A Moment with Mike for May 14th, 2008

Last week I discussed the economic outlook for Missouri and the optimistic forecast compared to many states that are struggling to make ends meet and find themselves raising taxes or cutting programs. We have a constitutional responsibility, and I believe, an ethical one, to balance our budget every year and spend within our means. So, while our budget for the next fiscal year comes in at 22.4 billion dollars, there has been considerable effort to make sure our dollars are spent wisely.
The General Assembly will allocate this money to the many programs and initiatives without any raise in taxes and in fact, we have cut taxes for many Missourians, including seniors. I have been asked how we continue to take in surplus revenues without a single tax increase. The answer is that we have helped promote a thriving economic climate, and have in turn actually taken in increased revenue from businesses. We have offered incentives and implemented tort reform and other pro-growth legislation to allow our business community to keep our economy strong.
Arguably, the most essential service we provide is education. As it is every year, one of the top priorities in our state budget is to ensure our young people have exceptional educational opportunities. The FY2009 budget will allocate more than $5.3 billion in funding for elementary and secondary education. This is the fourth year in a row we have increased funding for education. A key item contained in that increase is an additional $121 million for our Foundation Formula that allocates funding to our public schools and another $30 million increase designated to specific programs such as Early Childhood Special Education, A+ Schools, Education for the severely disabled, Missouri Virtual Schools and the Small Schools Program that is so important for us in Northwest Missouri.
The FY2009 budget will also reflect a commitment to enhanced funding for Higher Education. The budget for the first time includes more than $1 billion in state funds for higher education including a $43 million increase to Missouri’s public two and four year institutions. We also allocated an additional $23.8 million for the Access Missouri Financial Assistance Program, bringing total funding to $95.8 million, allowing even more middle-class families to have access to affordable higher education.
We also continue to work to provide health services for Missourians. Our budget contains $5.8 billion in total funding for Mo HealthNet, which reflects $420.4 million in new funding. This includes $4.8 million to expand health care coverage for children through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and $13 million to provide access to health care coverage for low-income women.
Of the many items that could be discussed in the budget, these, along with Transportation make up a large portion of the total amount. I am pleased that we have been able to create a responsible budget that provides for current programs while also ensuring we will have a safety net for the future.
If you have questions, you may reach me at my Capitol number 573-751-9465, at the local district number, 660-582-4014, by email at mike.thomson@house.mo.gov or by mail at Room 406A State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.