Every week, St. Louis Public Radio and the Beacon's Chris McDaniel, Jo Mannies and Jason Rosenbaum talk about the week’s politics.
This week, Jo Mannies hosted state House Budget chairman Rick Stream, a Republican from Kirkwood. She was joined by Marshall Griffin of St. Louis Public Radio’s Jefferson City bureau. (Listen to an earlier podcast with Stream.)
On the show, Stream said:
- The House’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year will allocate about $310 million less than Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed. Stream and other Republican leaders believe that the state's income will be less than what Nixon has projected.
- The House will propose a smaller increase for the state’s foundation formula, the primary source of money for Missouri’s public schools. The House will allocate more money for school transportation, which is important to rural legislators.
- The House is unlikely to approve any expansion of Medicaid until significant changes have been made to the program. Republicans believe the current program has too much “waste, fraud and abuse.”
- He is preparing to file a bill this week to address the issues touched off by the student transfers from the region’s troubled Riverview Gardens and Normandy school districts to other districts in St. Louis and St. Charles counties.
Follow Chris McDaniel on Twitter: @csmcdaniel
Follow Jo Mannies on Twitter: @jmannies
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
