Stl Today

A plan to begin chipping away at unwieldy public defender caseloads was put on hold Wednesday after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, slashed more than $115 million from the state budget.

With state revenues growing slower than expected, the governor cut or removed funding for 131 programs out of the state’s recently adopted $27 billion spending blueprint, including some additional money for the public defenders, a GOP-led effort to study the University of Missouri’s operations and an audit of the St. Louis Regional Convention & Sports Complex Authority.

Nixon cautioned that further restrictions would be necessary if the Legislature overrides his vetoes of three tax breaks, which could reduce revenue by more than $60 million annually. By contrast, if revenue grows more quickly than expected, he could restore the cuts.

“In order to protect our shared priorities like public education, college affordability and mental health, a number of new and expanded programs will have to be pared back or put on hold,” Nixon said.

Added money for public defenders was among the larger cuts announced in a news conference in his Capitol office. Lawmakers had inserted $4.5 million in the budget as a way to hire additional public defenders and pay for outside contractors to help reduce the number of cases attorneys handle. Nixon, a former attorney general, reduced the increase to $1 million.

“We’re spending more money on the public defenders than when I was elected,” said Nixon, who took office in 2009.

The push for additional funds came after a 2014 study showed the system needed nearly 270 additional attorneys to meet a caseload that hovers between 70,000 and 100,000 cases a year.

State Public Defender Director Michael Barrett said the funding situation would be reviewed by the system’s board on Friday.

Nixon also eliminated $900,000 earmarked to finance a review of the University of Missouri System by a newly formed panel appointed by Republican legislative leaders.

“It’s more important to spend that money to keep a tuition freeze than it is to put together a $900,000 study when the people being studied have said they are going to cooperate fully,” Nixon said.

Also cut was funding for Harris-Stowe State University, which had sought added dollars to start graduate-level programs. Instead of $500,000, the St. Louis-based school will receive $250,000 for the expansion.

In a year that saw the Legislature attempt to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides women’s health and abortion services, Nixon eliminated $2 million in increased funding for the Alternatives to Abortion Services Program.

The program, launched nearly 20 years ago, offers support services to pregnant women.

Other reductions include elimination of $50,000 in funding for a community garden project in northeastern St. Louis County.

At the heart of the cuts was a 35 percent drop in net corporate income taxes in the fiscal year that ended June 30. Increases in income and sales taxes offset the drop, leaving state finances slightly better than they previous year.

Under current law, the governor can withhold money when state revenue is less than the estimate the appropriations are based on, to be released if they improve.

But a measure approved by voters in 2014 allows lawmakers to override the withholdings much like they can when it comes to regular veto action. Lawmakers must have a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a withholding — 109 in the House and 23 in the Senate.

Last year, Nixon withheld $46 million after the state learned it would not receive $50 million in tobacco settlement funds that lawmakers had banked on when crafting the budget.

Rep. Kurt Bahr, R-St. Charles, chairman of the Elementary and Secondary Education Appropriations Committee, bemoaned the cuts made to educational programs, including dyslexia training, various salary increases and dropout prevention.

“I am disappointed by the governor’s lack of support for programs that work to support both our students and teachers,” Bahr said.