Tonight Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon gave his annual speech to the Missouri General Assembly - the State of the State address. Thank you for joining us!
We'll have a full report from our statehouse reporter Marshall Griffin tomorrow during Morning Edition, but in the meantime, here's the full transcript of the address for you in case you missed it.
Also - here are a few takeaway points from tonight's address from the Associated Press:
- More reductions in Mo. payroll proposed
Gov. Jay Nixon is proposing to shrink Missouri's work force by several hundred people. But those who remain could get paid a little more.
A budget proposal released Tuesday by Nixon would eliminate 816 state employee positions for the fiscal year that begins July 1. State budget director Linda Luebbering says Nixon's administration hopes to meet that target through attrition, not layoffs. For those remaining on the state payroll, Nixon's plan would recommend a 2 percent raise effective next Jan. 1.
The proposal would leave Missouri with 55,692 full-time state employees - a decrease of 4,181 since Nixon took office in 2009.
- Public schools spared from cuts
Missouri's public schools would be spared from cuts in basic state aid under a budget plan put forth by Gov. Jay Nixon.
The governor proposed Tuesday to provide school districts with a slight increase of $5 million in basic state aid for the next school year. That would allow Nixon to tout school funding at a record-high level. But the $3 billion in basic aid is still $477 million less than what's called for by the state's school funding formula.
Given Missouri's budget troubles, some school officials had said they would be happy just to avoid getting cut in the 2013 budget.
- Mo. colleges targeted for more cuts
Gov. Jay Nixon is proposing another round of budget cuts for Missouri's public colleges and universities. Nixon proposed Tuesday to cut state aid to higher education institutions by 12.5 percent during the 2012-2013 academic year.
The governor's proposal would mark the third straight year of cuts for colleges and universities. They took a 7.5 percent reduction this year on top of a more than 5 percent cut the previous year. The cuts come even though enrollments have been rising at many of Missouri's institutions.
Missouri has yet to return to the level of funding originally pledged for colleges and universities in the 2001 fiscal year, before a prior round of budget cuts began. Although cutting operating funds, Nixon's budget would hold funding for student scholarships steady.
