If the income tax cut bill becomes law in September, millions will be cut from Missouri's public education system, according to Governor Jay Nixon.
It's a common refrain from the Democrat: "You can either be for public education or for House Bill 253, but you can't be both," he told a crowd of business leaders last week.
This week, Nixon released numbers to back up his claim.
The governor's office maintains that the income tax cuts (which he vetoed last month) would result in the state losing around $700 million in revenue, resulting in less funding for education.
Below you can see how much your school could lose, according to Nixon's administration.*
“These numbers demonstrate that, even under the General Assembly’s own assumptions, House Bill 253 would drain hundreds of millions of dollars away from schools in every corner of our state," Nixon wrote in a statement.
Republicans were unconvinced. The bill's sponsor told the Missouri Times that it was a scare tactic.
“I have a problem understanding how a bill that is fiscally positive the first year would cost half of the total amount that the governor said it would cost over a minimum 10-year period,” the lawmaker told the paper.
Republicans will be deciding soon if they will attempt to override the bill in September. As the Kansas City Star detailed Tuesday, the vote will come down to just a few legislators.
Follow Chris McDaniel on Twitter: @csmcdaniel
*Numbers assume the US Congress does not pass the Marketplace Fairness Act. Nixon says if that does happen, the cuts to education would be more severe.
