To: Governor Mike Parson
Governor Nixon: Support emergency, supplemental Utilicare Fund appropriation
Support a $10 million appropriation of emergency, supplemental funding for Missouri’s Utilicare Fund that can be used to provide assistance to the vast majority of eligible Missouri citizens who live in the urban and suburban areas of this state. As you know, the Utilicare fund was established more than 30 years ago as a mechanism through which the State of Missouri could supplement federal energy assistance that is currently provided to utility customers through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Customers receiving such assistance include elderly and/or disabled citizens and low-income households with children.
Why is this important?
We are currently experiencing one of the coldest winters in the past three decades – a factor that is increasing customer bills substantially. Meanwhile, the amount of available LIHEAP funding has actually declined for some community action agencies while increasing only very modestly for others. In addition, the state's recent decision to reallocate nearly $15 million in LIHEAP funds to the relatively small group of LIHEAP eligible customers served by propane, while understandable, has left even less funding available for the far larger number of eligible, low-income customers who reside in the urban and suburban areas of the state.