Governor Withholding Money for Cyber Crime Investigations, While Legislature Rejects Pay Raise

Last week, senators met in the House chamber to hear the governors’ State of the State Address. During this time, he presented his $26.1 billion budget for 2016. The governor is now asking for an additional $140 million in extra general revenue.

In 2014, the governor vetoed $1.5 million from the 2015 Missouri fiscal year budget for Cyber Crimes Task Forces in Missouri. This just happens to be the entire budget for the program. We overrode the governor’s veto of these funds. In response, the governor withheld the money. In the proposed 2016 budget, the governor does not even include funding for the task force.

This $1.5 million is money that goes to law enforcement agencies, including sheriff’s departments, in order to catch online sexual predators targeting kids to exploit and rape. Without this funding, this does not happen, and the online protection of our children is severely vulnerable in a time when the world is technology driven. He is in a sense, holding our children’s future and safety hostage.

I find it appalling our governor was able to purchase an unneeded $6 million plane, according to the newly released audit, as well as spend $376,000 flying around state officials, commissioners, their families and ex-commissioners, yet he finds it unnecessary to fund a successful program that is currently receiving one conviction a day. No plane carrying state officials and funded by the state should take off until we are able to fund these crucial programs.

Currently, the Cyber Crimes Task Force is the most effective unit at preventing crimes that affect our most vulnerable citizens. If we can’t spend the money to protect them, then why are we here? These children are the future of our state and if we don’t protect our future, who will? The money is there, yet it is pulled or withheld from these programs every year.

We work very hard in the Legislature to fund things we know will have an immediate, positive impact on our citizens, while the governor continually withholds funding for essential programs. The governor needs to release that money now, and when we put it in the 2016 budget, not veto it. I hope that the governor will do the right thing and realize the importance of this program and release the money.

However, while the governor is continually withholding money from these programs, the Senate took House Concurrent Resolution 4 under consideration. This legislation was written to disapprove or reject the recommendations of the Missouri Citizens’ Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials to increase the compensation of elected officials.  Every two years, the Commission meets to determine if statewide elected officials, members of the legislature, and judges should receive higher compensation.

I feel that it is unjust to increase our pay when several important areas of the budget that affect many of the children in our state go unfunded by our governor.  State officials should be the last to see increases when so many important areas remain underfunded. 

A no-vote would approve the pay raise and a yes-vote would deny the pay raise. By a vote of 31 - 3, I was very pleased to see lawmakers refuse increased compensation while so many important areas of budgetary needs are not met.