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Capitol Report
By
Brad Lager
Getting Back Work
Last week marked the beginning of the second regular session
ofMissouri’s 96th General Assembly. Legislators from across
our state returned toJefferson City to begin the public
policy process of developing solutions for the problems
facing our state. While each year brings many important
issues before the legislature, this success of this session
will hinge on our ability to address four major issues that
are vital to our long term future of our state: balancing
the budget, bettering our climate for job creation,
protecting our children’s education, and funding the
recovery efforts following last years devastating natural
disasters.
It comes as no surprise that getting our fiscal house in
order is at the cornerstone of our agenda. After making
significant reductions during each of the previous two
years, our state budget is out of balance due to over $400
million of one-time federal money that funded ongoing
expenses in last year’s budget. If that was not enough, we
have approximately $250 million in new mandatory obligations
bringing our total budget shortfall in excess of $600
million. While we will make the difficult decisions
necessary to bring our budget into balance, we must also
focus on bettering our business climate, growing our
economy, and putting Missourians back to work. This is the
responsible way of generating more revenue for funding our
schools, building our roads, and protecting Missouri’s
citizens.
The education of Missouri’s schoolchildren is the most
important responsibility of our state government. Revenue
shortfalls have interfered with the implementation of the
new school funding formula which has created many
inconsistencies in the funding for our schools. As a result,
action is required this session to fix the structural
problems with this new formula.
The common thread of these critical issues is that the best
way to solve them is through sustainable long term economic
growth. Therefore, we must develop a responsible long term
plan for each challenge and then hold ourselves accountable
for making it happen. By asking ourselves what is best for
Missouri’s citizens, we can chart a course that is
reasonable and fiscally responsible while
enhancingMissouri’s quality of life.
As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with
your ideas or concerns. The Capitol number is (573)
751-1415, my email isbrad.lager@senate.mo.gov and my mailing
address is Room 422,State Capitol Building, Jefferson City,
MO 65101. |
