Blunt proposes $6.3 million for heating assistance

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Gov. Matt Blunt urged lawmakers Tuesday to approve $6.3 million for a state program that helps those with low incomes pay heating and cooling costs.

The request would mark the second consecutive year of state funding for the Utilicare program, which supplements the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance program.

Ten percent of the money -- or about $630,000 -- would help pay for home weatherizing and other steps to improve energy efficiency, while the rest would be used to help pay heating bills.

Utilicare, which before last year had not been funded since 2001, picks up costs not covered by the federal program and covers those who earn less than 125 percent of the federal poverty level -- about $9,800 for a single person and $20,000 for a family of four.

Enrollees in the federal program can get one-time payments based on family size and the type of fuel used for heating their homes, or they can get $600 spread over the year if they have been or face being cut off. The programs cover seven fuel types, including natural gas, fuel oil, wood, tank propane and kerosene.

House Speaker Rod Jetton and Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons, who joined Blunt at a news conference announcing the budget request, pledged their support for the plan.

Gibbons, R-Kirkwood, said the program provides tangible and important assistance.

"You're dealing with very vulnerable people in this state, and the loss of heat in the winter is a life or death issue," he said.

The funding for Utilicare would likely be included in a special supplemental budget that is generally approved at the beginning of the legislative session and designed to cover costs that were not anticipated when lawmakers wrote the state's budget the previous year.

Blunt said the state's improving economy allowed for the additional spending.

"It is because of the pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda enacted in this Capitol," he said. "It is creating prosperity and a stronger Missouri."