Budget Negotiations Stall

Lawmakers during budget negotiations. L to R: Representative Cecil Brown (D-Jackson), Representative Johnny Stringer (D-Montrose) and Senator Alan Nunnelee (R-Tupelo)

Budget negotiations in the Mississippi House and Senate have seemingly sputtered to a stop, and there isn’t much time to get the process restarted. MPB’s Stephen Koranda has more.

Lawmakers are at odds over 60 million dollars the Senate proposal would save for the 2011 fiscal year, to help pay for Medicaid. House budget negotiator Cecil Brown of Jackson believes saving that money for the future violates federal stimulus package rules. He also says taking that money from the budget will mean cuts to education and other state programs.

“Does anyone really want to lay off highway patrolman? You want to cut mental health, lay off 500 employees from (the Department of) Mental Health? We want to cut the Department of health when people are talking about a swine flu epidemic? And here we’re going to cut the Department of Health? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Senate Appropriations Chairman Alan Nunnelee of Tupelo says after 2010, federal stimulus dollars for Medicaid will run out, leaving the state responsible for an extra 30 million dollars a month. In a meeting yesterday, he said that’s what the state needs to plan for.

“If we don’t look at 2011 and 2012, we’re going to be here in the 2011 legislative session, no rainy day fund, no other savings accounts and we’re going to have bills that are so high we can’t pay them.”

The budget situation is made worse by an existing 90 million dollar deficit in the Medicaid program, which some lawmakers are hoping to fill with a hospital tax.