Missouri’s state budget for next year has been signed into law, but Governor Jay Nixon also carved $15 million out of the spending plan that takes effect July 1. The governor told reporters Friday that the budget is actually $50 million out of balance, due in part because lawmakers miscalculated how much money the state would make from the Missouri Lottery. Budget Director Linda Luebbering says, though, that they won’t make any further cuts for now.
“We’re seeing some positive trends, the unemployment rate continues to fall, so we are hopeful that we’ll see some other things that may allow us to not have to restrict more later…but simply put, if we need to, we’ll come back and do that when it’s evident that we need to,” Luebbering said.
Friday's cuts include nearly nine million dollars from Higher Education, which Luebbering says will be evenly distributed among the state’s community colleges and universities.
The governor also used the line-item veto to eliminate 130-thousand dollars for a port project in northeastern Missouri and 80-thousand for a “Blues in Schools” program.