JEFFERSON CITY — Work in the Missouri Senate came to an abrupt stop Monday as a member of the chamber’s hard-right faction again threatened to hold up passage of the state budget.
With a Friday deadline looming for the House and Senate to finish the more than $50 billion spending plan, Sen. Bill Eigel took control of the floor to air grievances about how Republican leaders are running the chamber.
Fearing another long day of filibustering following a mostly fruitless 41-hour affair last week by Eigel and four other members of the Freedom Caucus, Senate Floor Leader Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, adjourned for the day after a mere 30 minutes.
O’Laughlin said she refused to answer an inquiry from Eigel because it would have turned into a “screaming match.â€
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“I don’t need that, and nobody else does either,†said O’Laughlin, who has squared off against Eigel throughout her tenure in leadership.
Eigel, who is running for governor after eight years in the upper chamber, has sought to use the Senate to raise his profile as an outsider.
“For eight years, I have been lied to and double-crossed at every opportunity,†Eigel said.
The Weldon Spring Republican has promised to use delaying tactics when the spending plan is called for a vote, potentially putting the Legislature in jeopardy of missing Friday’s constitutional deadline to submit a budget plan.
Eigel signaled he wants deeper cuts than what are on the table.
“We’re spending this state into the red,†Eigel said.
O’Laughlin told the Post-Dispatch she is not worried yet about time running out on the budgeting process.
“Am I concerned about it? Not really. I think I kind of expected that to happen,†O’Laughlin said. “I think the majority wants to get it done. I think it will get done.â€
Democrats compared Eigel’s behavior to those in the Freedom Caucus in Washington, D.C.
“We’re witnessing what happens when the extreme right tries to get their way. They completely create dysfunction in government,†said Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City.
For now, the time crunch is having an effect on how, when and if a final budget makes it across the finish line.
Rather than senators and members of the House sitting down to negotiate differences between the two chamber’s spending plans, talks will be left to Senate Appropriations Chairman Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, and House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage.
The goal is to shorten the time needed to finish work for a spending blueprint for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
“The way we’re doing this is different than in the past,†House Majority Leader Jon Patterson told reporters Monday during a briefing.
If the package is not approved by Friday, lawmakers would have to go into a special session to move it to the governor’s desk. Patterson said he has told lawmakers to be prepared for the possibility.
“We’re going to do everything we can do to avoid it,†Patterson said.
As of last week, the House and Senate budget proposals are about $2 billion apart.
Among items cut by the House is a nearly $53 million plan to redevelop the mostly abandoned Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City as a tourist site.
The House also reduced Parson’s call for a 3% boost to colleges and universities to a 2% increase. The Senate Appropriations Committee restored that amount to 3%.
The House also would add $25 million to build a facility to teach engineering at the University of Missouri-ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
After committing major state funds to rebuild and widen Interstate 70 last year, the House plan allocates $727 million to improve Interstate 44. In addition, $100 million will go to repair rural roads across the state.
Missouri taxpayers also will be on the hook for $8 million for Parson’s decision to send National Guard troops to Texas as part of a Republican-led effort to highlight immigration as an election-year issue.
The plan leaves Parson’s budget proposal on teacher pay intact. Base salary for teachers would rise to $40,000, up from the current national low of $25,000. The cost is about $4 million.