JEFFERSON CITY — In what could be an otherwise quiet veto session, at least one Missouri lawmaker is expected to call on her colleagues to override Gov. Mike Parson’s decision to cut funding for a nursing home monitoring program.
Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Manchester, said Friday she is hoping to restore a more than $2 million cut to a long-term care ombudsman program that advocates on behalf of nursing home residents throughout the state.
“There’s a high need to investigate complaints at nursing homes,†Lavender said.
Lawmakers return to the Capitol on Wednesday for a one-day session to consider any vetoes issued by Parson following the spring legislative session. The only items vetoed this year by the soon-to-retire chief executive were reductions to the $50 billion state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
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The line-item veto of the ombudsman program was part of more than $1 billion in cuts made by Parson. His move brought the $2.5 million allocation down to $150,000.
Parson left funding intact for a long-sought widening of Interstate 70, and additional spending on child care and residents with disabilities. But line items that covered multiple local community projects were cut, including $2 million to clean up abandoned buildings in the north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County city of Kinloch and $5 million to remove condemned and vacant property in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Parson, who is term limited and will leave in January, has successfully fended off veto threats during his six years in office. With Republicans controlling the House and Senate, Lavender’s override attempt is not expected to advance.
But Lavender said she’s not content to leave the issue on the sidelines, saying there is a need to boost monitoring for elderly care.
“This is the second year he has vetoed the line item,†Lavender said.
The added funding would have been transformative for organizations like VOYCE, which is the ombudsman for a large portion of eastern Missouri, covering 20 counties and the city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
The current budget for VOYCE’s ombudsman program is about $315,000 annually, said VOYCE Executive Director Marjorie Moore, and she was expecting to see an additional $800,000 from the budget increase.
VOYCE has five regional ombudsman coordinators who visit 300 long-term care facilities to speak with residents, field complaints and offer education to staff. The additional funding would have allowed it to hire 10 more coordinators.
The funding would have allowed coordinators to routinely visit skilled nursing facilities six times a year, Moore said in July, up from three.
Lawmakers also plan to put a spotlight on a funding logjam bedeviling Missouri’s child care providers.
Amid intense pressure on the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to fix software problems that have resulted in payment delays to child care facilities, two House committees are set to discuss the issue on and .
Senate Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, is calling for top officials at the department to be fired because of the “disaster.â€
Meantime, with an expected light schedule on the floors of the House and Senate, lawmakers have scheduled a slate of fundraisers as they head toward the Nov. 5 election.
There are at least 24 separate events scheduled beginning Monday and running through Wednesday morning.
The Republican candidate for governor, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, is hosting an annual fundraiser at his home featuring dessert by his swimming pool.
His opponent in the race to replace Parson, House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, is headlining a fundraiser at an event center near the Capitol.