A new farmer's market planned for the Capitol lost its $250,000 in state funding Monday, as part of Gov. Jay Nixon's announcement withholding $46.131 million from the current state budget plan.
Another $250,000, for the Committee on Legislative Research to do a traffic study on Interstate 70, also was among the 48 budget lines affected by Nixon's Monday afternoon announcement.
They are two of 20 budgeted items where all funding was withheld - for $7,610,541 of the total funding freeze.
The governor said the withholdings are required to keep the budget in balance and the state's AAA credit rating intact.
"In taking these necessary actions, we have made every effort to minimize the impact on vital services by reducing spending from new programs yet to get underway and funding increases that would grow the size of government," Nixon said.
The withholdings are a reaction to last month's 43-page state appeals court ruling that tobacco companies don't have to pay the state an expected $50 million under the 1998 tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).
A 2014 St. Louis City Circuit Court ruling said the tobacco companies owed the state that $50 million payment, Nixon noted.
But the Eastern District appelate court ruled last month that Missouri's payment was affected by a decision of a national arbitration board created in 2003, after tobacco companies complained that some states, including Missouri, were not doing enough to comply with some of the MSA's provisions.
"Based on the St. Louis Circuit Court's decision, both my administration and members of the General Assembly counted on these funds being available when the Fiscal Year 2016 budget was passed," Nixon said. "Now that this ruling has been overturned, this unexpected loss of funds must be accounted for through spending restrictions."
The restrictions mean the money could be released in the future, if the state gets more revenue than expected from other sources.
Meanwhile, the appropriations are "frozen" - still in the budget, but not available for spending as the budget had authorized.
Nixon noted Attorney General Chris Koster and his staff are planning to appeal the court decision, but no decision is expected before next June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
The announcement said the withholdings focused "on new programs that have not begun and new spending increases," mostly in health care provider rates.
"Even after the restrictions announced, with anticipated revenues from the tax amnesty fund, health care providers are expected to receive a net one percent rate increase over the prior fiscal year," Nixon said.
The largest single withhold was $6,252,317 for rebasing rates in the Mental Health department's Developmental Disabilities division, leaving the current rates in place.
Programs losing all funding included:
• Bright Futures ($150,000) and Economic Education ($100,000) in the state Elementary and Secondary Education budget.
• Missouri Law Enforcement Data Exchange ($625,000) in various departments.
• Missouri Development Finance Board bonding for a St. Louis "incubator" ($625,000) in the Office of Administration.
• Asian Carp ($250,000) research at the University of Missouri's Fischer Delta Research Center and the Capitol Farmer's Market ($250,000) in the state Agriculture department.
• Brain Injury waiver ($350,000), Area Health Education centers ($250,000) and Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities ($300,000), in the Health and Senior Services department.
• Juvenile Officer Pilot program ($210,541), Social Innovation Grants ($1 million), Primary Care Practice pilot ($100,000), Rural Health Clinic Dental program ($500,000), Community Health Access Program - CHAPS ($1,250,000), a Monitoring program ($400,000), a Pager pilot ($150,000), Foster Kids Health Home ($250,000), Asthma services ($400,000) and Regional Care Coordination ($200,000), all in the Social Services department.
• The I-70 feasibility study in the General Assembly's budget.