As Gov. Jay Nixon spoke to the crowd of 40-plus people in Cape Girardeau on Monday morning, he called income tax-cutting House Bill 253 a "step back" for autism and mental health services -- a statement at least one Missouri representative disputes.

The bill, which the Democratic governor vetoed in June, would create tax cuts for individuals and certain types of businesses. Supporters, including many Republicans in the state House and Senate, have said the legislation provides an opportunity to lower taxes in a way that would stimulate the economy and draw in new businesses. Nixon has expressed concern that those cuts would have a negative effect on the state's ability to fund schools and mental health services.

Republican legislative leadership seems committed to overriding Nixon's veto.

As Nixon gave his speech at the Southeast Missouri State University Autism Center for Diagnosis and Treatment, he explained how cuts to the state's mental health department would directly affect the center and the rest of the city.

The Department of Mental Health "would have to cut funding for its diagnostic centers by 25 percent or about $1 million," he said. "For this center right here, that's about $124,000 annually. ... DMH would be forced to close both state-operated residential facilities for mentally disturbed children, including the Cottonwood Center here in Cape."

Nixon said his facts came from a new report issued by the Missouri Department of Mental Health, at the request of the Missouri Mental Health Commission, that analyzes the potential long-term impact of House Bill 253 on mental-health services.

He said the report found that the department of mental health would need to cut $87 million annually, and after including federal matching funds the department would stand to lose $164 million a year.

"These cuts would affect a wide range of programs and services, but the impact on children with autism would be particularly devastating," Nixon said.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, on Monday said in a phone interview he considers Nixon's actions to be little more than a "fear mongering" tactic. The father of a son on the autism spectrum, Schmitt said scaring families dealing with the issue is "inappropriate."

"For the governor to fly around in his new $5 million plane and deceive voters by threatening individuals with autism and their families is unconscionable," he said.

Schmitt said he was pleased to see the level of public interest and debate around the bill, but was concerned voters were not receiving all the facts about what's actually in the bill.

"Really, it's an effort to grow the economy and bring in more jobs and have more taxpayers," he said. "This bill is really for everyone, not just a select few. It's for the single mom to help afford better treatments or send her children to another school. We just believe people should be able to spend their money as they see fit and help grow the economy along the way."

Schmitt also said the bill was "very measured" and had built-in protections, such as phasing in the tax cuts over a 10-year period. The next phase of reductions would be implemented only if the tax revenue collected for the year exceed those collected in the prior year by at least $100 million.

"When Missourians have the opportunity to decide if they would like to see their taxes reduced and have some of their money returned to them, I like our odds of winning that debate," Schmitt said.

The governor, on the other hand, on Monday said that as he has toured the state delivering public speeches on the effects of House Bill 253, he believes that "once they understand this bill, people have been almost uniform" in their favor of the veto.

srinehart@semissourian.com

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611 N. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.