Mo. Senate agrees to voluntarily withhold 10 percent of budget

Label hed: Belt-tightening time

By Paul Sloca ~ The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Senate panel voted unanimously Thursday to voluntarily cut the chamber's current budget by 10 percent as part of statewide budget withholdings.

The Senate Administration Committee voted 4-0 to authorize the Senate to reduce its $12.4 million annual budget by $1.2 million for the fiscal year that began July 1.

Under the plan, there will be an initial cut of about $625,000, or 6.25 percent, from the Senate's roughly $10 million contingency fund. Another 4 percent in cuts will be determined by Senate Administrator Ron Kirchoff.

"I feel comfortable with the 6.25 percent cut," Kirchoff told the committee. "But I need to look at the 4 percent a little further."

The move was part of an overall reorganization plan Republicans had proposed to streamline Senate operations. Their original pledge, which also called for a 10 percent cut, was put on hold in the final days of the legislative session that ended May 18.

"We're following through on that commitment," said Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau. "It's belt tightening time in the private sector and it's belt tightening time in the government sector."

The committee's decision falls into line with Gov. Bob Holden's plan to cut $358 million from the state's $19 billion budget.

Technically, the cuts are "withholdings," which mean the money could be released if economic conditions improve.

The 10 percent Senate cut is more than the average 2.5 percent withholding in general revenue funds from all other state agencies.

Holden encouraged

Holden said he was encouraged that the Senate was doing its part to help reduce spending in tough financial times.

"I applaud the Senate for its efforts and I appreciate their perseverance," Holden said. "I've made requests that all the different departments of state government to look where they can to institute these withholdings."

Meanwhile, the Senate committee approved an overall Senate reorganization plan that would cap the number of out-of-state trips by senators to three a year. Only domestic travel would be permitted. The policy, which goes into effect this January, could be modified in special circumstances.

The Senate would also be discouraged from passing resolutions to purchase additional postage stamps. The policy of distributing stamps to Senate offices will stop under the proposal.

The proposal also tightens how much furniture senators can purchase and what happens to furniture once a senator leaves office.

The reorganization also prohibits senators from soliciting political contributions from their staff. Employees may still make any voluntarily contributions they wish.

The plan also calls for better systems of evaluating and keeping employee records and improvement in the use of technology by the Senate.