Giving our state agencies and departments the needed resources
One of my duties as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee is to assure state agencies and departments, parents and students, health care centers, and veterans that their interests are being well represented. With exactly three weeks left to meet the constitutional budgetary deadline, my colleagues — in the House and the Senate — and I have been working to ensure that the state’s obligations, such as those concerning our schools, roads and bridges, are met.
On Tuesday, the Appropriations Committee conducted a 4-hour hearing about the budget for the 2018 Fiscal Year. The committee then committed many more hours to addressing our budgetary needs as the week progressed. And that is important: Like a family, the state operates on a budget — we must attentively discern the state’s needs from its wants, carefully decide how to financially support the state’s needs, and cautiously identify waste. So, when it comes to adequately funding our state so that it can run effectively and efficiently, we, like a family, must dot our I’s and cross our T’s.
Although funding for our state agencies and departments is a necessary condition for them to be effective, funding by itself is not a sufficient one. From protecting us on safe streets and bridges to representing indigent citizens in court to ensuring that we have a beautiful scenery across the state, our agencies and departments provide a great service to the people of Missouri. And sometimes they are not able to perform their services as efficiently and effectively because of non-funding matters like litigation.
Take for example the Department of Social Services, which is responsible for, among other things, preventing child abuse and identifying those who have or attempt to harm our children. The department recently faced a setback in court, in which the department was told that it did not have the proper authority to retain material essential to fulfilling its purpose. The department presented this concern to me and I filed Senate Bill 535, which would help the Department of Social Services protect the young people of this state.
On Wednesday, I presented SB 535 to the Committee on Seniors, Families and Children. The bill would give the Department of Social Services the authority to keep and maintain information — evidence — that may be critical to solving child abuse cases and in investigations leading to identifying any perpetrators.
Because of court orders, this bill is a matter of urgency. The department testified that if the Legislature does not act this year, the department will have to delete information that affects more than 11,000 cases. As one of the witnesses in favor of SB 535 said, “Good, high quality information can often save children’s lives.” And it is important that investigators have the necessary information to solve child abuse cases. And knowing how important this matter is, the committee acted on SB 535 shortly after my testimony by unanimously moving the bill out of committee. The next step for SB 535 will be going before the full Senate. The department needs SB 535 to be passed and signed into law soon, and I find comfort knowing that the committee’s members understand the urgency for this.
This week has been filled with a lot of debate and discussion as we get closer to May 12. In the last weeks of this session, I look forward to continuing to prioritize our budgetary needs and the needs of our agencies and departments who we vest our trust in to protect us.
I urge you to contact me with any questions or concerns you have about state government so that I can better represent you during the 2017 legislative session.
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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