Judy Morgan

Democrat * State Representative * 24th District  

On my way home from Jeff City last Friday, I got a call from my husband Gene.  He told me that he had terrible chest pains, was having trouble breathing, and was driving himself to St. Luke's Hospital.  Fortunately, I was only about thirty minutes from home and went directly to the Emergency Room.  When I got there, I was told that I couldn't see him because the hospital wasn't letting in any visitors (because of the COVID19 pandemic).

So, we had to communicate by phone/text for the next couple of hours.  At about 7:30 p.m. we talked and Gene was headed to emergency surgery.  He had an an aneurysm in an artery close to his heart, it was life-threatening, and he needed immediate surgery.

I was allowed to see him for about twenty minutes at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.  The hospital staff   told me that will be the only time I can see him, again because of COVID19.  Gene made it through the surgery, but still has the breathing tube in, has suffered some seizures, and is in ICU.  

It's so hard not being able to see him, talk to him, or hold his hand.  Our daughter Courtney, son-in-law Roby, and our grandkids traveled from their home in Wentzville to be with me.    My family is a great comfort at this very stressful time and I  love and appreciate them immensely.

I've never missed a weekly update during the legislative session since being elected in November 2011.  My thoughts are only with Gene and his well-being at this time.  So I hope  you'll understand that I won't be writing an update this week and I will miss the last week of session to be here for Gene.

However, Marc Powers,  Chief of Staff for our Democratic Caucus, writes a weekly update.  He has told all the House Reps. that we can use it in any way we so choose,  So this week I will share Marc's Weekly Update with you.

Courtney, Roby, Alex, Olivia, and I love Gene so much - he's the best husband, dad, and grandpa.   Please keep Gene and our family in your thoughts and prayers.
LAWMAKERS PASS STATE BUDGET JUST AHEAD OF DEADLINE
 
With little time to spare before the constitutional deadline, the Republican-controlled General Assembly on May 8 granted final approval to an unbalanced state operating budget for the 2021 fiscal year.  This budget simultaneously makes deep cuts to general revenue spending while also being overinflated with spending authority for federal dollars that might never materialize.
 
On paper, the $35.29 billion FY 2021 budget appears to be a massive increase over the $29.66 billion in appropriations lawmakers approved for FY 2020, which ends June 30. However, an appropriation is merely the legal authority to spend money and doesn't guarantee actual dollars will be available to cover the authorized spending.
 
As a result, the seemingly robust overall total in FY 2021 spending authority masks the deep chasm between money budget officials are reasonably certain will come into the state treasury and the spending promises made in the appropriations bills.
 
For example, the House version made permanent the  spending cuts for FY 2020 recently made by Republican Gov. Mike Parson  to higher education.  But, it also imposed an additional 10 percent general revenue cut. The final higher education budget replaces the 10 percent general revenue cut and avoids the additional 10 percent reduction, but does so by filling the hole with federal dollars of uncertain existence.
 
Although the Missouri Constitution doesn't require the legislature to pass a balanced budget, it does require the governor to maintain one and empowers him to do so by making unilateral cuts. By over-appropriating federal funding, the legislature gives Parson tremendous discretion on how the money the state does receive is spent. Sometime before the start of FY 2021 on July 1, Parson likely will announce the cuts he will need to make since lawmakers didn't.
 
After the General Assembly largely went on an extended break due to COVID-19 in mid-March, the budget process was weeks behind schedule when lawmakers returned to the Capitol on April 27 in hopes of enacting a final budget by the May 8 constitutional deadline. As a result, about six weeks of work was crammed into just two weeks.
 MEDICAID EXPANSION GROUP FILES INITIATIVE PETITION
 
In an effort to bypass intransigent Republican lawmakers who for years have refused to expand Medicaid eligibility in Missouri under the federal Affordable Care Act, a coalition of health care advocates on May 1 filed an initiative petition for a proposed constitutional amendment that would take the decision out of their hands.

Healthcare for Missouri delivered submitted signatures from more than 346,000 Missouri voters to the Secretary of State's Office, more than double the roughly 172,000 signatures required to qualify the Medicaid expansion proposal for the November ballot. Elections officials must now verify that enough of those signatures are valid to hit the minimum number, a process that should be completed by early August.
 
Missouri is one of just 14 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid eligibility under the ACA. The law allows states to cover Missourians earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which translates to an income of roughly $17,600 for an individual or $30,000 for a family of three.
 
Medicaid expansion would provide health care coverage to an estimated 230,000 Missourians who don't currently have it, including many workers at low-wage jobs that don't offer health benefits. The proposed amendment would constitutionally compel the state to expand  Medicaid coverage up to the ACA eligibility threshold and prohibit the state from imposing new requirements or restrictions on eligibility.
 
Ever since Congress enacted the ACA in 2010, expansion has been a non-starter in the Republican-dominated Missouri General Assembly. Just days after the initiative petition was submitted, the House Budget Committee unexpectedly held a hearing on a rival constitutional amendment intended to preempt the Medicaid expansion measure.
 
After bipartisan opposition on the proposal emerged, a scheduled vote on the anti-expansion House Joint Resolution 106 was cancelled. However, it remains possible Republican leaders could still try to push the proposal through before the 2020 legislation session ends on May 15.
GR DOWN 6.1 PERCENT FOR YEAR AFTER DISASTROUS APRIL
 
Year-to-date net state general revenue collections were down 6.1 percent through the first 10 months of the 2020 fiscal year compared to the same period in FY 2019, going from $8.02 billion last year to $7.53 billion this year. Year-to-date collections had been up 5.8 percent through the first nine months of FY 2020.
 
A double-whammy of factors stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic caused net general revenue collections to plummet 54.3 percent in April 2020 compared to April 2019, going from $1.59 billion last year to $725.24 million this year.
 
First, the statewide shutdown caused all revenue sources to slow to a trickle. Second, after Gov. Mike Parson delayed the April 15 deadline for filing taxes owed for the 2019 calendar year until July 15, many Missourians chose to postpone paying income taxes that otherwise would have been paid last month. As a result, money that should have come in for FY 2020, won't be paid until FY 2021, which begins July 1.

Take care,

Judy Morgan
MO State Representative
24th District



Paid for by Friends of Judy Morgan, C.E. "Gene" Morgan, Treasurer