JEFFERSON CITY — The governor delivered his annual State of the State address to members of the Legislature, the executive branch and the judicial branch last week. This speech is an opportunity for the governor to put forward his views on our state government and appeal to the Senate and House to support his priorities. A key part of this process is that the governor presents his version of the state budget that is then a jumping-off point for crafting the final budget that funds the operation of government in Missouri.

For the first time in a decade, the governor and the Missouri Legislature have not come to a consensus on Missouri’s revenue projections. We typically work together to budget based on the Consensus Revenue Estimate (CRE). The CRE is prepared by non-partisan staff in the both the Senate and House working with the governor’s own Budget & Planning office and economists at the University of Missouri to reach a figure they believe best reflects the amount of revenue we expect. These non-partisan analysts arrived at an estimate of 4.2 percent growth in revenue for Fiscal Year 2015 and Budget & Planning initially agreed. Ignoring the CRE, our governor set his own revenue estimate at 5.2 percent. This means that the governor wants to spend nearly $215 million more in his budget than the CRE estimates we have to spend! That doesn’t even take into account another $158 million the governor included in his budget that would only be available if certain legislation passes.

You may be asking yourself why the governor is budgeting over $370 million more than non-partisan experts believe we will have to spend. Instead of doing the difficult work of balancing the budget, which the state of Missouri is constitutionally required to do every year, he is exaggerating state revenue so he doesn’t have to be the “bad guy” and tell those chasing taxpayer money that they may not receive all they want. The reality is that appropriating the hard-earned tax dollars of Missourians is a very important responsibility. When spending the taxpayers’ money on any government-funded program or service, we must ask ourselves some important questions.

First, we must ask ourselves if the program or service is truly a function of government or is it something the private sector could do better? Another question we must ask is if the expenditure is a responsible use of taxpayer dollars. If not, we should return those tax dollars to you, who earned it and can spend it better than the government. Missouri’s tax code has not had a significant overhaul in nearly 100 years. Missourians are due a tax cut, and we should work together to give individuals and small businesses the tax relief they need to feed their families and hire more workers. If Missouri wants to remain competitive, we must have a tax code that promotes job growth and grows our economy. 

One thing the governor and I continue to agree on is that funding education is a priority. Both K-12 education and higher education are important investments in our future, and the Legislature will again be committed to ensuring our teachers and students have the tools they need to succeed in the 21st Century. This does not mean we shouldn’t carefully evaluate programs and expenditures to determine if they are necessary and responsible expenditures. We must push every aspect of state government to provide necessary services with the greatest efficiency so the people of Missouri are getting the best bang for their buck.

While it sounds like there are a lot of uncertainties as we enter the budget process, there are some certainties you can count on from me. I will only vote for a balanced budget without putting anything on the “credit card,” unlike the federal government. I will not vote for any tax increases on hard-working Missourians, and I will not tolerate unnecessary or frivolous spending.

As always, I welcome your ideas, questions and concerns about Missouri government. You may contact me at the State Capitol as follows: (573) 751-1480, david.sater@senate.mo.gov or by writing to Senator David Sater, Missouri State Capitol, Room 433, Jefferson City, MO 65101.