Education Top Issue for State of State Address

Governor Matt Blunt says education remains his top priority and it will show when he delivers his State of the State address Wednesday evening. Blunt tells the Missourinet education and higher education will be prominent themes in his speech before the joint session of the General Assembly. Blunt says he will call on lawmakers to enact policies to improve the health care of Missourians, and protect their property. Blunt says the state needs to build a new crime lab and enact its version of Jessica’s Law, a crackdown on child sex offenders. Blunt says he wants legislation to protect senior citizens from violent crime and fraud. And, Blunt says he goes into the speech with a brighter budget outlook than a year ago, which he attributes as a direct result of the tough budget decisions legislators made last year and the economic development policies lawmakers approved.