Funds for Ukrainian refugees added to state budget by Senate committee

The state of Missouri would allocate $5 million in next year's budget for aiding in the resettling of refugees and legal immigrants under a plan passed by a Senate committee Wednesday.

Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, added the funding to the budget, saying it will be used to help refugees from Ukraine who have been displaced as a result of Russia's invasion of the Eastern European country. Hegeman is the chair of the appropriations committee.

"Folks are expecting that we'll get some of the Ukrainian refugees out there, and this is to be prepared," Hegeman said.

The committee broke from the version of the budget passed by the House on April 7 in various ways, including in teacher pay and Medicaid funding.

While the House rejected Gov. Mike Parson's plan to give public school teachers a raise, the Senate committee chose to fund raises at an even higher level than the governor had sought. Starting salaries for teachers would still be raised to $38,000, but the state would also fund a portion of the raise that the governor had sought to be funded by local school districts. The Senate plan allocates $37.1 million to the pay raise, as opposed to the $27.1 million the governor asked for.

The Senate plan would also fully fund school transportation for the first time in over two decades.

Medicaid expansion continues to be a sticking point for legislators during the budget process. Voters approved expansion in 2020, but last session the legislature decided not to fund it. In August, a judge ordered Missouri to expand Medicaid. The House-approved budget allocates nearly $2.5 billion for adult Medicaid expansion. The budget endorsed by the Senate committee Wednesday rolls those funds into the various Medicaid services.

The committee's process also featured a number of senators using Missouri Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, funds for various projects that they were passionate about. While these were all added to the budget in some way, Hegeman warned about overusing the limited pool of TANF funds.

"If we run out, it will be at the discretion of the department," Hegeman said. "We may not be accomplishing what you hope to accomplish."