On Monday night, the governor gave his annual State of the State address, highlighting his funding recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year and laying out his legislative priorities for the session.

The governor and I share many of the same goals, as do most lawmakers in the Capitol. I’m grateful he highlighted the importance of mental health, an area woefully ignored in recent years. I appreciate his work through the Show-Me Heroes program in finding our veterans gainful employment.

However, it’s not so much the governor’s ideas I disagree with, as it is the math that supports them. The governor’s budget totals around $25.7 billion, a more than $1 billion increase from last year. And while revenue collections are slightly up, this budget is based on extremely optimistic revenue projections. Even worse, it depends heavily on legislative proposals that may or may not pass.   

The governor recommended a more than $160 million increase for education. I applaud the move, but I, like many people, wonder where the governor intends this money to come from. According to his recommendations, those funds will be primarily paid for by the savings from the Medicaid expansion.

However, there is little chance members of the Legislature will support the expansion. Most of the majority party has already come out against it. Even the governor himself remained ambivalent about it for months. Only now, after winning an election in a state where a majority of people oppose the Affordable Care Act, does he publicly support it. We should be wary of accepting any additional federal funds until a comprehensive plan to address the national deficit has been implemented in Washington.

The governor also called on the Legislature to re-establish campaign contribution caps. Should the General Assembly fail to do so, he threatened to go around lawmakers and push for an initiative petition. Besides finding it slightly ironic that the governor is only supporting contribution caps after winning an election during which time he benefitted greatly, I don’t approve of his willingness to remove legislators from the debate. 

I fully support some kind of campaign contribution cap, but any measure should come from the General Assembly. The governor should not circumvent the people’s body to push his particular vision of contribution caps.

In addition, the governor reaffirmed his support for a proposal to allow the state to issue almost $1 billion in bonds for a number of infrastructure projects. Many point out that with interests rates low, now is the perfect time to borrow funds. However, I have yet to hear a valid reason justifying the issuance of almost a billion dollars in bonds. Yes, those funds would pay for numerous infrastructure projects, but are any so pressing as to merit our state taking out a loan almost equal to an eighth of all the General Revenue funds we collect in a year? I have my doubts.   

Ultimately, though, my concern is not the bonds themselves, but the seeming lack of due consideration for a proposition of this magnitude. If we proceed down this road, we need to weigh every consequence and consider every possibility. There’s no need to rush into this. The Federal Reserve indicated this week it would keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future. We should take that time to make the right decision for the people of Missouri—not just for us, but for our children and grandchildren, as they’re the ones who will likely be paying for these bonds.

Now that the governor has released his budget recommendations, the Appropriations Committee will take this plan into consideration when crafting the Senate’s version of the budget. The committee is already conducting hearings on various state department’s funding needs for the next fiscal year. I will keep you updated as we continue work on the annual budget.

Contact Me

I always appreciate hearing your comments, opinions, and concerns. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-2459. You may write me at Wayne Wallingford; Missouri Senate; State Capitol; Jefferson City, Mo. 65101, or email at wayne.wallingford@senate.mo.gov or www.senate.mo.gov/wallingford.

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