GOP will oppose education spending increase

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- On the eve of the annual State of the State address, the top Senate Republican said Tuesday his party supports maintaining next year's education appropriation at the $4.55 billion level approved for the fiscal year ending June 30.

"Money alone is not the answer to making Missouri schools some of the best in the country," said Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder of Cape Girardeau. He said Republicans would oppose further cuts to education.

Also Tuesday, Senate Republicans again warned Gov. Bob Holden not to propose a state budget that relies on revenue subject to future voter approval.

Holden, a Democrat, is unlikely to heed that warning, having already said higher taxes on smokers and casino operators will be part of the budget plan and legislative agenda he will present to a joint session of the legislature at 10 a.m. today.

Getting a jump on the governor's speech, Kinder and other chamber Republicans outlined their own priorities for the year.

Topping the list is a proposed constitutional amendment Kinder filed last week that would preclude a governor from crafting a budget plan that counts on money that voters have not -- and may not -- authorize. The governor's current constitutional obligation is to present a spending plan based on estimated revenue collections, along with any laws necessary to boost revenue.

Senate Minority Floor Leader Ken Jacob, D-Columbia, blasted Kinder for turning the chamber into a "partisan battlefield" with his pre-emptive strike against Holden's budget plan.

By attacking Holden's proposal before it has been presented, Jacob said "the Senate leadership showed its total lack of respect for the offices of this state and of the people of Missouri."

Since last year, when the Republican-led legislature rejected his revenue-boosting proposals, Holden has maintained tax increases are necessary to improve funding for elementary and secondary education and other vital state services.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's budget has increased 85 percent since fiscal year 1993, the budget year prior to the last major increase in taxes earmarked for public schools.

Familiar business-friendly issues such as tort reform, changes in workers' compensation laws and regulatory relief are also part of Senate Republicans' agenda.

Kinder said every legislative priority Holden identifies in his speech will receive a hearing and Senate committee vote.

Senate Democrats offered their own set of priority legislation, including a 40-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax to pay for improved health-care access for uninsured and underinsured Missourians.

They also suggested changing the state tax code to eliminate an income tax deduction that some nonresidents who earn wages in Missouri receive for paying property taxes in other states. Democrats said that would generate $11 million to provide tuition assistance to Missouri college students.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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