MO House of Representatives’ budget committee chairman addresses Chamber of Commerce

Missouri’s House of Representative budget committee chairman, Scott Fitzpatrick, is speaking with the Columbia Chamber of Commerce about the Fiscal Year 2019 budget preparations.

FY ’19 will begin July 1, 2018 and end June 30, 2019. State agency budget requests are due in October of each year. The governor reviews the requests and presents the executive budget recommendations to the General Assembly in January 2018.

In the FY ’18 budget, lawmakers focused on key issues they may continue to focus on this year.

Last year, the state maintained the funding to classrooms, providing $3.3 billion for the school foundation formula.

Public Safety was given $1 million, directed at addressing the backlog of cases at the state’s crime lab. Last week, Attorney General Josh Hawley initiated an audit looking into the reported backlog of unprocessed rape kits across the state.

Gov. Eric Greitens also budgeted $33 million for support of Missourians with developmental disabilities. It’s too early to tell if lawmakers will be filing any bills that could put additional safeguards in place after Carl DeBrodie, a Fulton man living an assisted living facility, was found encased in concrete in April.