Mo. Senate Tee’s Up Budget

(AP) – A Missouri Senate panel is preparing to begin drafting its plan for the roughly $25 billion state operating budget.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has scheduled hearings throughout the week to begin work on the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The panel is also scheduled to consider the budget for the state Revenue Department, despite recent tensions between the department and Republican senators over new driver’s license procedures.

The House passed its budget plan in late March, omitting Gov. Jay Nixon’s proposal to draw down $900 million in federal money to add 260,000 Missouri adults to the state’s Medicaid rolls. The Senate Appropriations Committee also voted against Nixon’s plan last month.