Thursday, June 29, 2006
Contact: Spence Jackson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Signs Budget Bills Honoring Commitment to Education; Responsible Fiscal Stewardship
JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. Matt Blunt signed the remaining Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 budget bills today and used his line item veto authority on funding for four programs in four state agencies.
The $20.8 billion state budget Blunt approved contains a $173.4 million increase for public education, a $20 million increase for Missouri’s public two and four-year colleges and universities and a $10.7 million increase for the Missouri Children’s Health Insurance Program known as SCHIPS.
For the second year in a row Blunt’s budget was based on sound fiscal management principles, not gimmicks or one-time sources of revenue, a practice used by his predecessors. Blunt’s budget delivers more money to schools, a promise he made as a candidate, and contains $731 million in new funding for Missouri’s Medicaid program.
“This fiscally sound budget which makes significant investments for Missouri's future is a direct result of our actions last year to spur job growth and live within our means,” Blunt said. “It was made possible by the difficult, but responsible, decisions we made last year to move Missouri in the right direction. The ongoing commitment of my administration to greater efficiency is critical to the increased funding for schools and healthcare.
“I commend the Missouri General Assembly in general and specifically President Pro-tem Mike Gibbons, Speaker Rod Jetton, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Chuck Gross and House Budget Chairman Allen Icet for their support of our efforts to restore fiscal discipline to our state government and to eradicate the tax and spend policies that created last year's budget crisis. Missouri is moving in the right direction, and I am optimistic about the future.”
Blunt vetoed a total of $10,435,229 in spending on four budget items including:
- $10,000,000 in general revenue for the Access Missouri Scholarship Program. The failure to pass House Bill 1865 was clearly due to the General Assembly’s lack of agreement with regard to the scholarship program and a much higher education initiative
- $25,000 for the State Highways and Transportation Fund for the Mississippi River Parkway Commission. State law directs that expenses of commission members shall be reimbursed from appropriations of general revenue. This appropriation is in conflict with that statute
- $254,469 in Public Counsel funds for the Office of the Public Counsel. Enacting legislation was not passed; therefore this funding mechanism does not exist
- $155,760 in general revenue for parking expenses. State law requires the participating counties to pay for these expenses
Here are some highlights of Blunt’s fiscally sound, pro-education, pro-family FY 2007 budget:
- $405 million in additional funds for road and bridge construction and maintenance
- $400,000 to maintain daily, round-trip passenger rail service between St. Louis and Kansas City
- $382 million available from Amendment 3 bond proceeds to be used for road bridge projects
- $93.4 million for a four percent pay raise for all state employees and $36.1 million to continue to provide the state’s share of health insurance for state employees
- $9 million for the third year of a phased-in pay increase for Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers
- $5.3 million to support anticipated biodiesel production in FY 2007
- An additional $625,000 for the Ethanol Producer Incentive Fund to support ethanol production and to fulfill pledges made to Missouri farmers that were not fulfilled in previous years. This brings the total funding to $8.6 million
- An additional $445,710 to fund nine staff to investigate abuse and neglect complaints made by or on behalf of the clients of the Department of Mental Health
- $1.6 million to enhance water resource assessment and monitoring statewide, ensuring the safety and quality of the state’s water
- $286,638 to determine applicable water quality standards for selected bodies of water throughout the State
- $25 million in state funds to establish a Health Care Technology Fund that will support projects to explore new innovative ways that technology can improve the delivery of health care, reduce administrative burdens and address waste, fraud and abuse
- $169,512 to support the state’s Alternatives to Abortion Program bringing total funding to $1.5 million
- $55.7 million for a rate increase to improve the quality of care for Missouri seniors who receive in-home healthcare.
- $1.5 million in additional funding for the Senior Nutrition Program, which will provide increased funding for congregate and home-delivered meals.
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