Jefferson City — State Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, today issued the following statement relating to the governor’s recent withholding of $115.5 million in new and increased spending for Fiscal Year 2017.
“The money to fund the Commission was taken from the University’s budget, it was not an increase. I believe the Commission has important work to do in order to hold the university accountable to taxpayers through the General Assembly, and I hope they will continue their work.”
The budget withholdings, which were announce on July 6, will affect 131 new or existing programs – many of which include law enforcement programs, college and university systems and social service spending. The withholdings also include $750,000 in state funding that was appropriated for the University of Missouri Review Commission, which was established under Sen. Schaefer’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 66. The withholdings will strip the commission of state funding entirely, though it will still be able to meet and carry out its work without the resources from outside staff, which the funding would have been used for.
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