JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – House Speaker Tim Jones today issued the following statement in reaction to the governor’s decision to cancel plans to call a special session:
“After three days of no communication and a lack of requested information from the governor’s office, the House and Senate worked together to explain to the chief executive his own spending authority and the obvious fact that a taxpayer-funded special session is unnecessary. While I am glad that Senator Kurt Schaefer was able to provide the kind of substantive budget information that the governor should have had before ever announcing his intent to call a special session, the fact that the governor did not know how to read his own budget speaks volumes about the leadership void that currently exists in the highest office in our state.
Despite the fact we will now not meet to discuss unnecessary appropriations, it is obvious that the people of this state need and deserve answers regarding the many poor decisions made by the governor’s office during the unrest in Ferguson, from August through the present time. As the news of a potential special session broke, I was contacted by numerous citizens, public officials and members of the law enforcement community who are eager to testify before the legislature about the governor’s numerous missteps. We owe it to the people of Ferguson and to all Missourians to conduct a thorough investigation into the governor’s actions that made a difficult situation into a disaster.
My colleagues and I are in the process of activating the existing Joint Committee on Government Accountability to thoroughly examine the governor’s decisions throughout the Ferguson situation, and to take testimony from the many concerned citizens who wish to make their voices heard on this important issue. The committee will be granted subpoena power as needed and we expect committee members to hold their first hearing in the imminent future.”
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