Greetings from the fourth floor of your Missouri Capitol. As I sit here in my office this morning, I can see fishermen in their boats going up and down the river, and kind of wish I could be out there with them. Because of newspaper deadlines, I write this to you on Thursday, so we still have two days left in session. A lot can happen in that span of time, so if anything of consequence does happen, I will write on that in my next column.
What I can tell you is that two bills I carried on the House side made it across the finish line. SCR 32 is a mirror bill of my HJR 60, which was the "Bring our Heroes Home Act" dealing with the POW/MIAs. This resolution urges the Missouri congressional delegation to support legislation for the declassification of POW/MIA records and put pressure on those countries where they went missing to send their remains home. Families throughout the United States have never had the closure they deserve nor allowed to bury their loved ones in the proper manner; since WWII through the Cold War, more than 81,000 United States service members remain unaccounted. Of those, 2,298 are Missourians. More than 1,600 U.S. soldiers remain missing from the Vietnam War, and of that, 35 are Missourians. Of those, 20 are presumed dead, but no official record exists as to what happened to them.
During a hearing held in the Veterans Committee, we heard some very compelling testimony from a local family whose brother went missing in Vietnam in 1967, and there is compelling evidence the North Vietnamese know where his body is but to this day will not release his body to the family. This is just one story in the long line of many where service members who paid the ultimate sacrifice cannot receive the honor of a military funeral and bring closure for their families. I hope this resolution will help these families, that Congress will bring forward legislation that will force the declassification of documents and we can bring these heroes home.
The other bill to be truly agreed to and finally passed is House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 656. This is an omnibus bill that combines a number of veterans-related legislation to make a really good bill. This time of year, we see many omnibus bills, and for the most part, I am not a big fan of those. But this one, even had we not had the COVID-19 shutdown, would have probably ended up in the same form. This bill had my HB 1473 - the Central Missouri Honor Flight license plate and Meritorious Medal license plate - in it along with Ghost Army recognition day; Buddy Check 22 day, promoting awareness of suicide risks in the military; and designates the Missouri Korean War Veterans Memorial in Kansas City as the official Korean War Veterans Memorial for the state of Missouri. This bill also recognizes various Gold Star memorial monuments as official Gold Star Memorial Monuments in the state, and those include College of the Ozarks, Jefferson Barracks and one here in Jefferson City. There were a few more, some of which were definition fixes while others added clarification to existing statute to better serve active duty military and veterans. It is my hope the governor will sign these into law in the very near future for the benefit of our military and veteran community.
Much of what we do in this building is driven by Missouri statute. One of those is when session ends, and that is always the third Friday of May. Because of the COVID-19 shutdown and being gone for almost six weeks of our session designated time, a lot of the state's business had to be put on hold, which will more than likely bring us all back for a special session. There is speculation of when that will happen: Some say as early as June, while others believe it will be in the fall. My hope is that we wait until September when we come back for veto session, which is also driven by statute. This will save the taxpayers money, and I believe we will have a better idea of what the federal money for COVID-19 will be along with a better forecast on revenue for income taxes and sales tax data.
COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on Missouri's economy as it has nationwide. Data released last week shows April revenue collections for the current year have dropped more than 54 percent compared to April of last year. While much of this is due to the tax filing deadline being moved from April to July, the state overall has seen a revenue drop of 6 percent for the current year compared to the same time in 2019. The state budget director compared the state's revenue decline to a faucet being turned off.
Because of the drop in revenues, budget crafters in both chambers had to look for substantial cost savings to bring the spending plan into balance. Budget leaders worked together to determine approximately $700 million would need to be trimmed from the proposed budget offered by the governor in January. The House and Senate opted to take the bulk of those savings by eliminating new decision items that had been recommended before the pandemic. This approach allowed lawmakers to balance the budget with a minimal impact to existing state services.
The final version of the Fiscal Year 2021 state spending plan keeps funding for K-12 education almost entirely preserved at its current funding level in the FY2020 budget. Colleges and universities also have a path to avoid spending cuts if federal funds related to the pandemic are triggered as expected this summer. Budget negotiators also prioritized additional dollars to ensure stable funding for the state's community colleges.
The budget approved by both chambers also provides additional spending flexibility for the governor if federal funds become available. The plan authorizes up to an additional $2 billion in spending authority for K-12 public schools should additional federal funds become available to support education. Additionally, it authorizes another $54.6 million in funding from the federal CARES Act for emergency education relief funds. The funds can be used for K-12 education, higher education or any combination of the two the governor may choose. The budget also includes another $304 million in spending authority for the governor for public two-year and four-year institutions should federal funds become available to support them.
Finally, it has been an honor to serve as your representative in this historic 100th General Assembly. I have learned so much over the past two years and have made some wonderful friendships on both sides of the aisle. I am always available to you to listen to any of your concerns and assist with any state issues that affect you and your families. My door is always open, and once we get past this COVID-19 lockdown, I would invite you to stop by my office or give me a call. Sometime in the near future, I will be holding a town hall meeting where you will be able to come and visit with me in person. Thank you again.
State Rep. Dave Griffith, R-Jefferson City, represents Missouri's 60th District, and shares his perspective on statehouse issues twice a month.