Missouri's proposed budget looks $1 billion bigger, thanks to hundreds of additions by the House Budget Committee.
The apparently larger budget reveals a struggle over the power of the purse between Missouri's legislators and governor.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike are attempting to assert more control over the thousands of specific appropriations listed in Missouri's budget for the 2013 fiscal year. So lawmakers have removed the "E'' — for estimate — designation next to hundreds of appropriations. The "E'' had had allowed Governor Jay Nixon's Democratic administration to spend more money than listed for a particular item in the budget, if more money became available.
Lawmakers have replaced "E''s with specific dollar amounts that, in many cases, are higher than the old estimated figures.
