JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Senate passed its version of the 2004 Fiscal Year Budget on Wednesday. It's a budget that no one is pleased with, but it's the best that could be done with the limited resources the state has.

The Senate's budget - which is balanced - totals $18.8 billion, slightly less than the current-year budget of $18.9 billion. Cuts had to be made, but we tried to make them as painless as possible.

We were able to protect vital state services like the children's health insurance program (CHIPS), sheltered workshops, and the SenioRx program for prescription drugs. We preserved funding for all disabled people receiving personal care assistance, and continued state funding for "safety net hospitals" that care for the poorest of the poor.

The budget contains contingency lines that will allow the state to spend around $200 million more if the General Assembly succeeds in passing revenue-generating legislation that would produce additional money. We will be working on those bills for the remainder of the session.

The budget would allocate more than $4.5 billion for public schools, and more than $1 billion for public colleges and universities.

Transportation programs would receive $1.7 billion, agriculture programs would receive $34 million, and natural resources would get $331 million. Conservation would receive $127 million and economic development programs would receive $274 million.

Public Safety, which includes the Highway Patrol, would receive $349 million, while the Department of Social Services, the state's largest budget category, would receive $5.6 billion.

Mental health programs would receive $943 million and the state's judiciary would receive $158 million.

Some of the cuts are actually positive. The budget package calls for major reductions in agency equipment and expense budgets that have been the subject of many audits pointing to waste, fraud and abuse regarding state cars, taxpayer funded travel and excessive cell phone use. We all want government to be more efficient with taxpayer dollars.

We succeeded in eliminating more than 800 full-time positions - mostly mid-level managers, their clerical staff and vacant positions that were not providing any front-line services.

The budgets of all statewide elected officials were cut back by $2.2 million, a 5 percent reduction over last year's budget.

Now that the House of Representatives and the Senate have both passed their respective budget packages, differences between the two spending plans will be worked out in conference committees. Under the Missouri Constitution, lawmakers must complete work on the budget by 6 p.m. one week before the end of the regular legislative session - this year that date falls on May 9.

If you are in Jefferson City, please feel free to stop by my office in Room 226 at the State Capitol. You may call me anytime at (573) 751-3678, or you may call my home at 239-2521 or 239-2523. My cell phone number is (314) 650-5777 and my toll free number is (800) 247-6102.