With three weeks left in the legislative session, Governor Jay Nixon is urging lawmakers to fund
veterans’ homes, pensions for the blind and other specific needs in the still-unfinished state budget. Marshall Griffin has more:
Nixon praised the State Senate for restoring 28 million dollars to a program that aids blind Missourians – but he chided a Senate committee for sitting on a bill that would enact a dedicated funding source for veterans’ homes:
“Missouri’s veterans’ home(s) provide critical services for thousands of men and women who have served our country with honor and bravery…let me be clear, that bill must get to my desk without delay,” Nixon said.
Nixon also urged lawmakers to pass bills that would expand job training for new military veterans and tax breaks for auto parts manufacturers. The governor also said he remains opposed to raising the state’s cigarette tax, but took a neutral stance on a proposed ballot initiative that would raise the cigarette tax from 17 to 90 cents a pack.
