As the only industry group that testified in favor of the legislation that became Amendment 10, Associated Industries of Missouri applauds its passage with 56 percent of the vote.
Amendment 10 provides the Missouri legislature a check on a governor’s power to withhold funds from state budget items in times of budget stability. Under the proposal, the legislature would be able to override a governor’s budget withholdings with a two-thirds vote in both the state House and Senate.
The legislature holds override powers on the governor’s line item vetoes of budget items, but currently, the governor can simply withhold money from those budgeted items as he or she sees fit.
This has lead to several governors over the past decade and a half using budget withholdings as a political tool with which to fight the legislature over issues on which the governor and the legislative branch disagree.
“Associated Industries of Missouri saw the promise of this needed change in the Missouri Constitution right from the start of the 2014 legislative session,” said AIM president Ray McCarty. “We believe the authority granted to a governor to withhold appropriations is to be used strictly for financial reasons to ensure the Missouri budget is balanced and it should not be used for political leverage by any governor.”
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