The chair of a Missouri House committee looking at ways to downsize state government says they've handed off their findings to the Speaker's office.
Those findings consist of testimony from citizens who told the committee which commissions, offices or practices they say should be scrapped. Chairman Paul Curtman (R, Pacific) says a lot of people suggested cutting taxes by way of overriding Governor Jay Nixon's (D) veto of this year's income tax cut bill.
"Our committee doesn't really necessarily have a lot of jurisdiction over an outright repeal of a Governor's veto, but I think that their testimony does highlight a very important set of principles here," Curtman said.
Other suggestions included decriminalizing marijuana use, doing away with some of the state's planning commissions, and cutting the advertising budgets of state agencies.
"We had one woman come before the committee, and her idea (was) making sure we rein in some of the state's spending from the Department of Health and Senior Services," Curtman said. "A lot of people run advertising, not just public service announcements that are usually free, but also are paying for advertising on websites to remind parents to have their kids immunized before they attend school."
The suggestions will be used to craft a list of recommendations for next year's legislative session. There's no word yet on when that list will be put together or made public.
Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport
