Gov. Nixon expected to focus on jobs during State of State address

by | Jan 20, 2010

Governor Jay Nixon delivers his second State of the State address tonight. While it’s a new year, the themes the governor is expected to strike might ring familiar. America has edged away from the financial meltdown which spawned the deep recession, but problems remain.
Business analyst sees signs of recovery, but most predict a slow recovery. Unemployment in Missouri remains around 9.5%. That’s below the national average, but still very high. State revenue tells the story. It continues to lag, especially sales tax revenue, weighed down by lackluster sales. Personal income taxes, business taxes have fallen, victims of the lingering recession. Governor Nixon has responded by cutting $634 million from the state budget approved by this legislature last year. More cuts might well be coming before Missouri ends the fiscal year June 30th.AUDIO: Brent Martin interviews Gov. Nixon spokesman Scott Holste on State of State address 6 minutes MP3

So, economics, once again, provides a grim backdrop from Governor Nixon’s State of the State address. Perhaps not as severe as a year ago, but certainly still grim.

Expect Governor Nixon to focus on the economy in his remarks to this joint session of the General Assembly. The Nixon Administration has made turning the state economy around its top priority. The governor began to unveil some of his proposals late last year. His jobs package has three major components:

  •  Missouri First, a program to provide increased economic incentives to businesses that have been in Missouri at least five years;
  •  The Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act, or MOSIRA, a focus on attracting businesses in emerging technologies, especially Life Sciences; and
  •  Training for Missourians; more money for community colleges to expand programs for in-demand fields, such as lab techs, nurses’ aides and mechanics.

Nixon has received solid support from legislative leaders for those programs, some of which have been discussed in the legislature before.

Money matters won’t be the only discussion. Expect the governor to outline his ethics proposal. This is a Democratic governor addressing a House and Senate in the control of Republicans. The two sides don’t exactly agree on ethics reform. Nixon will call for the reinstatement of campaign contribution limits and might well get a cold shoulder from Republican leaders. Senate leader Charlie Shields of St. Joseph has already indicated that is a non-starter in the Senate. Most Republican proposals have focused on cleaning up the legislative session, cutting back greatly on food and gifts that have become part of the day-to-day activities during a legislative session at the Capitol.



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