A state House budget committee this week protected state employees "from further budget cuts," Rep. Jay Barnes said Thursday.
The Jefferson City freshman Republican is vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee for General Administration.
He said he helped defeat a proposed amendment to Gov. Jay Nixon's budget plan that would have created "a substantial cut of $14.5 million through the Office of Administration."
But, Barnes told colleagues: "This amendment is aimed at the wrong target. State employees did not cause this budget crisis, and have already been unfairly targeted for cuts."
The proposed amendment likely would have led to about 230 state employees losing their jobs, Barnes noted.
"This amendment would lead to the laying off of janitors, entry-level analysts and information technology personnel across state government," the Jefferson City freshman said. "Those jobs are vital to ensuring our executive departments function at high levels to serve the public."
The committee defeated the amendment by a 10-2 vote.
In a news release, Barnes said he also helped restore $3.1 million that saved 41 jobs and perhaps more than $30 million in the Second Injury Fund.