FIRST REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 14
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Whereas, in 2003, Missouri is one of approximately a dozen states that have been in recession, with approximately thirty states near recession since March 2001; and
Whereas, in a recent report, the National Governors' Association declared that states are facing "the most dire fiscal situation since World War II", and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says that the state budget deficits "constitute the largest state budget gaps in half a century"; and
Whereas, at the federal level, a number of current proposals and legislative measures could cut state revenues even further, such as President Bush's proposal to eliminate the federal tax on stock dividends paid to individuals which the National Governors' Association estimates will decrease Missouri's income tax revenues by $95 million in fiscal year 2004 alone; and
Whereas, an additional strain on state budgets are unfunded federal mandates which result when the United States Congress enacts federal laws that require states and local governments to meet particular standards and goals or implement regulatory programs, then fails to allocate the federal resources to assist in implementing such programs; and
Whereas, unfunded federal mandates have backed many states and local governments into a fiscal corner and forced them to sacrifice their own programs and priorities to comply with standards set by the federal government; and
Whereas, the federal Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, which was designed to make it more difficult for the federal government to make state and local governments pay for programs and projects that it does not pay for itself, has had mixed results in curbing the increasing number of regulations and programs mandated by the federal government in areas such as education, environment, and transportation and which cost state and local governments billions of dollars each year; and
Whereas, currently, the federal government makes no provision for allowing states to retain unspent federal moneys from various programs, such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), that are scheduled to be returned to the federal treasury at the end of the fiscal year and allow states to reallocate such moneys to underfunded or unfunded federal mandate programs; and
Whereas, at a time when states are in a budgetary crisis and face unprecedented shortfalls, the ability of states to reallocate existing resources and establish new funding sources becomes increasingly vital in meeting the basic needs of their most vulnerable citizens and implementing the mandates of the federal government:
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-second General Assembly, First Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby urge the United States Congress to recognize the significant impact of unfunded or underfunded federal mandates on all States and to revise any federal laws, policies, and appropriations as needed to provide states with sufficient flexibility in current federal appropriations and additional funding for federal mandates so that all States may adequately and efficiently provide the programs and services required by federal law without sacrificing their own programs and priorities; and
Be it further resolved that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for each member of the Missouri Congressional Delegation.