If you’re like me, you spend a considerable amount of time during the beginning of every year looking at your expenses and figuring out where you might be able to save money. Going over mortgages, utility bills, health expenses, and at this time of year, our taxes, gives us perspective on what we need to do to save – whether for our children’s education, retirement or a relaxing vacation. Year in and year out we set priorities for spending our money and often have to compensate for inflation and put aside more money for certain items – maybe a new car or home improvements. Your representatives in Missouri take on a similar task every year when we put together our state’s budget.

Every year, we spend hours upon hours working on the budget for the state of Missouri. The chair and members of the Budget committee in particular spend many early mornings and long nights trying to fairly allocate money to the various programs Missouri supports. This task is usually the most important thing we will do because it affects more Missourians than any other legislation that we pass.

As with the average Missouri family’s budget, we know some items in Missouri’s state budget are going to increase every year, mostly to keep up with the cost of inflation. The budget of some Missouri programs and departments goes up more than others, but where do we draw the line? Right now, there is no limit, but we are working on legislation that would draw one to keep our budget in check and make sure legislators continue to spend your tax dollars wisely.

House Joint Resolution 70 proposes a constitutional amendment which would prohibit appropriations in any fiscal year from exceeding certain limits. If this resolution is approved by the legislature, you and your fellow citizens will then have the opportunity to vote on the measure. Specifically, this resolution prohibits appropriations in any fiscal year from exceeding the total state general revenue appropriations from the previous year by more than the appropriations growth limit. Now that might sound confusing, but what it means is that we would calculate and limit budget increases using a formula that considers the annual rate of inflation and the annual Missouri population growth.

This bill would limit the growth of government spending and help provide long-term fiscal planning in Missouri. Left unchecked, it is easy for the budget to increase every year. In good economic times, like we are experiencing right now, it is easy for us to find ways to spend the money – but because we can does not mean we should. This legislation will encourage us to not only spend your money wisely but would also allow us to save money. The legislation specifies that if Missouri collects more than 1 percent of the authorized general revenue appropriations allowed, the money would be put aside into reserve funds to save for the future. Plus, if the revenue in these reserve funds exceeds the specified limits, we would be able to do something few if any states do in this day and age: actually reduce the income tax rate for Missourians. I want to assure you even though we have not passed this specific piece of legislation as of yet, we are still making every effort right now to spend your dollars wisely. The House Budget committee passed the budget bills out of committee this week and later this month the entire House will spend time studying and debating to make sure we’re getting the most value. We know Missouri families have to budget their money, plan and save in order to prepare for the future. I believe it is more than reasonable to expect your government to take the same care in spending your hard-earned tax dollars.