Response to Governor Nixon’s Claim on DOR Budget

The Missouri General Assembly is committed to protecting Missourians and our tax dollars from any corrupt and unlawful actions of politicians and bureaucrats in Jefferson City. The recent cover-up and denial by the Governor and his administration regarding the scanning, retaining and sharing of the private information of Missouri citizens compelled us to take action. Until questions are answered and procedures are changed we will rightfully and justly intercede for the people by withholding a portion of the funding for the Department of Revenue.

After the Governor finally decided to admit his administration was indeed acting in direct violation of statute, he tried to down-play the seriousness of his violation by calling it a “kerfuffle”.  Now he has the audacity to call the legislature “irresponsible” for taking swift and serious action to demand answers and to stop the violation of state law and of our people’s privacy.

One of the checks and balances the legislature possesses is the budget. When bureaucracy fails its citizens, it must be reprimanded to motivate responsible behavior. Unfortunately, because the governor and his administration would not acknowledge the serious nature of their violation, blatantly denied us answers, and refused to stop violating the law for months, they forced our hand to act in the only way we could, through their budget.

What is irresponsible is the Governor’s refusal to admit his involvement and own his mistakes in this as he would put it “kerfuffle”. Furthermore, now he attempts to distract from his participation in this mess by attempting to shift the blame to the legislature. On Wednesday the governor claimed we would force his hand and threatened that he is prepared to lay-off employees at the Department of Revenue. Let me be clear, if that happens, it will be because of his actions and his actions alone. We have appropriated all the money Revenue needs to operate for 2/3 of the year and as long as they continue to act within the scope of Missouri law they will receive the final 1/3 of their budget in plenty of time to avoid any lay-offs—that is as it should be. We are responsible stewards of our people’s tax dollars and we will not fund rogue departments who do not operate in accordance to state law.