BILL NUMBER: DATE: HB 2014 2/4/2026 COMMITTEE: Budget TESTIFYING: IN SUPPORT OF IN OPPOSITION TO FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES
WITNESS NAME REGISTERED LOBBYIST: WITNESS NAME: PHONE NUMBER: JEFF GLENN 573-270-4053 REPRESENTING: TITLE: MISSOURIANS FOR TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ADDRESS: P.O.BOC 772 CITY: STATE: ZIP: CAPE GIRARDEAU MO 63702 EMAIL: ATTENDANCE: SUBMIT DATE: info@mfti.org In-Person 2/4/2026 8:16 AM THE INFORMATION ON THIS FORM IS PUBLIC RECORD UNDER CHAPTER 610, RSMo. Testifying in support of the supplemental appropriations for transportation. MISSOURI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WITNESS APPEARANCE FORM
BILL NUMBER: DATE: HB 2014 2/4/2026 COMMITTEE: Budget TESTIFYING: IN SUPPORT OF IN OPPOSITION TO FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES
WITNESS NAME INDIVIDUAL: WITNESS NAME: PHONE NUMBER: BRENT COCHRAN BUSINESS/ORGANIZATION NAME: TITLE:
ADDRESS:
CITY: STATE: ZIP:
EMAIL: ATTENDANCE: SUBMIT DATE: Written 2/3/2026 8:41 PM THE INFORMATION ON THIS FORM IS PUBLIC RECORD UNDER CHAPTER 610, RSMo. Subject: Opposition to Proposed Cuts to Self-Directed Services
I am writing in opposition to the proposed cuts to self-directed services for individuals with disabilities.
As a fiscal conservative, I strongly believe this program is not only compassionate but also far more cost-effective than institutional care. In 2009, it cost over $160,000 annually to house one individual in a state facility. Today, that cost is estimated to exceed $600,000. In contrast, the average cost of self- directed care in 2025 is less than $50,000 per individual.
Families already face significant challenges in finding and retaining caregivers, especially since many positions offer no vacation time, benefits, or health insurance. Reducing pay rates will only make this process more difficult and place additional strain on families who are doing their best to care for their loved ones at home.
However, this issue is not just about finances—it is about quality of care. Parents deserve the ability to guide and control the care their children receive.
My son has Down syndrome. For much of the 20th century, individuals with Down syndrome had a life expectancy of less than ten years. As care improved—particularly with the move away from institutionalization—that life expectancy has increased to nearly sixty years today. This progress reflects the importance of family-centered, individualized care.
Please do not force families into choices that could negatively affect the health, dignity, and well-being of their loved ones. I respectfully ask you to consider both the human and financial impact of these proposed cuts.
Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration.
Sincerely, Brent Cochran MISSOURI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WITNESS APPEARANCE FORM
BILL NUMBER: DATE: HB 2014 2/4/2026 COMMITTEE: Budget TESTIFYING: IN SUPPORT OF IN OPPOSITION TO FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES
WITNESS NAME INDIVIDUAL: WITNESS NAME: PHONE NUMBER: CPORTER PORTER BUSINESS/ORGANIZATION NAME: TITLE:
ADDRESS:
CITY: STATE: ZIP:
EMAIL: ATTENDANCE: SUBMIT DATE: Written 2/3/2026 11:57 AM THE INFORMATION ON THIS FORM IS PUBLIC RECORD UNDER CHAPTER 610, RSMo. i am requesting you oppose HB2004. So many of us rely on public transit. We rely on it to get us everywhere, Dr's office, grocery store, city offices, the park.
please don't reduce the funding. there are no alternatives except for expensive providers MISSOURI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WITNESS APPEARANCE FORM
BILL NUMBER: DATE: HB 2014 2/4/2026 COMMITTEE: Budget TESTIFYING: IN SUPPORT OF IN OPPOSITION TO FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES
WITNESS NAME INDIVIDUAL: WITNESS NAME: PHONE NUMBER: SARAH BERRY BUSINESS/ORGANIZATION NAME: TITLE:
ADDRESS:
CITY: STATE: ZIP:
EMAIL: ATTENDANCE: SUBMIT DATE: Written 2/3/2026 9:23 AM THE INFORMATION ON THIS FORM IS PUBLIC RECORD UNDER CHAPTER 610, RSMo. I oppose HB 2014 as drafted.
HB 2014 is an omnibus supplemental appropriations and fund-transfer bill that bundles hundreds of millions of dollars across dozens of agencies, programs, and funds with insufficient transparency, inadequate itemization, and limited legislative traceability, raising serious concerns under Article IV of the
Missouri Constitution and basic principles of fiscal accountability.
1) The bill’s structure undermines meaningful legislative oversight
HB 2014 aggregates routine expenses, emergency disaster funding, reimbursements, refunds, and interfund transfers into a single vehicle. This structure makes it functionally impossible for legislators or the public to: evaluate necessity versus convenience, distinguish emergency expenditures from baseline funding, or assess whether transfers are masking structural budget gaps.
Appropriations are not merely permission slips; they are affirmative legislative judgments. This bill’s breadth dilutes that responsibility.
2) Repeated interfund transfers obscure constitutional spending limits
Multiple sections authorize transfers out of dedicated funds into General Revenue or between special funds without clear policy justification or long-term impact analysis.
While Article IV, Section 28 permits appropriations by law, repeated reliance on transfers risks circumventing the intent of voter- or statute-created funds and weakens fiscal discipline.
This is particularly concerning where the bill: reimburses expenditures “in excess” of constitutional collection limits, sweeps fractional percentages from dedicated sales tax funds, and retroactively funds obligations already incurred.
3) Disaster and emergency funding lacks guardrails HB 2014 appropriates over $1 billion for disaster-related purposes, including transfers contingent on executive declarations.
While emergency response is essential, the bill provides minimal legislative conditions, reporting requirements, or sunset accountability, effectively delegating open-ended fiscal authority without adequate statutory controls. Emergency powers should not mean emergency opacity.
4) Refund and reimbursement appropriations are unusually large and undefined
The bill appropriates $225,600,000 for tax refunds and erroneous payments from General Revenue with no breakdown of: error sources, systemic causes, or corrective safeguards.
Without transparency, the legislature cannot determine whether these refunds reflect taxpayer protection—or administrative failure being papered over with appropriations.
5) The bill blurs fiscal years and accountability timelines
As a supplemental bill covering the fiscal period ending June 30, 2026, HB 2014 retroactively funds a wide range of activities already underway.
This weakens the General Assembly’s power of the purse by ratifying decisions after the fact rather than authorizing them prospectively.
Footnotes:
Mo. Const. art. IV, § 28 – appropriations must be specific and for no other purpose
Mo. Const. art. IV, §§ 29–30 – limits on collection costs and fiscal controls
Core separation-of-powers principles governing legislative control over spending
Statutes affected: