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This Week in the Governor’s Office: Week of Jan. 30

Gov. Eric Greitens capped off his week by officially releasing his budget recommendations in Nixa, Missouri. The $27.6 billion budget comes with $572 million in cuts and the elimination of nearly 200 state positions. Greitens said cuts would have to be made to ensure Missouri’s fiscal solvency and he blamed the state of Missouri’s economy on “politicians and insiders.”

“Politicians and insiders left us with a terrible plan. They planned to spend about $700 million that we don’t have,” he said in a statement yesterday. “When you spend more money than you’re taking in, you lose your savings, you risk your credit, and you gamble with your future. That’s what our politicians have been doing. They have been spending this way so carelessly for so long, and they have left us with the mess.”

He added that the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, was a primary reason for increased spending on Medicaid and social services, but a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article questioned the validity of such a claim.

The governor also released a campaign-style infomercial on social media Friday reiterating much of what he said Thursday in Nixa.

He said K-12 education, especially those with special education, would be a priority. He also reiterated his support for law enforcement with nearly $3 million of designated funding for the Department of Public Safety on things like tasers and the governor’s Blue Alert System. However, he acknowledged cuts had to be made to higher education.

“Tough choices have to be made to balance our checkbook,” Greitens said.

Minority Floor Leader Gail McCann Beatty questioned Greitens’ commitment to creating an educated workforce.

“I’m a little concerned that we talk about wanting to bring jobs into our state, and yet we have cut higher education by some $150 million. How do we possibly provide an educated workforce for the businesses that we claim we are going to bring to our state?” she asked. “We’ve had heard claims that we have not cut from K-12, however, we have cut from K-12 transportation, which is obviously going to have to trickle down to our classrooms.”

The Kansas City Star also reported on some of those tough choices as well, saying his cuts would mean an end to in-home care and nursing home services for nearly 20,000 elderly Missourians and people with disabilities.

Greitens’ budget calls for more than $500 million in cuts

 


The inner workings of the Senate also saw a wrench thrown into them by Greitens during debate on a Senate resolution that would deny a pay increase to lawmakers. Numerous senators either completely recused themselves from voting Monday, citing ethical concerns on voting for their own pay, and two voted yes on the measure.

Greitens personally visited with many of the senators  in Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard’s office where things reportedly got contentious between himself and Sens. Paul Wieland and Denny Hoskins. Tuesday, after the vote where the resolution succeeded, Greitens posted a long Facebook message lashing out at what he called a “pathetic display” by the Senate.

Hoskins later spoke on the #molegPodcast Wednesday, that he and Greitens had reconciled and even planned a Thursday morning workout together. He told the Missouri Times his reason for voting for the pay raise.

“I voted against the salary commission’s recommendation the last four times that they recommended a pay raise for state legislators, the last one being two years ago which was a 12 percent raise,” Hoskins said. “At some point, in order to attract the top possible candidates to run for office and to make sure you don’t just have the individually wealthy or all retirees running for state senate or state representative, you have to give a raise.”


Wednesday afternoon, Greitens visited the Missouri State Highway Patrol headquarters in Jefferson City to announced Lt. Col. Sandy Karsten would become the next supervisor of the law enforcement agency. Karsten will be the first woman to take up the post.