From the office of Senator David Pearce
The 2011 legislative session officially began at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 5. Newly elected Senate leader, President Pro Tem Robert Mayer addressed the major challenges our state will face in the upcoming months, including job retention and creation, budget issues, and making sure that decisions will reshape government for the better.
Creating jobs will be an important focus of our legislative agenda in the Senate this session. We’ve got to get people in this state working, partly because 75 percent of state general revenue comes from state income tax. That means when so many people are unemployed, or underemployed, it has a large impact on the whole state. We have more than 3 million Missourians in the state’s work force and more that 280,000 have been out of work for the past year and a half. We want to put Missourians back to work in good jobs with good benefits. We want to make sure that employers can hire and retain quality workers. We must look at government intrusions and government regulations. We need a reduced regulatory climate for businesses so that they can thrive.
The projected shortfall in the upcoming year is between $300-$900 million. Since we cannot deficit spend, unlike the federal government, it forces us to make tough decisions. There are two ways to ease a tight budget: we can either raise taxes or we can choose to live within our means. The Missouri Legislature has chosen to live within our means. We are resisting the urge to raise taxes.
Education funding will be a critical item for the state. This past year, we were able to maintain level funding for our schools, but even that was tough on local school districts because costs increase every year.
Another important education issue comes from last year’s Missouri Supreme Court decision in the case of Turner vs. School District of Clayton, in which students paying tuition to attend a school outside of their district requested their tuition reimbursed when that school lost its accreditation. We need to come up with solutions that will help students in unaccredited districts, while, at the same time, not creating over-burdensome regulations on school districts around the state. I have filed SB 14 that I feel adequately addresses this issue.
Often we get our best ideas from Missouri citizens. The “Rebooting Government” initiative is being utilized once again this year. Last year, I chaired the Education working group that identified $66.7 million in taxpayer savings. The hope is to combine Missourians’ suggestions to help the Senate come up with ways to reshape government. Next week, I will once lead the education working group. Hopefully, citizens from across the state, as well as here in the 31st District, will put forth some good ideas, not just for education but in other areas that will save money and go a long way toward restructuring our government. The website is www.senate.mo.gov/RebootMO. As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.
Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.
