Fitzsimon File

Democratic Senators had a surprise waiting for them when they arrived back at the General Assembly Tuesday morning after the Memorial Day Holiday, the Senate budget delivered to their offices at 8:30.  

The Senate Democratic Caucus met at 9:00 to discuss the272-page budget bill and the accompanying money report that runs close to 100 pages, documents that most Senators had not seen in their entirety until Tuesday morning. After an hour and half meeting, Democrats adjourned to get ready for the budget subcommittees that met at 11:00.

Republican Senators got their first look at the $20 billion spending plan a few minutes before the 11:00 meetings, when it was delivered to their offices.

In many ways the details of the budget are as disturbing as the private and exclusionary process used to put it together. The Senate budget tracks the House budget fairly closely in terms of what is funded, but the amounts are different because of the decision Senate leaders made about taxes.

The Senate budget allows the 2001 temporary increases in the sales tax and income tax on the wealthy to expire, which means a loss of $300 million in state revenue. The House voted to keep the taxes on the books and still wasn’t able to meet many of the vital needs of the state, particularly in mental health.

The Senate budget cuts the taxes and provides less funding for the important programs that the House budget expands, health care for children, school nurses, teaching assistants, and affordable housing.

The House budget includes $4 million for Kid’s Care, a program to provide health coverage for children in families with incomes from 200 percent to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. The Senate declined to fund the program, instead calling for a study of expanding health care for children.

Advocates had urged the House to do more and allow parents who earn too much to qualify for the program buy into it by paying the full cost of the premium. The House balked at that logical expansion and the Senate decided to do even less, which is what happens when tax cuts are more of a priority than helping families with health care.

The Senate budget does spend slightly more on mental health services, but like the House, finds most of the money by reallocating it from other mental health programs. Advocates for the mentally ill think the Senate budget may actually be worse than the House proposal because of some of the restrictions put on the money in the Senate plan.

The one place the Senate did outspend the House was in borrowing money for university projects and state buildings, including $1.2 billion in certificates of participation, a type of bond that does require voter approval. The House budget was attacked for paying for $400 million worth of construction projects with those kinds of bonds.

The Senate budget cuts taxes, but does not include a Earned Income Tax Credit that the House voted to establish in the second year of the two-year budget cycle. It is an initiative that provides targeted tax relief for the working poor. (Look for more details about the plan in Wednesday’s Fitzsimon File.)

One important exception to the mediocrity that defines the Senate bill is the funding for three pilot needle exchange programs to help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. That’s a tribute to the persistence of Senator Martin Nesbitt.

The budget now goes to the Senate floor, but don’t expect much of a debate if Tuesday’s committee votes are any indication. After the budget committee heard the bill explained and discussed a few minor amendments, Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand said he had heard enough and cut off debate.

It was the Senate leadership flexing its muscle again, tolerating no more discussion, much less dissent about a plan that cuts taxes and spends less than the House on education, human services, and helping children.

It was the perfect ending to the Senate budget day.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 7:09 pm and is filed under Fitzsimon File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.