The most important thing we do as legislators is to pass an on-time and balanced budget that Missouri taxpayers can afford. When the state doesn’t have enough money, the governor controls the budget. When there is a surplus, the Legislature controls the budget. Our current governor always builds a budget to make it look like Missouri doesn’t have enough money so he remains in control. The only thing we can control is the total number.

The Senate this week worked on the $26.1 billion budget for the Fiscal Year 2016. After hours of discussion, this budget was crafted with a surplus to help keep spending under control and continue to provide adequate funding for the state’s vital programs. This is the most conservative budget we have ever passed. Our Senate Appropriations Chairman, Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, lead his dedicated team to produce a budget that increases funding for education and ensures that public money is spent wisely.

Funding for K–12 education will increase by $84 million, and higher education will see a $12 million increase, both more than the governor recommended. The budget will also provide an additional $2 million for the A+ Schools Program and $5.4 million for equity funding for community colleges that was vetoed by the governor in the 2015 budget.

The General Assembly also committed $3 million in grants for the Waterways Program to provide planning assistance to port authorities as well as $700,000 for the Amtrak operating expansion. The Legislature also put $28 million more towards the Victim of Crime Act and gave a $20 million increase to SEMA disaster funding.

This budget will also begin to contain the ever growing Departments of Mental Health, Health and Senior Services and Social Services. These departments have spent money uncontrollably and unsupervised for years, and they continue to ask for more money year after year. On top of an ever growing budget, the governor has either line-item vetoed or withheld money to crucial programs across the state. This budget will leave the governor with a more than $90 million surplus so he will have no reason to withhold any funds, and it will rein in growth.

Unlike the federal government, we are tasked with the responsibility of actually passing a balanced budget. This year is no different. We found ways to fund state operations and take care of the state’s most vulnerable individuals.

The state Fiscal Year 2015 begins July 1, 2015. Lawmakers had until May 8, 2015, to pass the budget, a deadline set by the Missouri Constitution. It will now move to the governor for his signature.

I always appreciate hearing from you. If you have any questions about the topic discussed above, or any other issues, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

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