-
Headlines
Rich States, Poor States, 6th Edition
This 6th edition of Rich States, Poor States contains invaluable insight into each of the 50 "laboratories of democracy." With solid empirical research and the latest data on state economies, the evidence is clear on which state tax and fiscal policies directly lead to more opportunities, more jobs, and more prosperity for all Americans.
-
Headlines : Michigan, Missouri, Texas
Budget surpluses spur tension in some GOP states
Now Republicans who control a majority of the state capitols in the United States face a far greater philosophical dilemma - what to do with all the money when an improving economy suddenly creates a surplus in revenues.
-
Headlines
Ex-Penn State president tops highest paid list
Presidents of public universities are taking home bigger paychecks, and a growing number are raking in more than $1 million.
-
Headlines : Missouri
Nixon likely to veto Mo. income tax cut plan
Gov. Jay Nixon indicated Friday that he is likely to veto legislation that would cut Missouri's income taxes for businesses and individuals, saying he has serious concerns that it could jeopardize funding for essential government services.
-
Headlines
What if the Internet Sales Tax Doesn't Make it Through Congress?
Some states are so anxious for the anticipated revenues they've already committed the money to various projects.
- View All News Stories
Budget timeline: Annual
Fiscal Year starts: July 1
The current state budget can be found here.
Find the legislative session calendar here.
Find the current legislative leaders here.
Gov. Jeremiah Nixon
Office of Governor Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon
Missouri Capitol Building
Room 216
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Phone: (573) 751-3222
Fax: (573) 526-3291
http://governor.mo.gov/
Linda Luebbering, Budget Director
Division of Budget and Planning
Room 124, State Capitol, Box 809
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone (573) 751-2345
Fax (573) 526-4811
www.oa.mo.gov/bp/
Want a more robust, long-term look at your state's fiscal health, beyond the budget? There are two parts: Click here for the FY2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) compiled by the state government, and click here for information on the state's pension liabilities.
Missouri is required to pass a "balanced budget." Article IV, Section 24 of the revised 1974 Constitution requires the governor to submit the estimated available revenues of the State and a complete plan of proposed expenditures. Section 27 allows the governor to reduce expenditures when the actual revenues are less than the revenue estimates. Missouri law forbids the carrying over of a deficit from one year to the next. Despite these requirements, Missouri's Budgetary Comparison Schedules reported deficits (negative net transactions) for two of the three years studied.
Major funds include general, public education, conservation and environmental protection, transportation and law enforcement, and the Missouri road fund. All five of the major funds are budgeted in addition to numerous non-major funds. Since actual and budgeted figures (expenditures and revenues) are relatively in sync, we assume that most funds are budgeted. Information within Budgetary Comparison Schedules is efficiently organized, containing "total" columns for the numerous non-major funds. [from the Institute for Truth in Accounting]
Find the state's bond ratings here.
|
|
 |
Pensions :
-
HEADLINES
GAO finds growing state, local fiscal gap with Medicaid to blame
Closing the gap to achieve fiscal balance over 50 years will require "action to be taken today and maintained for each year equivalent to a 14.2 percent reduction in the state and local government sector's current expenditures."
-
HEADLINES
State Pension Litigation Update, May 2013
In attempts to reign in the costs of pensions, state lawmakers legislate pension reform. Challengers to those reforms often bring suit, alleging violations of state law, contracts, and the Constitution.
- View All Missouri articles
K-12 Education :
-
HEADLINES: Missouri
Missouri public schools appear in line for more money
Missouri schools appear likely to get a 2 percent funding increase next year as a result of a decision Tuesday by a Senate budget panel.
-
RESEARCH
The School Staffing Surge: Decades of Employment Growth in America's Public Schools, Part II
Public schools grew staffing at a rate four times faster than the increase in students over that time period. Of those personnel, teachers' numbers increased 252 percent, while administrators and other non-teaching staff experienced growth of 702 percent, more than seven times the increase in students.
- View All Missouri articles
-
Solutions:
How Reality-Based Budgeting Can Permanently Resolve State Budget Gaps
State Budget Solutions recommends that state legislators take action in 2013 to resolve the serious state financial crises by changing their focus from inputs to outcomes by redesigning budgets from the ground up based on priorities and performance.
-
Solutions:
How to Prevent Future Pension Crises
The time for state and local governments to offer defined contribution retirement plans that protect both taxpayer dollars and public employee retirement security is now.
-
Solutions:
State Lawmaker’s Guide to Evaluating Medicaid Expansion Projections
Supporters of Obamacare claim that expanding Medicaid will entail little to no cost to state governments, since the federal government will fund the vast majority of the additional costs. Indeed, some analyses project states achieving savings from adopting the expansion. However, state lawmakers should be wary of accepting such analyses at face value.
-
Solutions:
Medicaid Is Broken—Let the States Fix It
Block-granting Medicaid is the best way to deliver better, cost-effective care to the most vulnerable Americans.
-
Solutions:
The Case for Reform: Prisons
Prisons are supremely important, but they are also a supremely expensive government program, and thus prison systems must be held to the highest standards of accountability.
- View All Solutions
-
State Pension Litigation Update, May 2013
In attempts to reign in the costs of pensions, state lawmakers legislate pension reform. Challengers to those reforms often bring suit, alleging violations of state law, contracts, and the Constitution.
-
GAO finds growing state, local fiscal gap with Medicaid to blame
Closing the gap to achieve fiscal balance over 50 years will require "action to be taken today and maintained for each year equivalent to a 14.2 percent reduction in the state and local government sector's current expenditures."
-
In Congress, a Bill Seeks to Tie Municipal Borrowing Power to Public Pension Disclosure
Representatives from California and two other states introduced a bill in Congress on Thursday that would strip states and cities of their right to issue tax-exempt bonds unless they first disclosed the true cost of their pension plans and whether they could pay it.
-
States move along different roads to tackle underfunding dilemma
More states are enacting measures to help improve the solvency of their public pension funds as funding ratios remain low.
-
GASB changes to boost pressure for pension reform, Fitch report says
Impending changes in Governmental Accounting Standards Board standards in 2014 and 2015 should increase public pressure on decision-makers to reform state and local government pension plans, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.
- View All Pensions
-
BLOG: Higher Education, Spending
Who is the highest paid state employee in your state?
Time to add a new diagram to the state budget and policy playbook--your state's highest paid employee is probably a football or basketball coach.
-
BLOG: Medicaid
Medicaid expansion won't yield quality health care
The bombshell Oregon Medicaid study released this week should give all states pause as they consider plans to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. States must now ask what the point of Medicaid is in the first place.
-
BLOG: Budget Gimmicks, Budget Processes and Systems, Measures to Balance Budgets, Spending, State Debt
Let's Put Privatizing Municipal Services Back on the Table
-
BLOG: Unions
Airing Out the Smoke-filled Rooms: Bringing Transparency to Public Union Collective Bargaining
To help prevent union strong-arming that fleeces taxpayers, we should know precisely what public union officials are demanding and what government employers are offering in any collective negotiation about employment terms and conditions.
-
BLOG: Budget Gimmicks, Budget Processes and Systems, Budget Transparency, Federal Government Impact, Federal Government Impact, Measures to Balance Budgets, Pensions, Revenue, Spending, State Debt
Yes, Your Paycheck is Smaller...And it May Get Worse
And it isn’t just individuals who must reconfigure budgets, the states are looking at smaller “paychecks” as well.
- View All Commentary
