GRAHAM HOPES TO CURB GOVERNMENT GROWTH

FREDERICKTOWN -- Although he has been in the Missouri House only three years, Jim Graham has been alarmed at the growth in state government during his short tenure. The state budget continues to grow and it seems like new programs are offered as solutions to many problems.

"What we used to do for ourselves, we seem to want government to do for us. We need a little compromising there," observed Graham. "But government can't do all things for all people, and it is growing too much."

Graham is in his second term as state representative, representing the 103rd District that includes northern Bollinger County, all of Madison County and southern St. Francois County.

During his tenure, the Fredericktown Republican has served on the appropriations committee for natural and economic resources. In that role, he is on a panel that scrutinizes the budgets of several state departments.

"It just seems like every year they get a bigger wish list, wanting more employees and computers and other things," said Graham. "We need to look at those closely and see what is really needed."

Like most other state and local government officials, Graham is concerned about federal government mandates that are putting a strain on financial resources. He also points out that issues the legislature will deal with in 1994, like welfare reform and health care, will ultimately require federal solutions.

"We see a lot of things going on in Washington. We need to keep local control in certain areas and not have the heavy burdens put on us at the local levels," observed Graham.

"We need to see if some things we have done in the past are not hampering the economy. It just seems like government gets bigger every year."

On health care and welfare reform, Graham stressed that federal regulations will overshadow Missouri's efforts in those areas.

Graham believes that on health care, a cautious approach is needed. "I hope the state doesn't try to get the cart before the horse and have a plan that doesn't coincide with whatever is outlined at the federal level," said Graham.

Since the end of the last session in May, Graham has been serving on two interim committees, appointed to prepare legislation for the 1994 session.

One of the committee's looked at agricultural institutions, focusing on corporate farming, high tech processing facilities around the state for farm products, and the agriculture and veterinary schools at the University of Missouri.

The committee on welfare is expected to draft a comprehensive plan for making the state's welfare system more efficient and capable of easing people from welfare to the workforce.

Both interim committees were joint panels comprised of both senators and representatives.

Graham expects a wide variety of issues to be dealt with in the upcoming session, including many subjects that were addressed to some degree last year. He also anticipates further legislation to deal with relief for victims of last year's flood in the state.

Graham is hoping that lawmakers will take a fresh look at the education reform bill, Senate Bill 380, and make some corrections he feels are needed. He points out that a circuit judge's order declaring the school foundation formula unconstitutional was used as an excuse for rushing through what is being viewed as a flawed bill.

"I think a lot of people in our area are not happy with the way 380 went," explained Graham. "We should have put more time into that. I think some people used the judge's order to try and push people into action."

Besides the appropriations committee, Graham will continue serving on three other committees this year: mines and mining; corrections and state institutions; and agriculture.