Lant: Budget Priorities, State History Tidbit

On Monday and Tuesday last week, I was at the Capitol for an interim meeting on the budget process. This was strictly a voluntary event at no taxpayer expense. The purpose was to better acquaint some of us to the appropriations process. Appropriations committees begin their hearings almost immediately upon the start of Session. Because they have to complete their process before budget processes begin, there really isn't much time to teach incoming freshmen what to do and how to do it. We were shown several of the Budget Committees' work sheets from last year, and the instructors explained the sometimes painstaking process of extracting information from department heads.

Each of the many departments that have funds appropriated by the General Assembly are required to appear before the designated appropriations committee and explain their budget requests for the upcoming year. It will probably not come as a surprise to you that no one wants to get by for less than they did last year. Our training was mostly focused on what questions to ask and how to ask them. For instance, we should not be afraid to ask the department heads if they accomplished what they proposed last year. It's really not that different than when we ask our children what they did with the money we gave them last week. (Surprisingly, some of the answers sound very much like the ones' our kids give us!) We were also told that it's sometimes a good idea to ask what portion of their budget they need the most. While none of us want to cut our spending, with the tight budget we are facing, it's a good idea to prioritize. It's too early to know with any certainty what our budget numbers are going to be, but it's a pretty good bet that we will have less revenue than we were projecting and consequently we will have additional cuts to make.

I was interested in seeing the "Summer Floor Schedule for America's Job Creators" memo from Washington D.C. last week. It read almost identical to our State itinerary. Their priorities were:

• Empower Small Business by Reducing Regulatory Burdens
• Fix the Tax Code to Help Job Creators
• Increase Competitiveness for American Manufacturers
• Encourage Entrepreneurship and Growth
• Minimize Domestic Energy Production to Ensure an Energy Policy for the 21st. Century
• Pay down America's Unsustainable Debt Burden and Start Living within Our Means

I wonder if there is any significance to living within our means being the last item on their list.

I was in Joplin nearly every day last week and it does your heart good to see progress already being made on the clean up. All the roads are open and the power companies have electricity nearly everywhere. I am amazed at how fast repairs are being made on some businesses and new structures are going up all over. Although the number of deaths and injuries were awful, the repeated instructions we have had over the years in how and where to take cover, saved countless lives. I'm sure some valuable lessons were learned that will further minimize future injuries and deaths. I can tell you that the whole world is amazed at how we stick together and take care of our own! We also have the full support of our State and Federal Government and an amazing amount of help, both physical and financial from virtually all over the world.

I promised a little more Missouri history in my reports. When Jefferson City was designated the State Capitol, there was a need for a Supreme Court. Since Judges were selected from all over the State, they had to have a place to stay while court was in session. It was soon deemed inappropriate for them to stay in hotels as they were subjected to questions and opinions from plaintiffs, lawyers, etc. It was decided to build a courthouse with quarters on the third floor to house the judges. If you visit me at the Capitol, I will get you a tour of the Supreme Court which will include a visit to the Judges' Quarters which are still being used for the same purpose today!