Tuesday, May 13, 2005
Contact: Spence Jackson, (573)751-0290
Blunt Praises New Era of Responsible Government at Close of Historic State Legislative Session
JEFFERSON CITY—Gov. Matt Blunt commended the Missouri General Assembly today for answering his call to create a new era of responsible government that prioritizes the education of school children, promotes an economic climate to facilitate job growth and efficient budgeting without increasing job destroying taxes on working families.
Blunt led the successful efforts to increase funding for public schools, enact meaningful medical liability, litigation and workers’ compensation reform, balance the state budget without imposing new taxes or raising existing taxes, reform Missouri’s social welfare system to ensure that taxpayer funded assistance is getting to the most needy, and reign in out-of-control state spending.
The challenges Blunt has addressed after four months in office are unprecedented in recent times. Coupled with his ongoing effort to reorganize state government they highlight his focused and determined effort to give Missourians the kind of efficient, effective and responsible state government they expect and deserve but have been denied in recent years.
"We have made the education of our state’s children the number one public policy priority once again and have helped restore order and fiscal stability to a wrecked state budget," Blunt said. "As a candidate, I made a promise to the people of Missouri to lead our state in a new direction. I am happy to report that those promises have been kept and that our state is now on the right track toward greater opportunity and advancement for all Missourians.
"I am proud of our accomplishments to help improve the quality of life in this great state and am honored to have been given the opportunity to work with the leadership and members of the Missouri General Assembly who share my firm belief that our state’s best days lie ahead."
Missourians are already reaping the benefits of Blunt’s legislative and administrative accomplishments. Hospitals across the state have relayed positive reports in their efforts to attract and retain good doctors and caregivers due in part to the landmark litigation reform legislation Blunt helped guide through the legislative process.
Missouri’s employers and entrepreneurs have praised the reforms made to the state’s workers’ compensation laws, which many say will aid their efforts to stimulate the state’s economy and create good, family-supporting jobs.
The Fiscal Year 2006 budget passed by lawmakers last week contained many of Blunt’s fiscal recommendations including a $158 million increase in funding for Missouri’s public schools. This significant 4.4 percent increase marks the first in what Blunt has pledged will be annual increases for schools every year that he is governor.
Lawmakers also responded to Blunt’s calls to reform Medicaid, addressing problems with waste, fraud and abuse in the system. These changes will sustain the program into the future and will still provide social welfare services for over 900,000 of the state’s five and a half million residents.
The following is a detailed list of Blunt’s legislative and administrative accomplishments to date.
Missouri’s Top Public Policy Priority: Education- Increased funding to Missouri’s public schools by $158 million, a 4.4 percent increase from FY 05
- Passed a new school funding formula based on students’ needs, not property values
- Increased funding for Parents as Teachers by $1 million
- Added an additional $113.4 million for the current foundation formula
- Provided $6 million in new funding for school districts to educate severely disabled children that require contractual placements
- Secured an additional $3.8 million for A+ Schools to provide community college tuition reimbursement
- The Fiscal Year 2006 budget puts the state on a firm financial path without increasing the tax burden on Missouri’s hard working families
- Achieved structural balance between income and expenses after taking office in face of a more than one billion dollar budget deficit
- Maximized the utilization of state resources to improve efficiency and provide the best possible services at the least expense
- Eliminated reliance on one-time funds
- Passed the Missouri Quality Jobs Act which will attract and retain high-paying Missouri jobs with health benefits for Missouri families
- Signed meaningful litigation reform and workers’ compensation reform into law
- Signed legislation ending unfair retirement enhancements for administrative law judges
- Repealed an Executive Order that would have allowed service unions to take money from state employees without their consent
- Provided additional funding for biodiesel and ethanol production incentives to provide opportunities for Missouri families to participate in value added agriculture
- Established the Advisory Council for Plant Biotechnology to help position our state at the top of the burgeoning value-added agriculture and plant life sciences industry
- Joined 11 other states in the AMBER Alert Web Portal
- Protected children and expectant mothers from Medicaid eligibility changes
- Improved the First Steps program
- Passed legislation to combat Missouri’s worst in the nation methamphetamine crisis
- Began the process of consolidating the state’s information technology system into one efficient location
- Implemented an online application system for state job openings
- Established the Missouri State Government Review Commission to review all state agencies in order to offer Missourians the best and most cost-effective services
- Signed an Executive Order restricting new state office space leases, the purchase of new vehicles, cellular phones and office space by state agencies
- Closed the state’s Washington, D.C. lobbying office
- Merged the Office of Homeland Security into the Department of Public Safety
- Streamlined in-home health services provided to the elderly and disabled within the Department of Health and Senior Services
- Implemented needed changes to sustain the program for over 900,000 of the state’s five and a half million residents while protecting services for children, pregnant women or the blind
- Created a system that lives within taxpayers’ means, while delivering services to those truly in need
- Achieved cost savings by targeting fraud, waste and abuse
- Implemented annual eligibility checks to ensure that only those who qualify receive social welfare benefits
- Continue efforts to pass a cost of living increase for Missouri’s hardworking and dedicated state employees
- Expansion of the Transportation Commission for greater geographic dispersion and to include members that represent air and mass transit and freight and river transit
- Improve the environment by expanding the use of alternative fuels
- Continue efforts to position Missouri as a national leader in life sciences
- Eliminate requirements voters must meet to receive an absentee ballot, as well as a provision in the law that requires absentee ballots to be notarized
- Pass parental consent law and implement tougher restrictions on abortion clinics