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Press release: In the final hours of the 2014 Legislative Session, Missouri General Assembly puts the budget severely out of balance with special giveaways, Gov. Nixon says

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 16, 2014

In the final hours of the 2014 Legislative Session, Missouri General Assembly puts the budget severely out of balance with special giveaways, Gov. Nixon says

 

General Assembly gives new tax breaks to special interests, potential impact to the budget could be nearly $500 million in reduced revenue

 

JEFFERSON CITY— As the 2014 Legislative Session drew to a close, the Missouri General Assembly passed eight separate pieces of legislation giving tax breaks to special interests, totaling up to $483 million in reduced revenue and throwing the budget severely out of balance, Gov. Jay Nixon said today.

 

“In the last eight hours of the 2014 session, this legislature went on a special interest handout spree, passing tax breaks for everything from fast food restaurants to power companies, with no plan to pay for them,” Gov. Nixon said. “Altogether, the grab bag of giveaways passed today would reduce revenue by at least $263 million. And, an amendment slipped in at the last minute that didn’t go through the fiscal review process could drive that number to nearly a half billion dollars.”

 

The Governor referred to House Bills 1296 and 1865, and Senate Bills 584, 612, 662, 693, 727 and 860, which all passed the General Assembly today.

 

“Writing bad checks might be what they do in Washington, D.C., but it’s not what we do here in Missouri,” Gov. Nixon said. “As a result of the legislature’s actions today, the budget they presented to me is seriously out of balance and I will be taking the appropriate action over the coming weeks and months to ensure Missouri does not careen off its fiscally responsible course.”

 

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