Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon last week vetoed $105 million in spending and eliminated 200 state jobs in the fiscal 2010 budget and announced the withholding of $325 million in authorized spending due to declining revenues.
The withholded funds can be released at a later date if revenues pick up.
“This near-record amount of line-item vetoes was not made lightly,” Nixon said. “These fiscally responsible steps are necessary to ensure that Missourians have a government we can afford, without raising taxes and without sacrificing our shared priorities of education, health care and jobs.” The cuts affect the $23 billion operating budget approved by the legislature in the spring.
Nixon also recently wrote a letter to lawmakers urging their support for a bond-funded building program. He wrote that a consensus must be built for a much-needed capital plan. He did not cite a dollar amount, but said he would support a program as long as it did not damage Missouri’s triple-A credit rating or require tax increases.
Lawmakers during their spring session considered a $700 million building program that, if approved, would have gone to voters to raise funds for state and university projects, but it never made it to the governor’s desk.
