JEFFERSON CITY — Under the Missouri Constitution, the General Assembly is to pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year and send it to the governor’s desk for approval prior to 6:00 p.m. on the Friday of the first full week in May. This year, that date is May 9.

Crafting the state budget is a challenging process. More than 1,500 line items make up the more than $24 billion budget. Since Missouri is bound by a constitutional amendment to not deficit spend, it takes discussion and tough decisions to come up with a balanced budget.

Beginning with the governor’s State of the State address in January, the House Budget Committee drafts the bills that become the version of the General Assembly’s budget. While the other chamber prepares the budget bills, the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which I serve, hears testimony from representatives of each of Missouri’s state departments regarding the financial need of each department. We then consider this testimony when drafting the Senate’s version of the state spending plan.

The next step of the process is where we stand right now. The House budget bills have been sent over to the Senate Appropriations Committee and my colleagues and I are debating the House proposals, comparing them line-by-line with the Senate’s preferences. As we review the bills, we make changes we feel necessary, and then pass the bills out of committee to be taken up for debate by the full Senate. At that point, we will send the amended bills back to the House, where they will move to a joint conference committee to hammer out details. The conference committees are comprised of five members of the Senate and three members of the House.

In January, the governor unveiled his proposal for the FY 2015 state budget. His plan was based on state revenue growth of 5.9 percent, while the current projections utilized by the General Assembly predict only a 4.2 percent growth. Currently, Missouri’s revenue has only grown by two percent.

My colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, as well as my fellow legislators, will put in the hours necessary to draft a fiscally responsible budget before the constitutional deadline of May 9.

As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.