JEFFERSON CITY — Recently, the Arkansas Public Service Commission put the brakes on a proposed high voltage transmission project that was set to come from Arkansas and cross Barry and McDonald counties before going back into and ending in Arkansas. The Southwestern Power Company (SWEPCO) sought to build the line to address power needs in northwest Arkansas, not Missouri.

In its decision, the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) reversed an earlier decision by an administrative law judge that selected Route 109 through Missouri for the transmission line. This was the only route that went through Missouri, while several other routes that would have stayed in Arkansas were rejected. If Route 109 had remained the Arkansas PSC’s selected route, it would have created a troubling precedent. First, it would have allowed another state to dictate transmission line routes in Missouri, and secondly, it would have forced Arkansas’s problems on us.

When it looked like Route 109 was going to be imposed on us, I quickly drafted and filed legislation that would have prohibited SWEPCO from using eminent domain to forcibly take the land necessary to build the line. This would have forced SWEPCO to negotiate with every landowner and any one of those landowners could refuse to sell if they didn’t want to. I felt this was necessary to protect the property rights of Missourians who would assume all the risks and damaging effects of the line while receiving no direct benefit. Unfortunately, my bill didn’t pass before the end of session, but it did send a clear message to Arkansas that it couldn’t pawn off its problem on Missouri.

Representative Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, and Rep. Bill Lant, R-Pineville, along with the county commissioners in both Barry and McDonald counties and I all worked together on this issue, presenting a unified front for the people we represent. This decision is a great victory for our area, but we are not out of the woods yet. It would surprise me if the powers-that-be in Arkansas consider another route through Missouri after seeing such strong opposition, but we should be ready to fight this again if another attempt is made to run the line through Missouri.

In other news, it appears likely Missouri will finish up the budget year with less revenue than expected. The state’s net general revenues are up just 0.2 percent through the first 11 months of the fiscal year. State sales tax revenues have increased by 2 percent over last fiscal year, but individual income tax collections are down 0.7 percent. Individual income tax collections account for a greater share of revenue, so this why we are only seeing revenue growth of 0.2 percent.

This demonstrates why it is so important to budget within our means. To some, it’s easier to promise budget increases and give everyone what they want. As a former Chairman of Appropriations for Health, Mental Health, and Social Services, and a member of the Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, it was always my position to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. When I came into the House, we were facing a $1 billion budget shortfall – a direct consequence of the “popular” way of budgeting. Instead of raising taxes or kicking the can down the road, we sat down, worked together, and did what was necessary to live within our means like hard-working Missouri families out there. We have to balance the check book knowing we may not get that raise, or there may be a big expense coming. This is the responsible, but sometimes unpopular, way to budget.

Our liberal counterparts in Washington, D.C. like to budget the “popular” way, by promising everything to everyone and figuring out how to pay for it later. That is why our national debt is now over $17.5 trillion. With our population hovering above 318 million, each citizen's share of this debt is about $55,000, or $151,000 for every tax-paying citizen. This just shows how ridiculous our national debt problem has become and it is often because we simply don’t have the courage to say, “No”. In Missouri, it is important we do things differently.

If state revenue doesn’t improve next year, it may be necessary to say “no” more often, instead of telling everyone what they want to hear. With a little hard work, honesty, and courage, budgeting based on need and not want will save us a lot of trouble later. Failure to do so threatens some of the basic services that really are necessary functions of government, like our roads and our schools.

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.