After cutting $650 million to balance the fiscal 2011 budget, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon last week announced another $300 million in reductions due to revised revenue projections.
The largest cuts include $50 million to a college scholarship program, $47 million in state tax credits, and $70 million in school transit funding. The cuts came as Nixon signed the $23.3 billion budget for fiscal 2011, which begins July 1.
Lawmakers will return to work tomorrow in a special session called by the Democratic governor to consider the Missouri Automotive Manufacturing Jobs Act, which would benefit manufacturers and suppliers that make a significant capital investment in the state by allowing them to retain withholding taxes.
Nixon is pressing for passage as an incentive to keep Ford Motor Co.’s Claycomo Assembly Plant in operation. The company expects to move production of its Escape sports utility vehicle to Louisville and has not announced a new model to be produced at the Missouri plant.
