House Completes Balanced, Fiscally Responsible Budget
This week was budget week in the House as we approved the 13 appropriations bills that make up the state spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. In total, the bills contain more than $24.8 billion in funding for our various state departments and agencies. I’m proud to say the budget represents a balanced spending plan that forces our state to live within its means. Yes, there are certain areas of the budget where we would have liked to increase funding, but the end result is one that represents the best we can do considering the amount of revenues that will be available to fund our priorities.
We have made education a top priority in all of our budget discussions and I am happy to report the spending plan we approved includes an additional $65 million in funding for the formula that funds our system of K-12 education. That brings our total funding for the formula to nearly $3.1 billion, which is a record level for education. Keep in mind the total does still fall short of the funding level called for by the formula, but I’m happy to see we are moving in the right direction by increasing education funding as our revenues allow. The education budget also includes a $7 million increase for the High Needs Fund that supports the needs of special education students; a $5.4 million increase for the Missouri Preschool Program; and a $1.5 million increase for the First Steps Program that provides families with the tools they need to help their children be successful.
The budget approved by the House also includes an additional $20 million in funding for our public institutions of higher learning. We also increased funding to our A+ Schools Program by $2 million, which will allow the program to expand to every school in the state. The program has been a huge success in helping to prepare high school students for success in college and beyond. In addition, the budget increases funding by $2.4 million for the Bright Flight Scholarship Program and by $1 million for the Access Missouri Scholarship Program. Increases to both will allow even more Missouri young people to achieve the dream of obtaining a college education.
Another item of interest in this year’s budget is a new program created to provide tuition assistance to the men and women who so ably serve in our Missouri National Guard. As you may know, the federal government’s inability to pass a budget led to the Sequester cuts that are impacting the lives of many around the country and right here in Missouri. The cuts include a decrease in funding to tuition assistance for the members of our military. Because we want our men and women in uniform to continue their academic pursuits, this year’s budget includes $1.5 million in state funding for tuition assistance. These dollars will help more than 900 National Guardsmen who will lose their federal tuition assistance at the end of the current semester.
These are just a few of the highlights of this year’s budget, which includes funding for everything from the Missouri Department of Public Safety to the Department of Economic Development. The thing all Missourians should feel good about with this budget is that it represents a fiscally responsible spending plan that doesn’t saddle our state with financial obligations we cannot afford to meet.
HB 349 Receives House Approval
This week my colleagues in the House also approved my legislation (HB 349) to allow property-carrying commercial motor vehicles to be issued two license plates. The bill would change state law which currently requires that commercial vehicles in excess of 12,000 pounds be issued only one plate. The change would allow owners of these vehicles to request two plates – one for the front and one for the back of the vehicle. It is a move that would make it easier to travel in other states where law enforcement may not know that a single front plate is acceptable in Missouri. My bill was passed by the House as a consent bill, which means it is non-controversial in nature and has a much greater chance of making its way through the process and into law.
Taking Time to Honor Those Who Serve
While many may not realize it, this week marked the first observance of Veterans of Operation Iraqi/Enduring Freedom Day. The day was created with the passage of legislation last year that designates March 26 as the day to give special honor and recognition to veterans who have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Desert Storm.
Missouri is blessed to have a large population of veterans who we strive to honor and appreciate for the sacrifices they have made for our nation. We also have a new generation of brave individuals who have served in the modern day conflicts that have taken place in the Middle East. Just as we honor those who served in World War I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, we must also take time to recognize the tens of thousands of Missourians who have risked their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan to protect our way of life.
I hope you will join me in putting this important day on your calendar so that we will not allow the sacrifices made by our veterans and their families to ever be forgotten. Let us never forget they deserve our daily respect and admiration.
As always, please do not hesitate to call or write me anytime with your questions or thoughts on these or any other issue. My Capitol office phone number is 573-751-3971 and my email is wanda.brown@house.mo.gov.
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