to sue most of the citizens of this state, I don’t know why we’re giving him another half million dollars,” Hough said Wednesday.

The $500,000 would have been used to hire five new attorneys for the office. They would have worked with the state’s solicitor general.

In an interview Thursday, Hough said another factor in the cut was that he had not heard from Schmitt or anyone in his office to explain the increase in funding.

“Generally, when departments are asking for money, they communicate and tell us why,” Hough said. “I haven’t heard anything from the AG’s office at all on this.”

Hough also said he trusts voters to elect school board members who will do what is best for their local communities.

“I’ve always been a proponent of local control, and I think the attorney general is overstepping his bounds on this,” Hough said. “I think the voters are the ultimate control.”

The Springfield senator said he did not consider cutting Schmitt’s office below what Parson had recommended. “I understand that all of our state officials have jobs to do.”

In a news conference Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said he understands why Hough pushed for the cut. Rowden said it is within Schmitt’s rights to sue public entities, and that he didn’t think everything school districts did regarding COVID-19 was perfect. However, he said Schmitt’s motives could be questioned due to his Senate run.

“Would I say that the attorney general went a little out of his way for political purposes? Probably,” Rowden said.

Sen. President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, said Hough’s proposal was clearly a way of expressing dissatisfaction with Schmitt. Schatz is also seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Another change from the House budget came from the Appropriations Committee chair, Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby. House Republicans had included wording that prohibited state funds from going to those who host events that are open to the public but require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Hegeman removed that provision unceremoniously.

“I would take a Senate position of ‘nope,’” Hegeman said.

The budget bills will come before the full Senate next week, Schatz said. After passage, any differences between the Senate and House versions will be reconciled in a conference committee made up of members of both chambers. The bills must be on the governor’s desk by May 6. The new budget takes effect July 1.